Death Valley Part III.

Today's post (sorry about the silence yesterday - a bit manic at work..) is third time lucky. It turns out that with Imy's excellent help in being my PA, she inadvertently lost my whole post. That'll teach me know to save as I go.

So day three of cycling was Stovepipe Wells to a place called Panamint Springs. I don't know if anyone else thought the same as me, but this was the day that I had not been looking forward to. A really tough day today on the back of our first 'proper' day yesterday. I had no idea how much strength I'd have in my legs and was very aware that it was going to be a long day (56 miles) to include going over a mountain (nearly 5,300 feet)and then a long undulating run all the way to Panamint springs.

14 miles uphill... Broken by a fruit stop after 7 miles before carrying on... If that wasnt bad enough, the hill was quite a bit steeper than it was the previous day. Given that it was only the second day, my fitness level wasn't as good as it could have been and, as a result, I found the first section of the hill quite hard going. I began what became a usual routine on hill stages by focussing not on the next fruit stop, but on the road markers which were every 50 metres or so. When it got steep, I would sit down and pedal on the easiest gear until the next marker, where i would shift two or three gears and go the next 50 metres standing on my pedals... It kinda went on and on. I think we all learnt pretty early on not to focus on the brow of a hill or even get excited about it. Whenever I seemed to get to the brow, I would find that it was a false summit and, given the distances (see my last post) I would realise that the hill just actually went on and on. Worse still would be when the next bit was even steeper.

That said, it really helped me having a fruit stop as my goal. My god I loved those fruit stops. Claud - one of the support team, would drive on ahead and be there waiting with a big tressle table with a huge amount of high calorie, sugary and salty foods. And water. I found it pretty incredible that he managed to produce something different each time and everything that was there seemed to be just what my body needed. My favourite high energy foods were the nut and dried fruit mix - lovely until i found M&Ms mixed in - then it went to a completely different level of gorgeousness! Throughout the trip I found that I craved orange segments - just like school sports half-times - there would be loads of pieces of orange, but given that Claud 'mixed it up' a bit, if they weren't there I was a little bit gutted! My obsession with food and distance markers might start giving you a little insight into what was going through our minds when we were just knuckling down and trying to get up those hills... Getting to the top alone apparently cost us around 3,000 calories...

At our second stop we made it to Emigrant Pass - over 5,300 feet. There were two nightmare bits about that - the last 500 metres to the top which suddenly got really steep and the cold. My lasting memory of that was Paul Aicken who did incredibly well to carry on afterwards as, to me, he looked close to dangerously cold at the top. The temperature was around 10 degrees C, but there was quite a wind and the windchill took it down some more. Loads of layers, energy foods and sitting out of the wind I'm sure helped Paul, but determination did way more I think.

The trip back down the mountain again took us through a positively alpine section with great views of snowcapped mountains and a steep switchback road that took us (at high speed) off the peak. The switchbacks were great - made all the more exciting by the sheer drop on one side and gravel over the road that made high speed corners dangerous. I'm not sure who it was, but I think someone came off - I was glad it wasn't me.

We took lunch in Wild Rose Canyon. Very pretty and due to the altitude drop, quite a bit warmer too. The road down there was a bit hairy though. It was the first time that I actually envied the people on mountain bikes. Although it was paved in parts, it was very much a gravel track with impressive potholes. You may want to bear in mind that with two days worth of cycling already done, crashing onto your saddle constantly for about half an hour gets a bit wearing...

Having made it to the bottom of the mountain, we then took up the road again all the way to Panamint Springs. 27 miles that should have been a walk in the park - relatively flat and low down where it was warm. However, I certainly didn't count on the energy sapping and harsh headwind. We were under time pressure too. It gets dark at 5 and we needed to get off the road before nightfall (as we had no lights). It was slow going though.

A few things kept me going. At first it was courtesy of the US Airforce. Two fight pilots were flying around the valley. After a view waves from us, we got buzzed - the pilot clearly enjoyed the attention and treated us to some barrel rolls, low passes and other aerobatics - very cool. The next thing was knuckling down and grinding out the hours with Andy. We were both knackererd and, having enjoyed the fun of a 'tow' on the hills (basically a slipstream) we made use of it on the flat. If you tuck in right behind the person in front, you get use of a slipstream that apparently savers about 20% of your energy for the same distance. Fantastic fun downhill where you can pick up proper speed, but a bit of a lifesaver when 27 miles into a headwind just doesn't seem to be getting any less!

The last thing was sheer determination that, no matter what happened, there was no way I was going to be picked up by the support truck because it was too dark to cycle.

