carbon for flats; steel for climbing?

[bags27]

In Steve Born's amazing double Furnace Creek 508, that's what he road:

http://www.the508.com/articles/2002/born1.html

The story is great; the equipment is discussed at the end.

[keno]

I was exhausted just reading the piece.

Does anyone out there on this forum actually do ultras? If my crude arithmetic is more or less correct, the 508 itself is an effort equivalent to about 5 ironman tris nose to tail.

keno

[bags27]

Keno,

I think anything at double century or above is considered an ultra: that's my goal this year (when my Spectrum is ready end of this month, in colors pretty similar to your own beauty!). But the FC 508 is a special killer, mile-for-mile one of the hardest rides in the world.

[oracle]

i run ultras , but my participation in ultra rides has been limited to fast group rides 160-250 miles in length, of which i have done a good many, initially as a low impact way to train for ultra marathons.


oracle

[keno]

The idea of riding through the night while halucinating, not to mention 80+ hours more or less straight, is quite unimaginable to me. Also, that he WANTED at one point to halucinate to break the boredom is something in itself.

I'm still itching to get my Spectrum on the road. It sits right within view in my little study. You and I may get to do our first rides at about the same time regardless of Tom's schedule.

BTW, I lived in the Boston area for many years, and have a very close friend in West Greenwich, RI. Where are you?

keno

[bags27]

I'm at the other side of the Bay, in Barrington. And my first name is, like yours, Ken (last name Sacks: that's the "bags" nickname when I was a kid).

The halucinating, I agree, is pretty scary. Some guys who were doing longer brevets in the Boston series than I last summer were telling me about them: like telephone poles "attacking" them.

[keno]

We have some friends who live in Barrington, the Swaines. They used to live in a home built on the same property and next to a lighthouse. It was quite wonderful. As I recall, it was quite near the RICC.

keno

[bags27]

I checked with the Misses (my social secretary): I think we've heard of the Swaines but don't know them. Must be a beautiful place. We live only a few blocks away (though not, alas, on the water).