| Archive for pavedwave longboarding distance longboarding, flatland pumping, cross-country adventuring, boardwalk cruising, and all things skateboarding and good times |
| pavedwave |
Ultraskate VII - June 21st--22nd Summer SolsticeThe next ultra weekend coincides with Fremont's Solstice Parade, which for the past 10 years has been led traditionally by a group of nude cyclists (and a few skateboarders / inliners ) so what better way to kick off an ultra and continue it?!We'll start at the beginning of the parade, which kicks off just before noon on Saturday, and continue the 24 hours until noon Sunday -- in the buff! Painted of course, and fig leafs are admissable, but you'll be riding 23.5 hours of the Ultra in the same suit Momma gave you!! This will be the world's first 24-hour NAKED Ultra! http://www.ncdsa.com/contest_registration.asp?ContestID=414 
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| scooterdad |
Well done! I can only assume from the date that you are only partially serious, at least about the full 24 hours in the birthday suit thing. | ||||
| pavedwave |
Dangit, I should have known better... the readership on this forum is too wise to pull a fast one so easily 
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| Winnersh |
Crap! I was well up for that. My stock just went up 15% today which would have paid for a ticket to SEA.
Just a question.... if you do LDP (DO YOU LDP!) in the buff, is the extra 'swing' considered an efficiency? Also, is this an unfair advantage for us real men? Should we give the lady pumpers a head start? For me - I think that I'd need to give a head start of at least two minutes, but then that's just me. Carry on. |
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| model.citizen |
i dunno man, a pair of un-checked double-D's would create a bit of inertia surely! 
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| Winnersh |
Yeah, okay. Fair play. I hadn't thought of it from that perspective.
Knockers vs. Knackers. Each has thier part to play. |
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| skatersjourney |
Surely I would imagine it would be a distraction more than anything. It's all about efficiency gentlemen!
Strap em down but let 'em breathe, that's what I say! |
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| pavedwave |
lol... even I am now speechless, and that's rare.
in any case Keith, if it might make a difference in your travel plans, the actual and tentative Solstice plan at this moment is to "do" the parade on Saturday, enjoy the rest of the day in the beer garden / park, then start the 24-hour ultra early in the morning Sunday, June 21st. the alternate would be to start the Ultra Friday morning and then do the parade immediately afterward -- in a 32-hour sleep deprived daze, likely followed up with passing out on the grass in the beergarden / park. any and all lapses of good judgement could then be explained away by sleep dep, physical and heat exhaustion, endorphin overload, and inebriation. and who knows what clogging the pores with all that body paint does to one's brain. and most important of all perhaps -- I'm not fixated on the idea even within the crew of Seattle that we all need to start at the same time let alone the same day. same weekend, yes. but I've learned from past Ultras that it's hard and sometimes limiting for people to have to commit to a very specific start/end time. |
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| skatersjourney |
I suppose it's only to be expected when you allow the Anglo-Saxons on your fine forum, James! And thanks for the email by the way
So long as we have a weekend to aim for, that's good for me. I just need to block some days off work, and we're good to go. If we had a location people could just turn up to and skate whatever time they felt, it would be rad, but for the last 2 Ultras I've been too, we've stuck to a rigid-ish (for us!) start time in order to keep the pack sort of together and give a good buzz right out of the gates. Inevitably, we do break off a few hours in, to get into our own strides, but this is all based around a 24 hour - if only - event at Dorney. Perhaps we'll have a new location for the next Ultra! |
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| WiZzY |
Here in the Netherlands I'm starting to get some of the active long distance boarders stoked for the upcomming Ultra. Plan is to go around our biggest lake the Ijsselmeer http://maps.google.nl/ (it's the rather large blue blob in the middle  ). It is roughly 300 km.