Utterly exhausted, we made it. Even though the last 3 or so miles was, once more, uphill. Just like the previous night, I can only really remember a hot shower and ridiculously large glasses of beer. I blame Padraig for that.

Not doubt I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but I think that was the night we stayed on a...limited facilities... sort of place. Some of the group camped and I was a bit sad I wasn't alloted a tent. Still the campbed in our room was fine - I would have slept on rusty metal...

This is quite along post... next one - Panamint Springs to Furnace Creek - another tough day- on paper, tougher - but maybe our bodies are getting used to muscle memory? Find out who we fared shortly!

Death Valley Part II

Well, I hadn't quite anticipated the interest that my last post generated... Now I find that, not only are some of my fellow cyclists reading (so I can't big myself up by lying) an online magazine wants the posts (so I have to complete the job). The great news though is that more money has come in for my chosen charity as a result.

So, 6th November: I was fitted up with my Hog - a Trek 7.2 hybrid and, frankly, I was delighted that it wasn't an albeit lovely looking mountain bike, with a heavy frame and fat nobbly tires that some of the group were given. After some slight adjustments - clip-in pedals (which I later got stuck in and fell off at a fruit stop) and loads of layers of clothing, our journey began. 

It was a tough, gruelling, mentally exhausting first cycle out as we travelled the 500 metres from the film-set style Motel to Subway, for a sandwhich and a bowl of soup. (AxeMurderer Motel pic courtesy of Ali Davidson). 

I wonder if anyone else had the same feeling as I did when we were told that the first stretch of our ride would be 14 miles uphill. Not undulating. Uphill.

Thankfully, the hill wasn't that steep to start off with, but it was a hill nonetheless. I also got my first taste of being somewhere where it is almost impossible to judge distances. The place is so vast and so empty, the roads run straight and literally off the horizon. I have still not worked out if that's a good thing or not. On the one hand you get a beautiful view and you just get on with it and try to ignore the fact that it looks like you're getting nowhere. On the other hand, it looks like you're going nowhere. (road pic courtesy of Hamish).

The first cycle out was a great opportunity to get to know everyone else on the trip and I, like many others, spent some time trying to find a comfortable pace and have a bit of a chat as we went along. The first day was interesting in that respect - I think a lot of people set off fast because, at the first stop (about 7 miles uphill), it was pretty quiet as the enormity of the some of the hills and distances sunk in. 

The big news at the first fruit stop was the wildlife. Our first deadly animal! A tarantula (the only live one of the trip, as far as I know, although I saw a dead one another day). It was calmly wandering along the road and about the size of a hand. For those that aren't too squeamish, you can view Hamish's video of the little critter here.

Seven miles later and we reached Daylight pass (altitude 4,317 feet) after a 1,444 feet uphill ride. Our first view of Death Valley. Beautiful, vast and just able to see the salt lakes shimmering in the distance.  

After that, a lovely long downhill run for around 10 miles. We had our first road junction that day (once we were out of town) and one would have thought that that would not present a problem. Only, imagine bombing down the hill for ten miles, not noticing the junction and then applying the front brake instead of the rear. enter our first caualty - Ty. Pretty nasty as it happened - but cuts, burises and a ripped top was never going to stop the man who's doing a marathon in the Sahara next year. Hats off. On the brakes - it turns out that only the British have the brakes the 'wrong' way round. Useful information in hindsight...

Having crossed the state line from Nevada and into California, we trundled along at a decent speed to Stovepipe Wells. On the way we took in incredible scenery and sand dunes that seemed completely out of place. Throughout the trip, that was one of the things that really struck me about the Mojave Desert. After an hour's cycling, or so, something copmpletely out of place would appear - sand dunes, salt lakes, different vegetation. That, together with the effect of the changing sunlight on the landscape, gave us the most beautiful backdrop and something that we could have (and did) look at for hours on end.

Stovepipe Wells - Well, it had a good bar, with all sorts of bottled beer (it was obvious that we had slipped into California) and a good dinner. To be totally, honest, there's not much I remember about the evening, save missing my daughter, my first Skype call to Lucy, a lovely English couple doing a honeymoon roadtrip and that it was freeeezing at night. But that's jet lag for you... Lovely view across the valley though - the picture on the left is at sunrise (even colder!).

For those that knew how ill I was a few weeks before the trip, I'm pleased to report that with the help of Shadi Danin (see previous posts) I had no muscle tiredness, stiffness or cramp. Who would have guessed...!

Death Valley Part I

Well, here I am, back in the UK! (And four days after my arrival, my bags have now turned up too). I'm sorry for the silence, but I thought it was about time to let you all know how I got on in Death Valley. There's a lot to say, so I'm going to break it down into days to keep the posts short. That said, if you want to know more - do get in touch and I'll tell you all about it.

