Adventure Race race (Exp Oregon) 14:15:00 [4]
Leg 8 - Bike - And now began some of the coldest hours of racing I've ever experienced, replacing the couple of hours from the previous night. We left the bike drop and climbed to CP31, which helped, but that was followed by a long sustained downhill to the flats north of Redmond. The sun was not quite up yet and I was truly miserable. With the lack of sleep the prior night I was really fighting the sleep monsters too. In fact, there was a solid 40-60 minutes that I do NOT remember. Which would be kind of funny except for the fact that I was riding my bike at the time. This might be the worst I've ever been during a race when it comes to sleep.
But, the sun did eventually come up and things got warm. We spent some quality time with NYARA (they were our "unofficial partner" team like you always seem to get in long races) picking our way through some surprisingly tricky points on our way to Bend.
The final ride through Bend was actually kind of brutal for me as the sleep monster made one last impressive effort to take me out. But, we finally arrived at the finish after 102 hours of some of the most memorable racing I've ever done. It was a fantastic, technical course and my teammates were second to none.
I can unequivocally recommend any race that Bend puts on. You WILL get a lifetime experience. But be prepared, really prepared, because they are going to provide a fantastic opportunity for you to complete an expedition if you show up ready and willing.