Just hoping for good weather and no wind. |
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| blake |
nice location there. if i did my math right (i did it long hand because i was in math class) 300 km is about 186 m i didnt feel like finding all the decimals. thats a good distance for one spot. i thought the burke was long 50 miles there and back. | ||||
| AndrewBirchman |
Eh.. idk about the solstice parade haha.. i'd rather be clothed and on greenlake and start much earlier. (like 7). | ||||
| pavedwave |
That is rad! Hope to hear and see a lot more about this course. I could envision people travelling some distance to make your event location if the trail's fairly nice. It would be a dream to do a huge, full circle like that. |
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| pavedwave |
I'll only ride Greenlake during the daytime if it's a weekday -- the two Saturday afternoon's we tried this, we got nailed by crowds that literally stopped us in our tracks. Even weekday's can be potentially sketchy if there are any big events planned. Friday afternoon from 3--7 p.m. can be a total crapshoot, as the sun comes out more, the lake is getting insanely packed. That can be nerve wracking if you're really going for a good performance / real miles versus a leisurely pleasure cruise. As tortuous as the 50-mile unsupported trail can be, I still think that 100 miles knocked out on the Burke-Sammamish during the daylight hours is the best bet. It just takes preparation and training, which a lot of guys learned on our last one. Dave brought up the possibility of instead of spending the night at Greenlake, choose one of the really smooth flat asphalt sections of the Sammamish trail out between Redmond and Woodinville, as the overnight location, to skate it back and forth in a straight line rather than the Greenlake loop. I'm still not completely sold on that idea but it is a valid proposal so I'm tossing it up. I'd be down for an earlier start as well. I started with the 8 a.m. thing from the very beginning, to be quite honest as a personal compromise -- in order only to make it easier for people to show up at the end of the event and say hi or go to breakfast. Personally, I get up around 5 a.m. most summer mornings, and I love starting a long ride at the crack of dawn. This June, I'm going to be a lot less focused on trying to synchronize this whole ride. |
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| Winnersh |
That sir... is a challenge indeed. I'm heading your way in July.... http://www.justgiving.com/bigskatehome Have you skated the Afsluitdijk? (Big.. long ass 20KM "I'm Moses and I'm skating through the sea" Dijk. 
Loveliness. |
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| WiZzY |
The Afsluitdijk is 36 km and not so smooth pavement.
I have a holiday house on the other side so I am going to ride it a couple of times if there is no wind (otherwise it's kitesurfing for me )
If you have the route planned out for your fundraiser, maybe some of us will skate along side you for a while. 
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| AndrewBirchman |
Yeah i guess the pedestrian problem would be pretty terrible. I actually love the burke trail alot more then greenlake because to me it's more fun and fulfilling to be heading to a destination then just circling a lake over and over again (even though it's a beautiful lake). The reason i suggested an all green lake ride was because to me i feel like i can get a more constant ride because the pavement is always the same (very well paved) and the elevation changes are barely noticeable unlike the burke which has drastic pavment changes and some very long inclines. For just a fun ride Iwould rather take the burke anyday but if I was looking to get alot of miles in I would much rather be on greenlake. But i just got my mermaid and I find that can pump MUCH easier and more efficiantly than my evo haha so the inclines on the burke might seem a little less energy consuming. I love the idea about riding the smooth section of the sammamish trail for the over night session! i totally support it. can't wait for this ultra-skate the last one was a blast!! =) |
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| LDPanda |
You kicked ass on that evo! what trucks were you running?
I gotta be honest, i despise greenlake at this point and i really dont want to ride it during any daylight hours. The crowds, kids, and dogs make me really nervous and no one follows the lane rules. Personally, i can envision parking at the woodinville rest stop (idk what that park is named, the big park with the water fountains and bathrooms) in the morning, then riding the whole gilman while its light and just the flat eastside section at night. That would be my ideal setup. The main problem i can see is that technically the trail is closed past dusk but i live right on the trail and theres bikers there all the time (at least on the west side, idk about the east). |
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| pavedwave |
Dave, you gotta clock the night miles and do some early morning / late night sessions at Greenlake. With a zero bust factor and smooth pavement all around, you'll come to appreciate having restrooms at your disposal every mile or so plus the convenience of an aid station where people can easily drop by. Ted and I were just talking about how it might even encourage more noobs and people testing the waters to start their skate in the evening and plan on only the overnight hours, instead of trying to make the daylight skate. Greenlake is actually quite idyllic at night.
