2008 Whitney Classic Recap

A strong finish pushed us to 65% of our goal for 2008.

We're back from two blissful weeks in California, and I'm happy to report that the 2008 Whitney Classic was a great success. It was a fantastic time, a great ride, and a wonderful opportunity to spend time with good friends in a great setting.

Now for some details about the ride:

The weather was pleasantly mild. It was only 105 at the start in Badwater, and the temperature never got unbearably hot. Conversely, once we climbed out of Panamint Valley, the wind picked up significantly and temperatures dropped about 20-25 degrees. At the finish at Whitney Portal, temps were in the 40's...not too bad.

I was riding with two others, Tom Smith and Jair Drooger. Tom told us on Friday that he wasn't feeling well (turns out he was diagnosed with Giardia, one of the occupational hazards of working in the wilderness) and after one brief turn on the bike, he called it a day and did his best impersonation of a rock, unmoving and unresponsive, in the front seat of the van all the way back to Lone Pine. As a result, Jair & I rode more than we had hoped to, but all turned out well in the end. We finished at 2:36 AM, and that included a fast sprint to the finish stay ahead of the next team. Apparently, we were in a race with this team to the finish, only someone forgot to tell us we were racing until the last leg of the race when they were 30 seconds behind us.

Two tired riders at the finish. Jair seems to be in some type of catatonic state.

Most importantly, the fundraising part of the ride was successful. Our team, for the second year in a row, won the award for most money raised as a team, and as of this writing, the 2008 Whitney has taken in over $66,000. I had a fairly ambitious goal of $10,000, and was quite happy to finish with $6,525, which is very equitable with previous year totals. This means that through 7 rides, we've raised $46,090 for the ongoing work of Summit Adventure!

For the visual among us, the final Pie Chart.

As always, the success of the Whitney depends upon a concerted effort of staff, willing volunteers and very generous donors. Thanks for all of your support, financial and otherwise, and look for us back at this same spot next year!

You can see more pics of the rest of our trip at our normal Filatore site.

California-bound

Ginger & I fly out of Reagan National Airport tomorrow afternoon at 3:30. With the wonders of time zones, we'll get to Fresno at 9 PM, just in time for a late night stop at In-N-Out Burger. We'll head to Lone Pine on Friday morning, and the ride will get underway Saturday afternoon at 3:00.

Currently, we stand at $4,445 raised for this year. That's just about half of our $10,000 goal, and from a short-term perspective, it's only $555 away from getting another $1,000 donation. Many of you have heard this, but I had an anonymous donor offer a $1,000 donation if I could raise $1,000 to match it. We've raised $445 of the needed $1,000. I mention this not to beg for additional funds from those of you who have already graciously donated, but to encourage those "on the bubble". If you have thought about making a donation, but you've procrastinated or are just not convinced, this is a great time to maximize your donation. (To make an on-line donation, click here.)

Regardless of what happens, I'm always overwhelmed by the love and encourage of our friends and family. We'll carry your support with us into Death Valley on Saturday.

Have a great two weeks, and stand by for results and photos in the not-too-distant-future.

14 August: Two Weeks Left; $5,725 left to go. . .

In addition to slowly creeping forward, here's the other news. I have an anonymous donor who is willing to make a $1,000 donation to our cause if I can find a matching $1,000 donation (or a combination of donations that equal $1,000.) Anyone feeling generous?

Memories of 2002: Stuck on $3775

Continuing our trip down memory lane,

The year was 2002; it the first time I had attempted riding the Whitney Classic. I had just gotten a new road bike the year before, but I was hesitant about doing the entire ride. At this point, Summit introduced a new version called "Two Out of Three". Riders would ride two of the three biggest hills on the course (Hillcrest and Whitney Portal, while skipping the dreaded Towns Pass) and the total mileage would be about 85 miles or so. With my good friend Christian Rawles, we signed up for the "Two Out of Three" option.

I don't remember much of the start, or how hot it was, but Christian and I started at 7:00 PM at Panamint Springs, right at the base of Hillcrest. Things went great as we rode together and talked...I can still remember how quiet and still the night was, and how bright the almost-full moon was shining. Of course, we quickly realized why it was so quiet and still--we were protected inside the Panamint Valley. Once we topped the crest of the hill, we were hit the full force of a cold wind. The temperature easily dropped 20 degrees, and the 36 miles into Lone Pine were looking very cold indeed.



