Day: August 4, 2023

Can anyone guess the narrative? Also happening on this day in history over at https://williammartin.com/0000/08/04/…o/o

Another drive to Missoula last night…o/o Varoom! Thinking back to a bike ride that I did in the Pipestone area. We went off the trail and along a beach.  I was wishing I had my fatty.  At the end of Lake Delmo, we adventured even further but eventually decided to go back to the beaten path.  It was fun though. Sometimes it is what you gotta do.  All this traveling to Missoula, on a beaten path, is starting to wear on me. But I would do it all over again.

“Hi Gina, I am so sorry to put you in this position but I am going to miss the pre race meeting tonight and will not be able to load up the aid station bins … um … I am thinking about just turning around and going home.”, I babbled to the race director over the phone as I drove towards Butte at around 95 mph. I had missed it, the “big race” of the year and I was totally frustrated. I wouldn’t of even been able to call the director and apologize if it were not for my good friend who drove all the way to the Outdoorsman in Butte to alert Gina to the situation.

“No worries Bill … really … this is no big issue. We have you covered. Just meet me at the starting line at 5 AM sharp an I will get you all squared away”

For the last two weeks I have been totally off the radar and in my own world of new town new job. I haven’t updated or even posted any social web updates. I guess when things feel good an outlet, like my blog, this blog, isn’t needed as much. But as I mentioned to a friend this morning I do not want to become distant to the people who matter most. Specially now that my friends, um family, for the past 6 years are in another distant place. All I needed was a reminder that they are still out there. I was not forgotten, in fact I was expected. Besides, I could let down Chad who had my bike ready to rock and traveled all the way from Hamilton to participate.

So I arrived late at Homestake Pass and plopped down my tent and drifted off to sleep. I was there at 5 AM to sign up and get my timing chip. I scrounged up enough bottles to fill with Carbo Rocket and stock the check station bins. I went back to my car to put the final preparations on my race get-up. GPS, some tools, two tubes, one taped to my frame, and of course a couple Action Wipes … just in case.  I glanced at my watch and realized I had ten minutes to start time. I suddenly realized I had no bottles or Carbo Rocket to start the first 20 or so miles. I asked friends but no one had any to spare. I quickly grabbed a bottled water and lined up. And then we were off.

I often wonder if I am the only one who struggles the way I do with certain life events. It seems to me no matter how much I think I have moved on it is not until I reach a certain point in some event that I realize I have been carrying some sort of baggage.  For one year I have been haunted by my poor performance of last years race. And now that I was careening down a mountain with David “Tinker” Juarez. I glanced back to see that we were pulling away from the field and I internally berated myself for going out so hard. I realized that even though I was not peaking for this race and I wanted to hang back I had a vendetta with the Butte 100.  John Curry joined up and the three of us rode on.

Last years Butte 100. I totally focused on that one race and it ended up the worst disaster of the year. I was lucky to even finish the damn thing. No matter how many times I thought I was over it I couldn’t help but feeling some bits of disappointment at times and think back to the “why” and “what if”. I even tried to put a band-aid in place by re-designing my training philosophy. And then there was the “my friends accomplishments are more important” excuse.  I felt, quite suddenly, that I had to put that bad experience to rest. I guess moving forward is the only way to put distance on “things”. All this swirling around in my head as I rode behind John and Tinker … and we put more distance on the chase pack.

The worst thing you can say, in life, is that you want to do it all over again. And I don’t.  It was a good year, found love, found pain, and lost. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Why then would I want to do the Butte 100 the way I did it last year all over again?  I decided to back off and let John and Tink climb up into Elk Park ahead of me. I slowed to a maintainable pace and that, in the long run be the right thing to do. Last year I blew up hard after going all out for three hours. This year I decided I could go faster by going at “Bill Speed” … which is slower then “John Speed” or “Tinker Speed”. The rest of the first 40 miles went on without a hitch. I eventually got my bottles of Carbo Rocket and continued on with my sustainable pace which provided me with a great un-stressful ride. I really enjoyed the Nez Perice Trail much more then in years past.  Then I hit Pipestone.