I'm not writing off the eastside overnight yet, but I'd want to skate some late nights there beforehand and find out how much the wind picks up. I've skated against plenty of headwinds on the plain / next to the Sammamish river during the daytime, and one thing I like about Greenlake is the wind dies down to nothing. I'd also want to chat some with bikers and others and get their impressions on police presence. It's still a wide open slate at this point, but the 100m-burke-day, 100+ mile lake night has worked out best so far. |
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| pavedwave |
Personally I'm still eyeballing a date around the Summer Solstice (June), which is coming up FAST!! -- but it bumps directly into the Solstice parade weekend, which is becoming an event "not to be missed." So at the moment, I am tempted to take a couple days off work and skate a very low-key 24 hours on June 18th, yes, the Thursday before the Solstice weekend. I'm not shooting for fanfare and big crowds, obviously.
But -- I will come and support other Seattle skaters if they want to wait until the weekend to skate. Just spitballin' for now... The following weekend is a big slalom gig down in Salem Oregon http://www.ncdsa.com/contest_registration.asp?ContestID=404 so it would start pushing an Ultra into July...where I've got the 204-mile STP ride, so I can't be too masochistic and schedule these too close. Also, in case you weren't aware, Northwestlongboarding has rescheduled their 2nd annual Seattle Push Race (about 10 miles?) for that same weekend as the STP -- July 11 or 12. |
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| pavedwave |
Sign up is open! Will add other states / countries info if and when it trickles in.
http://www.ncdsa.com/contest_registration.asp?AccessCode=136838 Cheers |
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| LDPanda |
Planning on doing the enire day at greenlake? Are you going for serious distance or just laid back? Is the 18th a 'rain or shine' date or do you have a backup date in mind in case of inclement weather? | ||||
| pavedwave |
Entire day at Greenlake. I prefer daytime on the Burke, but the toughest thing is you either have to pack all your support food and drink, or organize and rely on others to be stationed at remote points on the trail to re-supply you. And then there's the 1.5-mile push up Stone Way to get up to Greenlake from Gasworks (assuming the purist philosophy -- no car assists the whole way.)
My personal goal is 243 miles
And only if the weather is dry and pumpable the whole time, or at least 90% of the time. |
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| Winnersh |
Poo. On the 18th I'm playing 'Dad' at Daugt number one's school trip. On the Saturday is my village's second Summer Fete in 30 years. However...... on the Sunday is the London to Brighton Cycle Ride.
30,000 cyclists. 54 miles. A big mentalist assed 1 in 10 hill, 4 miles before the end of the ride, just when you realy need it. Either way... I can see something happening on Sunday the 21st. Gotta get myself to SEA. James, if you know any local companies who need International Trade Compliance types like me... PLEASE let me know
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| stocago |
Is Ted watching? (What does webstats say? )
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| pavedwave |
Awesome Keith, so many rides to do and so few days, that's a good problem to have. Same issue here, which is one of the reasons I'm opting for a weekday Ultra. Sounds like we need to get you in touch with a local headhunter now
Nothing sacred about Thursday the 18th so I hope people will think about what schedule works 'best' for them -- my other inclination would have been Sunday morning the 21st and doing the full Burke, then Greenlake at night...still a remotely possible plan if the weather doesn't cooperate on Thursday. I consider this basically a "D.I.Y." planned event. And like I said I'd be happy to skate and bike alongside others if I finish mine on Friday and people are planning their Ultra over the weekend. It's funny, the last two Ultras, Ted called me around the half-way mark, asking for a status update (mileage) -- dude cracks me up. He will not come out of retirement until the 242 is bested, that sucka!! I might not carry a cel phone this next time For me it will really just boil down to finding that delicate balance of going easy on my body, but intense enough to sustain the pace. Last couple Ultras my achilles flared up a bit and sometimes you can work through it, but sometimes you gotta know when to fold. You just never know until the day though, so it's best not to overthink it --train smart, and always be prepared for a little last minute unpredictability.
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| AndrewBirchman |
Thats so many miles! I think you could do it though.