So 5 November - a busy day: the day of departure. I was really looking forward to it but also dreading leaving my gorgeous little daughter for so long. As it happened, it was full-on from the word go. I'd been finalising client work to 0130 that morning and was then up at 5 to finish packing and do all the other bits and pieces I had woken up in the night trying to remember that I mustn't forget....

I had a really nice telephone intveriew on BBC Sussex Breakfast Show, which included a teeny interview with Imy. I was very proud of her - it goes one way or another on the phone - she'll either go silent or chat away happily. Thankfully she was in a chatty mood. Lanie at BBC Sussex was great and helped later on in getting a piece done on the BBC website.

Leaving Imy at the airport was the hardest thing I'd done for a long time. In fact, it still makes me sad to think about it. However, after she'd left (and I'd got control of my emotions again) it was straight onto the plane. I must have missed the bit where it said the flight to Vegas is 11 hours - still, I was sat next to such a lovely couple who made the flight, well, fly. It wasn't so bad. The Inbetweeners movie made me laugh til I cried.

Although I could see the odd cyclist around on the plane, it wasn't until we were through customs (yes, they actually let me in the country) that I met everyone properly. 

It's quite a big thing to fly out for a tough physical challenge, not knowing a single person with whom you're going to spend the next 5 days. I have to say though that from the off, everyone was lovely and there was not a single person I didn't get on with.

As if 11 hours of travel wasn't enough, we got straight on a coach and travelled 98 miles north out of Vegas (for 2 hours) to a place called Beatty. Interesting place....! One word: Deliverence... After dinner at Denny's we all went into a local saloon for some beers to catch up with the local cowboys. ...No, literally.... Old weatherbeaten guys with Chaps, Trenchcoats, grizzled looks and guns....

After teaching the cowboys how to drink their weak beer, it was back to the motel for a sleep before bike fitting and the first day of cycling. I shared a room (pretty much throughout) with Tony - an accountant from Leicester - a great guy who took everything in his stride despite being the oldest on the trip and refusing to reduce his intake of Senior Service cigarettes, whatever the altitude and whatever the distance... 

I slept like the dead. and the next day got fitted up with my Trek 7.2 Hybrid, which was to take me nearly 270 miles around Death Valley and California and Nevada. Thanks Trek for making such a reliable bike - and thanks also for the tweet mid way through my ride which cheered me up just when i needed it - more on the dreaded Day Three in a separate post!

I'll start the actual cycling on the next post, but I do need to set the scene for you. Death Valley is supposed to be hot during the day and cold at night. As a result, all of us had been expecting 20-30 degrees C during the day. However, thanks to a low pressure system in California (which dumped snow on the other side of the Sierra Nevada) the temperature plummeted somewhat.  THE hardest thing about the whole trip was, for me, the cold. We just weren't prepared. At altitude the temperature drops by about 1 degree per 100 metres. At 5,000 feet (c.1,500 metres and a not unusual mountain height for us to cycle over)  this took our temperature down by another 15 degrees. Don't get me started on the windchill...... 

Cycling is all very well at keeping you warm but we needed regular 'Fruit stops' - a chance to take on water and calories in the form of energy bars, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate etc and lunch stops . Each time you cycle, you sweat and each time you stop, you cool.  Massively. If the stop is at height, it's even colder. I learnt after Day One to take a daybag with a hoodie and a tracksuit with me everywhere I went.....

So the next post will be about the actual cycling - Beatty to Stovepipe Wells 34 miles away, via Daylight Pass (over 4,000 feet up...), getting to know my co-cyclists and an encounter with a menacing looking Tarantula...

Taizen Baths and Massages

Well, the day of my departure is here and I have woken up bright and early to do a blog post before heading off to the airport. In usual fashion before some time away from the office, it has been a mad rush to fit everything in this last week. However, I did have some unexpected time out of the office which I happily made time for, courtesy of the lovely Shadi Danin and her staff.

I was really ill on 8 October and although my bug appeared to have disappeared within 48 hours, over a week later I started experiencing problems in my muscles. First my hamstrings felt like they were cramping and then they stiffened up, followed by my quads, then calves, biceps, forearms, hands and stomach muscles. Within a few days I was incredibly weak and in pain to the extent that I couldn't hold the phone to my ear or grasp a pen. My GP found nothing sinister and suggested it was linked to my bug. Although this gave me some heart, it did mean that apart from an hour and a half last weekend, I haven't now been on a bike for over a month. Until the beginning of this week, I was still weak and had no stamina and was seriously concerned at my ability to cycle Death Valley.