Only one woman finished the Butte 100 this year and she came in late at night. I did talk to one woman who got pulled at mile 80 for missing the cut-off. Everyone was telling her how far 80 miles was and that given it was her first race how big of an accomplishment she had done. However she never agreed that she did well. I could tell that she will be back next year. I could almost see in her eyes she was planning her revenge mere hours after she was shuttled back to the venue. The look I had last year.

Pipestone is the lower part of the course. In the winter it is where we go to ride. It is hot and dry. It is like a desert, Tinker called it a desert. This is where I almost cracked. I didn’t want to go on but somehow I just kept going. At times the sand was so soft I had to walk my bike. Sand slogging I call it. The sun was intense and I felt like my exposed skin was frying like bacon in a frying pan. The sand underfoot was so hot it was baking my feet inside my shoes. I just kept drinking Carbo Rocket even though I felt that any moment I was going to throw up. Then I got internal chills. I imagine myself falling to my knees first and then just going down face first. I was going to become vulture food. Plus I just knew this would be a cramp fest once I got on my bike again.

It seemed like an eternity until I finally reached the 50 mile checkpoint. As I approached I contemplated quitting. Maybe I am just wasting a good life span. I am finally starting to realize that the cloud of a bad job has lifted. I feel great at the new job. Just yesterday I went across the street to a store that is just like the Good Food Store and had some chicken curry soup. I sat there eating and looking out
at the mountains thinking how cool things were. I started to feel like I had arrived. And now that i was entering the start finish area to complete 50 miles I started to hear cheers.  No way I was going to quit. I was only 50 miles away from finishing.

I finally did start cramping but a quick dose of endurolytes held them at bay. The last 50 miles was uneventful as i just continued on at my sustainable pace. I started to feel better just as a storm came in and dumped some cold rain on us. That felt so good. The more I rode towards the finish the better I felt. Another 100 miles and I would have this race in the bag. Darn short races 😉

I have been doing this race for so long that everyone knows me and the last aid stations were like going along visiting family on a long road trip. Next thing I know … I was done. It felt good to put in a solid effort but not to the point of burying myself. Sure I almost died in the desert but overall I feel that I could of gone and been up there with the leaders, maybe even set the course record myself.

But I held back a schooch and now I leave tomorrow for my second hundie in two weeks. This one promises to be just as grueling. You never know … maybe the  Butte 100 whipped me into shape.

3rd place in my 5th Butte 100.

• 2007 – 07:25:30 (Old Course)
• 2008 – 9:49:50
• 2009 – 10:52:35
• 2010 – 11:27:36
• 2011 – 10:29:31

Paul asked, “So what are you doing for exercise” after a nice Thai Salmon Wrap dinner late Monday afternoon.

“Anything”, I responded.

“Bike?”

“Yea, sure.”

And so we met up last night and while laying around in the grass decided upon University Beacon. It took us 3 hours and it was a spirit healing experience. As I rode along I felt more and more at home in the saddle. More and more like a human again. More and more at the right place, the right time, the right friend.

Side note: I just read one of my best post called “Bleeding For Us”.

We met up with Ed and Laurie out for a recovery spin. “Where are you going?”

“We just did the Deer Creek Sneak. Just something easy. I feel pretty exhausted”, Ed responded. “What about you guys?”

“University Beacon.”

“Holy Crap!!!”

On top we said hello to Marcy and braced against the high winds to descend the ridge. It was like landing a plane at night. Truly spectacular. If you have ever descended this ridge then you will know about the headwall. Yep, we both made it down.

I was real impressed with Paul. Not surprised, no. He once bombed down Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks when the snow was still on the mountain. Since then I am not surprised. We will have to post the video one day.

I wonder what is in store for today?

I know this promoter of a large endurance race who put himself out there for the better of our sport (doesn’t matter which sport). He was sued by other promoters and has never really made a huge profit from his efforts.  When talking about it he mentioned that he has “bled big time”.

I believe that all the bleeding is not in vein (no pun intended). Without blood our sport is finished.

This promoter bled and put on the World 24 Solo Championships. This attracted people to try the sport and found a part of themselves, their very soul, at these races that they could not explain except they knew their lives were different from the time they finished one event.

My friend brought a little of this blood to Montana and started the Butte 100 and the 8 Hours of labor. He put a lot of blood into it and he started to bleed in much the same way.

But the flow of blood did not stop there, many came and bled at the events and soon felt the need to do the ultimate test and reach as high as they could. This could only be done by following the blood trail back to the source, the World Solo Championships.