I'm going for around 160-170. for reals this time haha Greenlake is gonna be awesome! |
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| pavedwave |
You'll do well Andrew and you'll probably surprise yourself -- remember too that the weather will be much warmer which is a lot easier on your muscles, but maybe with your youth that's hardly a concern For me its all mental at this point, mind over achilles. I'll be stretching a lot.
Sheldon's plan is to skate-support on Thursday, then do his actual 24-hour ride starting some time Sunday a.m. We've got time to work out the details before then. I'll definitely skate some day and night support for the man! Send your trail descriptions / plans, anyone else around the country or world that synchs up -- I'll post additions to the NCDSA page. |
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| pavedwave |
Chatted with Ariel from the last ultra -- his brother Arnell might be doing this in the Phillipines as well!
That crew is geared up to support-skate on the 18th AND the 21st. I'll probably do more bike riding on Sheldon's skate. Stoked! |
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| fuzzydeer |
I wish I could make it. maybe next year. | ||||
| fuzzydeer |
Hey I may make this after all, I may be able to get out.
I am curious is the event just from the 18th to the 19th? It start a 8 am? I was also curious what the entry fees are. how long is the car ride between course one and course two? That's got to be brutal skating 50 miles then getting in a car just to go skate some more after your muscles have shut down. What do I need to know in order to do this? I'll be coming from Alberta canada. |
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| pavedwave |
Paul it would be awesome to have you down! I'm leaning more toward doing my ride on Sunday the 21st, 8 a.m. along with Sheldon now, after weighing the scales between having a 'perfect course' and staving off monotony of skating only at Greenlake on Thursday. Sheldon hasn't decided if he can get up early enough for 8 a.m., that's fine if he starts at 9 or 10, he'll just need to keep riding while we're eating breakfast and cheering him on. I updated the NCDSA page to reflect this ride starting 21st only. But I still retain the right to flip-flop and do the Greenlake ride on the 18th
The only 'entry' fee is figuring out a place to stay, and providing your own food, water, etc for the duration. I'll likely be hosting Subsonic and his little tribe again. We'll help you get lodging set up if you can actually make it though! My plan is to not use a car at all. My wife would drop me off at Gasworks Park around 7:30 a.m., then upon skating back to Gasworks after 100 miles on the 2nd round trip, I'll skate 1.5 miles uphill on Stone Way, to Greenlake, then continue up there. This means I'm carrying enough food and fluid to sustain me for 100 miles and using the (few) existing water fountains. This has never been an organized event in the ISSA-race-sense. It was originally a low key personal fundraiser for Livestrong and since then sponsors have donated schwag sporadically, for the most part I leave that up to their volunteer spirit, but I'm not actively drumming stuff up. I've also decided against having people sign liability waivers or what-not, again because this is not an organized event -- at all. This is a solo, personal, do-it-yourself skate. There are many intersections on the trail, none of which I have the time, finances, or organizational skills to control. I trust that people will use common sense particularly since the whole ride is on shared public trails with speedy, hormonally fueled bikers, rabid dogs, and toddlers with equilibrium issues. |
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| AndrewBirchman |
Hey you should post a thread about this on northwestlongboarding.com I'm sure plenty of people from there would want to come to this. | ||||
| fuzzydeer |
Ah as it should be... I will never hold you or any event organizer responsible for rabid dogs. Unless you own a dog with rabies.
Are others coming out for the sunday-monday ride or is it just you and Sheldon? Does that mean there is going to be a big skate on thursday-friday and a another on the sunday-monday? Not that I would be hanging out that much when I ride but it would be nice to have some one else there with me attempting to ride 24 hours. I'd rather like to meet you and to ride along side someone with a similar goal to mine... even though we will likely be at different places on the course and not that close to each other for a vast majority of the day, Will Barefoot Ted be coming out for this too? My goal is to see how far I can go primarily pushing (ouch). I have once skated 2OO Km through the Rockies and Okanagan (mostly flat but with about 4 hours of big big climbs and equal descents) I was carrying a back pack and I hadn't slept more than 5 hours in the previous 3 days then I skated 17 of 24 hours. I also had no practice, this was my virgin distance ride. I was solo and I skated most of the distance in complete darkness. as a result I took the downhills extremley slow. So I hope I can double that 2OO km now. This time I'll have a support person, more experience, 55 pounds less weight in my pack, a slight bit more work up training and a better diet. and I dont have to climb any mountains then slide down a steep downhill grade mostly on my shoes in the pitch black of night. But we'll see. having to maintain an average pace of 1.6 miles per hour for 24 hours in a row will be darn tough. I'm no ultra marathoner. |
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| fuzzydeer |
8-9 hours on the first pathway.