After the sweaty exertion of climbing Hillcrest (8 miles, with a 3,000' elevation gain), we were soaking wet and suffered through the trip into Lone Pine. After a quick SAG stop, we pointed our bikes up the Portal Road and began to truly suffer.

I've been lucky enough to ride all over the United States, and some parts of Europe, and can truly say that I hate the Whitney Portal Road more than anything other surface on this planet. It's not particularly long (13.7 miles) or steep (4,666' elevation gain), but it is deceptively hard. It's dark. It's usually cold. You are usually alone. And unlike other climbs that have slight undulations where you can catch a breather, the Portal never stops. It winds up and up, relentlessly torturing your calves and quads and various other body parts.

On this particular night, the wind was frigid, and any sweat that we worked up was quickly blown away. By the time we reached the final SAG stop, at the base of the Portal switchbacks, I was truly hypothermic. Uncontrollable shivering. Clattering teeth. Minimal sensation in my extremities. Soaking wet in my cycling gear, I was a giant popsicle.

Years of eating ice cream prepared me for the bitter temperatures.

Ginger was sagging that year, and she put me in the van, got me out of all my wet clothes, and cocooned me inside of a giant down sleeping bag we had. After a cup or two of hot noodles, I dropped into a dead sleep.

Christian, better prepared than I was, rehydrated a bit, put on a couple more layers, and rode on to finish strong. After an hour or so of being inside my warm, down womb, I recovered enough to put back on my wet clothes and pedal the remaining 3.6 miles (and almost 2,000' of climbing) to the finish. A picture made at the finish line shows a smiling Ginger, but I have the hollow, far-away look in my eyes, dreaming of a hot shower and a long nap. . .

On the positive side, we managed to raise $7,263 that year...not bad for almost freezing to death.

By the way, we've been stuck on $3775 for a week now....how about a little help?

August 31: Whitney Training

Training hard: post-ride at Teddy Roosevelt Island

August 28: $3775

As you can see from this amazing graphic, we still have a way to go!

Memories of 1998: $3675 raised thus far!!

Several people have asked about some of the "Memories" listed on this year's letter. If you haven't seen it (you can find it on the left under "The Official 2008 Whitney Classic Appeal Letter), I created a table that lists significant moments for each of the 9 previous WC's we've been to. I'd like to explain some of those. . .

It was 1998. Ginger and I had moved to California to work with an organization based out of El Portal (on the west side of Yosemite National Park), but things didn't really work out as we planned. In May, we moved about an hours drive east to work seasonally with Summit Adventure. It was our first experience with the organization, and we were hooked. We stayed in Bass Lake through the end of August, and since we had 4 unplanned months ahead of us (we were planning on moving back to Bass Lake for good in January), we headed back to El Portal to spend the remaining few months.

I should mention that we were volunteering for this organization. They provided us with a place to live, but we had jobs in the small town as well. Ginger & I were both working at a local hotel, the Yosemite View Lodge, and for some strange reason, we were working opposite shifts. Ginger would work from 7-4, and I would work from 4-11. We didn't like the schedule, and had repeatedly asked for a change. As October (and the Whitney) approached, we had decided that I would go volunteer and Ginger would stay in El Portal and work. I had requested the days off, and had received assurance that I would not be working; in turn, I had committed to Summit and they were counting on my being available to help. The week arrived, and I was told I had NOT been given the weekend off and I was expected to be at work that weekend. A choice had to be made.

Every now and then you come to a crossroads in life, where seemingly small decisions have major consequences. Alex Raffe once said, "We had no knowledge that our lives had just changed. You seldom sit at a crossroads and know it's a crossroads. But from (that moment) forward, my life was not going to be the same."

That's the way it was for us. I informed my boss that I would not be showing up for work that weekend. She informed me that if I didn't show up, I'd be fired. My witty response was that since I was going to be fired, I might as well quit right then, hung up the phone and walked out the door. It's the only time in my life that I've ever walked out on a job, but it felt good! So technically, I might have quit rather than been fired, but the point is the same...I gave up my job so I could be involved in what we felt was a worthwhile cause. Eleven years later, I'd do it all over if the opportunity arose.

I don't really remember much else about that year. I vaguely recall riding through Tuolumne Meadows and the beauty of Tioga Pass while Chris Johnson read a surfing magazine. I vaguely recall eating a bunch of chocolate chip cookies homemade by Barb Kelley. Other than that, I have no other recollection of anything else that happened that year. They must have been really good cookies.