So a band of men went to Canmore and brought back with them all the blood that was bled out. Then they left it there. They laid it down for 24 hours and overcame all the obstacles. They found life a little different from that moment on.

I don’t know if it really can be called bleeding because it never left the system, it never left the sport. Your blood makes a difference in all our lives so thanks for your sacrifice.

The emails are rolling in so I will make this statement.  I have not even unpacked yet and cant believe that I am back home, in the grind again.

If you mean the race weekend, it was fantastic. Coming sometime in the future will be the photos/video and one can judge for themselves. The race was REAL short.  I finished in 1:19! It was a 9 mile climb and then we descended back to town.  The course was so scenic I couldn’t race. 

I went up the next day for a 4 hour ride and went through all the cool stuff, mines, scenes, trails, and mountains.  I finished coming out in a box canyon … it was awesome. The town was awesome, we were like rock stars.  The town reserved the city park for us to camp in for free and we did what we wanted.  A great weekend!

This morning I awake from numerous dreams none of which I can remember. Yesterday I had vertigo after a morning ride. I can say this. It wasn’t the ice cream I had right after breakfast. lol. Why because I ate the rest of it last bight before bed and this morning I feel fine. I do feel a little ruff from the extreme activities from last week and last weekend in particular.

Lightening rod

Hike

Climb

Storm

Rock

Burn

Me

Getting water

Ridges

Last Sunday I climbed Warren Peak in the Pintlars with Paul, Ethan, and another guy. I cant remember his name but I do know he used to work in Denali National Park in Alaska. The hike was strenuous and long … around 10 hours. The day before I did a very strenuous bike ride. I did Mount Dean Stone. In my attempt I ran amuck and got lost. I had to hike a bike up Mitten Mountain before riding the ridge over to Dean Stone. Very strenuous activity.

I have most of my bills paid off and CITI along with MBNA are completely paid off. The VW loan (my car) is under 10,000 along with back child support. So I should be sitting pretty. My only tarnishes are my student loan and this computer load from Best Buy. I must pay off Best Buy before one year but for now it is no interest. Now I just have to find a job.

Well today I hope to get out to do the Wallman trail out at the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area. Yesterday i took Paul riding out there and we saw a bear crossing the wetlands high up in the corridor. That was before we flatted twice getting to. Last night I met up with him and his family Niko and Lucy for some pizza and bowling. I started to have fun but after a beer started to feel angry and resentful. I don’t know why. Well I am starving and I cant remember my dream last night so I better sign off.

Anyway I am back and here is my recollection:

Monday — Today I left at 6 AM to hop on a plane to Phoenix Arizona. I left Marcy at the Snowflake kennel last night. I miss her already. (In Phoenix) I met a real interesting woman this morning and we talked before we boarded and when we got here to Phoenix we went to lunch together. We have a lot of things in common. I hope to run into her again someday. (In L.A.) Well here I am in Ontario, CA and I have to go get a rental car. It is all new to me. (In Barstow, CA) … wow, I am out in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It is pretty cool. Well not cool, I went down from my motel (Super 8) and it was so hot I almost didn’t make it back. Well … it wasn’t that bad, actually I enjoyed it. I am hoping to meet up with my contact. I had to leave a message for him. Can’t use the calling cards or Internet out here. Jesus, what am I going to do?

Tuesday — Went to Fort Irwin, wow very impressive. I like the ”Tank Crossing“ sign. Lol. Work went well, although there is some pretty mindless steps I cant remember. Mindless work … how exhausting. We all went out to a place called Carrows Restaurant. It was like a Denny’s. After that we went to a bar and did some darts and karaoke. Got drunk, sang out loud, and had a good time.

Wednesday — More mindless work. With a hang over! Getting real hot here in the desert. I love it. It is so cool here. Got into a little tiff with the guy in charge out at the training center. He pulled me to the side and asked me what my purpose was and what I was doing besides wasting his money. I was just about to tell him to fuck off when a co-worker saved me. After work we all went to Rositias, a real good Mexican restaurant. It was yum, yum!

Thursday — Yep, more mindless work. I really like working with this crew and I am having a blast. Although we could use some excitement! Tonight we went to Idle Spurs Restaurant. I had a huge steak and saut