thats a lot of food and water. will I easily see the water fountains from the trail? Whats your pace for the first 50 miles? I might have to hang out with you regardless to what pace I'm comfortable at just to learn the course. I doub't I could take the time to ride it before hand. How likely are you to flip flop? If I book a plane ticket to seatle for the 20th and you jump back to the 18th that might be bad. I don't mind people that much. If its what Ted had to compete with last time then its only fair that I have to over come the same obstacles. Sorry about all the questions... |
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| LDPanda |
If you decide to ride the burke-gilman for any length of time you will NEED to carry your own water, there is not enough water on the trail to sustain you. At the very least you will need a water bottle and some food. There are several write-ups on this site about what to pack and several in-depth posts about the burke-gilman itself. The ultraskate is a SOLO, UNSUPPORTED event. Whether you choose to ride with other people is your decision but understand that this is NOT an 'organized race.' It takes place at several locations and often several different times (especially depending on weather). Its alway fun to have people to skate with but many people do the event in their hometowns on courses with which they are familiar. | ||||
| fuzzydeer |
I understand these things but I would like to avoid going into this carrying 7 liters of water on my back. My question about water was this: Will I be able to see the fountains from the path... so that I might know when I am to refill my water bladder?
I have experience riding 8 hours self supported through deserts and mountain areas where there is no water to be found for miles and miles. In fact in the past I have carried my own water in some smaller supported events. I also understand that this is not a "organized event" how ever I wish to attend and to try my hand at your rules and your course to see how I fare against you guys. Honestly I've never hing out with LDP types before. I would love to see first hand what experienced distance pumpers are capable of. I hear there are a few fountains and I was curious if I'll be able to see them. I could mirror the event in my home town, I would have to skate by myself. There would be no witness to my claim of my distance other than a few close friends. This is fine but definatley more tedious. but if I go to this ultra skate I'll get to like minded people meet people and of course see LDP'ers for the first time. |
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| RiPPer |
Sounds like a few people are gunning for barefoot ted's one day distance record! | ||||
| fuzzydeer |
Just want to see how I compare. | ||||
| pavedwave |
Here's a summary of water supply from the Burke Walkthrough thread, the fountains aren't always easy to spot but if you're using GPS, and refer to the pictures in the thread (study it well!) it should get you to the vital stops. There is one other fountain around mile 23 I'll try to add later.
mile 3 (Ti-Cycles, cross street, then water fountain) mile 11 (Motion Boardshop, ask Katie/Jason/Trevor for water!) mile 12 (Tracy Owen / Logboom park, may or may not be functional) mile 18 (Woodinville / Wilmot park water fountains and restrooms) mile 25 (Marymoor water fountain near baseball park, may/may not be functional) http://pavedwave.myfastforum.org/...omplete_Walkthrough_about478.html Personally I would say I'm not really gunning for Ted's record specifically but going after a personal best, as always. My pace is around 10mph most of the time. Also, my new flip-flop plan date will be the day after this one (22nd). I just want to be sure to have some flexibilty in case of bad weather, and the logistics of a lake-only weekday ride are also more simple, if it comes to that. Dig the questions, far better than assumptions!! |
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| pavedwave |
Btw, I will see what we can coordinate with Motion Boardshop, they were awesome on our last Ultra. At the very least I'll probably drop off a pack of my own food at their shop the day before the ride. I'd advise the same to anyone who's thinking of doing the whole ride without leaving their support car at Gasworks.
