Yes, it does rain in the desert...and it can rain hard.
I am finally drying out from this epic event. Going into this I had visions of the sun reflecting off the white salt in blinding glory. What I got was wind and rain and cold.
Some history...I have been looking forward to this event for some time. I was even going to do it last year however the MDS took center stage. Having lived in Salt Lake City for nine years I always had a desire to ride a mountain bike across the Salt Flats but never got around to it. The Salt Flats 100 seemed like a perfect opportunity to get out there!
The first half went very well. Fast pace across the Bonneville Salt Flats speedway, easy climbs and a very remote part of the course. Only got slightly off course once, just too busy looking at the scenery and not the flags! Also spent some enjoyable time with co-competitor Trace as we progressed around Silver Island and Crater Island. There is some really beautiful country. In fact the area around Floating Island was very much like some of the dry lake beds/camel grass humps in Morocco.
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| Just before the rain at mile 50 |
The second half was the exact opposite. Heavy rain, 20 mph head winds and cold temperatures (upper 30's). One competitor got so lost a helo had to be called in to find her with IR technology. Many were suffering from some degree of hypothermia.
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| Swimming into the finish line (note standing water on the salt flats) |
The goal to finish under 24 hrs was meet but this event should have been much faster given more optimal weather conditions. The last ten miles were not very pleasant to say the least.
What did I learn? I am ready for hot, cold and dry but I am not well equipped for rain. While the OR Helium II jacket performed well over the Mont Bell EX Light down jacket I did not have any rain pants nor waterproof gloves. Both of those would have helped in warding off the extreme chill. Buff doubled as a watch cap and was acceptable.
Additionally, this is a VERY mental race. You can see the land marks and aid stations from far away but you keep going and going and going and never seem to get any closer. This can be a very demoralizing for some. One of the coolest things though was to watch objects on the salt flats "rise up" out of the ground as you got closer due the earth's curveature.
Thanks to my pacers Tim and Jim....you kept me going! Lisa, thanks for being there at the aid stations! Vince - despite the weather I really did enjoy the event.
Next up will be the Jemez 50 in hometown Los Alamos.