A chance email from Jo Brooks PR put me in touch with Shadi, who has been utterly fantastic. Shadi runs a gorgeous MediSpa at 70 New Church Road in Hove offering a variety of treatments. However, she does have two new pieces of equipment that have really made a difference to me and, in all honesty, have left me feeling like I can complete my ride after all. So twice a day for the last three days I have been immersed in a Taizen Japanese Bath. It is a bath filled with very small stone balls and very hot water - between 40-48degrees C for me. I climbed in and had the stones piled over me and sat there to...bake.. for between 15 and 20 minutes. It is incredibly hot.

‘Taizen’ in Japanese translates as ‘calm’ and this is was certainly how I felt after this treatment. Quite apart from Shadi and her team's generosity, I am very lucky to have experienced the bath as it is the only one of its kind in Europe, and one of only six in the world – it is a truly unique treatment which delivers incredible results. I have to say that the baths, followed by the most incredible massages of my head, neck and shoulders, legs and feet have left me feeling completely different. I have power in my limbs, I feel sparky and for the first time in weeks, and I feel ready to take on Death Valley. This was apparent after a work out on the underwater treadmill, which, rather then leaving me weak and exhausted had me surprised about my fitness and strength. Obviously, this is a huge thing for me as I did have serious doubts, only a few days ago, that I would be flying out to the US at all.

Shadi has a report, I believe, in the Mail on Sunday this week and I would really urge you to have a look at it and her website www.shadidanin.com. She truly did wonders for me and can imagine huge benefits for those with sports injuries, arthritis, exhaustion and stress. Shadi can also provide a long list of long term (sometimes serious) conditions which are alleviated by this treatment coupled with natural remedies which she can advise on and provide. As a naturally cynical lawyer, I've come away amazed and incredibly grateful - so check her out!

I won't go on, because blogs are best left short, but thank you so much to Shadi and her team and also to everyone who's offered their best wishes. I plan to tweet and blog whilst I'm out there - so keep checking in!

Rich

4 Days to go.....!

Eeeeek! I fly out to Las Vegas on Saturday morning on the start of my Death Valley Challenge. With that in mind, I thought you might like to know what my route will be.

So, as you know I will be going to Death Valley in Nevada USA. This is a national park of around 3.4 million acres (plenty to get lost in...). The Valley itself if 130 miles long, between 6 and 13 miles wide and surrounded by steep mountains. I'll be traversing the valley and traveling between Nevada and California.

Saturday 5 November - Fly to Vegas and, on arrival, transfer to Beatty Junction, 98 miles away.  Final chance to back out....!

Sunday 6 November - 34 miles from Beatty Junction to Stovepipe Wells. 14 miles in and I will (hopefully) reach Daylight pass (altitude 4,317 feet). I should then coast into California all the way back down to sea level.

Monday 7 November - 56 miles today from Stovepipe Wells to Panamint Springs. This one is a decent ascent to Emigrant Junction (5,318 feet) and then it's on to Wildrose Canyon. After that it's Road 178 to Panamint Springs at 1,951 feet - Total ascent 5,500 feet over 24 miles

Tuesday 8 November - A tough day today - Panamint Springs to Furnace Creek (56 miles again). After 14 miles of constant uphill cycling, I reach Towne Pass at 4,956 feet above sea level. I can recover with a 15 mile downhill stretch of 5,000 feet. It's then up and down for another 27 miles to Furnace Creek. Total climb today - 3,400 in 14 miles (but a fantastic drop afterwards!)

Wednesday 9 November - It's the longest day today at 61 miles as I go from Furnace Creek to Pahrump, via Devil's Hole. I'm taking Road 190 to Devil's Hole which is a Death Valley Monument. I will go past the beautiful Zabriskie Point (see the pic below) and then on to Death Valley Junction (2,037 feet above sea level) and back into Nevada. Then I head southwards towards Ash Meadows Wildlife Reserve and on to Pahrump. Total ascents 3,200 feet over 19 miles and then 900 feet in 17 miles.

Thursday 10 November - the last day of cycling with 57 miles from Pahrump to Las Vegas!!  A long slow climb first through the Pahrump Valley before heading east and into hilly terrain. A big climb next to Mountain Springs Summit at 5,490 feet and the highest point above sea level of the trip. Then it's a long descent  through Red Rock Canyon, across the plains and then into Vegas and finishing on the Las Vegas strip...! Total ascent of 2,790 feet over 32 miles.

Friday 11 November - bed. not moving. except to a hot tub. if i can....

So what do you think? Think I'll make it to that hot tub...?

Rich