If you think about it, Motion's in the perfect mid-point location for the Burke, right around mile 12. I know I carried too much water in my Camelbak on the last ride! |
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| blake |
yeah same my back pack was to heavy and when i got back after marymoor my shoulders cramped up and i couldnt move at all with out pain so i am going to probably leave some support stuff like bearings or wheels there if they will let me. | ||||
| pavedwave |
blake are you really bringing extra wheels? i would say at most you should have a skate tool, an extra axle nut, and one pair of bearings on you, that would only be for a bearing blowout-emergency where you lose a nut and your wheel flies off 10 miles from anywhere helpful. | ||||
| blake |
yeah idk i wouldnt carry it i would at mo'bo | ||||
| fuzzydeer |
Hey are there any fairly cheap hotels near the start point.
My wife wants a private spot for us this weekend (if we go} and the only spot she found was like 2OO a night. For 4 nights. I know its a self serve type of "event" so if you can't think of anything off hand then never mind. Thanks guys. |
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| pavedwave |
You might check the TravelLodge nearby, I just googled "Green Lake Aurora Hotels" and this popped up:
http://travelodgeseattle.com/default.aspx Aurora Ave has some sketchy hotels but I think this one is relatively new and seems to have at least a facade of cleanliness I really don't know for sure though, if someone else has other ideas please toss em up.
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| fuzzydeer |
I'm booked I'll guess I'll be meeting all you soon.
Saturday June 20 I arrive at 9:23am I leave on Wednesday June 24 at 6:50pm. Oh man. This is going to be a tough day, mentally and physically.
I may do a few laps by pumping if that's okay with you guys. Just to mix up muscle groups. But It will be primarily a push effort. |
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| LDPanda |
I felt like it might be helpful to some to share what I learned on the last Ultra and what ill be doing differently this time around.
1. Pack fewer 'emergency supplies.' I packed too many extra bushings, washers, bearings, pain pills, extra batteries, etc. I packed as though i would never see another human being for 24 hours when in fact there are plenty of convinience stores and skate shops along my route. 2. Pack more food and more variety in food. I ate too little last time and by hour 10 it was starting to have an impact on my performace. Its important to have a variety of foods to encourage yourself to eat lots of calories, many more than you would on an average day. 3. Remember that there are pit stops along the way. Not only do i live less than 50 feet off the burke-gilman, but i have my car at a turn-around point and there are skate shops and other friendly business where i could have and should have stashed extra supplies. 4. Spread the weight out. Along with packing fewer supplies, i should have packed more supplies on my body instead of all in my camel pack. I noticed that having so much weight up high was a problem at a few points, this time around ill be packing my cargo pockets more. 5. Softer wheels. Last time around i went pretty soft, limes/pinks. This time around im going even softer, pinks/73a avilas. Its waaaay more about endurance and perseverance than it is about speed, being comfortable will defenitely improve my mileage more than being fast. I may change wheels once i get to greenlake, i dont know yet. Anyway, i might add to this list if i think of anything else. I hope this might be helpful to some first timers. |
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| pavedwave |
Paul that's awesome!! Stoked to have you down. I'm glad to see you're staying extra days -- not sure how flexible your schedule is, but I'm planning on a dry ride, so if it means waiting 1 or 2 more days at most, I'm going to do that, personally. Pray for sun, peeps!!
Really great input Dave, I think the thing with extras is to take only one of whatever you think 'might' blow out, and stuff like pain pills I usually just put a few into a small plastic bag. One "must" is carry your own skate tool. I must admit I do intentionally try to scare the hell out of people though about the 50-mile straight Burke-Sammamish, because I think many people would tend to under- rather than over-prepare. The other thing is that I don't put much focus on that Walkthrough link about stops where you'd have to go any more than 10 minutes out of your way to get in and out of (Kenmore gas stations, am-pm mini mart at Woodinville) because originally I wrote that walkthrough geared toward a "race pace" guy who is trying to minimize longer breaks, but I will add more details like that based on your note. Totally agree -- variety of food is the key! Rather than 5 of one type of energy bar I'd buy 5 separate types of bars -- but an important consideration is make sure your stomach is good with them all before the event day... test them out on your skates this coming month and see if they make you run for a restroom within an hour. Some of this is covered in the 24-hour prep thread, rather than the Burke walkthrough -- I consider that also a 'must read' for Seattle ultraskaters and that's probably where I'll incorporate your point about the cargo pants.
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| fuzzydeer |
I brought one set of spare bearings on my south america trip, one spare of each nut and boltand one pair of spare bushings. I didn't use any of them. Not even the bearings and I skated through salt water for 2 days straight.
You guys obviously need bushings more than I would but you could probably just stash most stuff near the start and carry a few axtra nylocks. I wont be carrying very much. I'm an SUL freak. How cold does it get when it rains? Do I need a rain jacket during the daylight hours? |
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| pavedwave |
i hear you on the not using the extra gear. i just consider yourself lucky in that case, it's just insurance. the whole equation is how much risk you're willing to take versus how much weight you want to pack.
for example, i don't carry an extra kingpin on ultraskates anymore. if I actually busted a pin, I'd walk to the nearest bus stop, catch a ride home or to greenlake and get a backup board, then just ride greenlake, knowing that karma decided this was not the day to break records and be good with that. However, on cross-state rides, I'm packing the pin, ready to unmount the truck and fix everything because there won't be any predicting where or when something like that would happen. That's why I think its still pretty smart you had all that stuff on you (even though it seems like a pain) On commutes to/from work i've fallen out of habit of carrying that extra hardware. And just a few days ago I blew out one of my favorite bushings which completely messed my front truck -- but I was just a mile from a skate shop, luckily, although they only had DOH DOHS (DOH!!!) but it worked, like adjusting to a new wooden leg works. Luckily 15 minutes later into my ride these angelic voices start singing, then this white light blinded me from the trail ahead, and through the mist came Panda skating my direction with radiant beams of light shining out behind him --- of course he had exactly the orange Khiro cone I needed in his backpack. But I don't expect miracles like that every day.
As for raincoat and temps I really doubt it will get that cold, if the Farmer's Almanac is any indication, but I'd pack the very lightest thinnest cover you've got. I usually stick with a long sleeve wicking type material for overnight hours, plus having a longsleeve windbreaker, usually all that's needed. I've done one full rain-blasted ultraskate (with Eric, last May) which was actually my longest so far at 208 miles, but that's why I'm basically cured of wanting to ride elongated rainstorm rides in the near future. |
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| fuzzydeer |
So I'm 51 km into my 16Ok training ride today and I hit a bump... mt front wheels bounce a foot away from me and I crash getting really deep road rash and I destroy my fancy compression socks that I got imported from austrailia. I was angry. I had to clean the melted plastic out of my wound and now I'm cold. damn it.
I'm going out to ride another 3Okm and then do a 1O-2O k run but I;m not going to practice what I wanted to. I wanted to dip into the part of the training that trains your endocrine system and all that crap.. darn... |
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| Sheldon |
As James mentioned a page or two back I am a late riser due to my work schedule and Jame's crazy 8 am start times have always... well been a bit early for my taste.
So my decision has finally been partially made for my ride. I am going to begin my skate some time around noon +- 1hr. Depending on how I'm feeling I will begin on the Burke for the first 50 then head to greenlake, or possibly (and more likely) complete my whole ride at the lake. I hope to make the Sunday ride, but my schedule is free if need be due to weather to postpone the ride to Monday, or Tuesday as well. See every one out there soon |
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| Winnersh |
James - not sure if I can make the solstice, however I am considering skating through downtown London in the buff so that I can do my little part.
Err.... when I say my little part.... OH. Never Mind. Please yourselves
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| pavedwave |
That's rad Paul. I know what you mean about wanting to crack out those rides before tapering a little. I'm sure you'll heal up fast. And you might pick up some more fancy socks at our Seattle REI!? The achilles is what I'm nursing the most and it's thankfully improving.
At a decent 10-11mph pace we should be back to Gasworks about 12:30 Sheldon, that might synch up just about right with your siesta-licious start time. Stoked you'll be there, and glad you're following your own schedule, I don't think anyone should get too locked into a funky circadian groove that doesn't fit their body's schedule on a ride as big as this. Depending on how the weather goes if things delay a day for me I might even be tempted to launch a next-day ride around 6 a.m., that would overlap people finishing up at Greenlake. Who knows? We'll get there when we get there. And Keith I would say "pics or it didn't happen" but in this case I'll just take you at your word whatever you do, don't forget the sunscreen!!
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| fuzzydeer |
James, Do you use Garmin Connect?
if so do you have the burke and sammish trails documented on it? I would love to snag the route and upload it to my watch to help me navigate during the day. Whats your user name on Garmin connect if you use it? |
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| pavedwave |
Yeah I have a Garmin account but never got into it. I just logged in again and didn't find any nice search function to look for other users uploads, that seems silly? I'll do a quick poll with the cascade bike association and see if any of them have this, although I'm sure nobody would have our exact 25-mile route, so I'm not exactly sure how useful this would be for you re: waypoints (I haven't tried downloading/using others maps feature myself...)
I'm sure you've already checked this link, but might want to print it out small and make a "pamphlet" of sorts. Feel free to ask me questions that I might add to make this guide more definitive. http://pavedwave.myfastforum.org/...omplete_Walkthrough_about478.html Doing the Burke-Sammamish trail does add a lot of challenge to the day, the main impetus for it is keeping the ride more interesting and scenic. Overall it means the ride is actually an elevation GAIN due to the 1.5-mile climb up Stone Way at the 100-mile mark. There's really only a few spots where the trail can be a bit confusing for the first time, and if anyone wants, we could synch up the evening beforehand and just drive out to Marymoor to check out a few of those points in the trail. If it all seems a bit daunting, we can move to the logistically easier Greenlake-only plan, but we'd want to change to Monday to avoid the crowds. |
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| LDPanda |
The stone way climb aside, I feel like its easier to pound out miles on the B-G than over at greenlake. Greenlake is such short flattish course that youre constantly working while the trail has some loooooong descents that give your legs and back a break. Also the 'crowds' on the trail never mess with my flow while at greenlake, even on a weekday, i have to do a LOT of pedestrian slalom. There are certainly advantages to a short closed course, like carrying less gear, but i know ill be looking to do the majority of my miles on the trail. | ||||
| pavedwave |
I think we can go on a long time about course comparisons if we don't establish the premise beforehand. For the most part I am trying to describe these courses to someone with the expectation they don't want to stop any longer than necessary, and want to clock their very best personal time.
Skating a full 24 hours without sleep helps accurately assess the Greenlake vs. Burke-Gilman effort. I did the first two 2007 Ultraskates solo, and at Greenlake only, and I found the skating and logistics of the event far easier. I believe the main difference you're pointing out is that of boredom. That's why we could go on about this, both being "right." Here's what I would consider some general pros and cons between the two courses: Greenlake-only: - Support stops are guaranteed every 2.8 miles, water and restrooms even more often. - Terrain is smooth and predictable, making average speed easy to maintain. - Crowds are minimal on weekdays, and non-existent at night. - Riding loops can be boring. Friends and good tunes help immensely. Burke-Sammamish + Greenlake: - Water fountains spread out. Food is not directly on the trail, stops at mini-marts cost time and mileage. - Hardware failure can mean serious time loss, or even Game Over. - Terrain has uphill as it does downhill. - Roughly 2 miles of bad asphalt through Lake Forest Park area. - Cattle guards to learn how to ride over, especially for noobs. - Bike traffic passing you frequently - noobs MUST be aware of this. - Traffic lights force you to wait 30sec--1minute when you don't want to. - Climbing Stone Way after 100 miles (sorry, but that's too big an aside to ignore) - A much more fun skate overall. I do agree that the Burke-Sammamish is a FAR more interesting skate -- much more scenic, more adventuresome, and depending on one's mental make-up, it might be a more efficient course. What I see in reality though are people that don't actually train themselves up to this task, under-prepare and blow out half way, or take siestas along the way, which makes the trail a very nice "ride" at a slower pace, but doesn't lend itself toward pushing one's limits. Again, it boils down to the premise and goals. All that said, and as confusing as it may sound, I personally would prefer to ride the Burke-Sammamish all day and all night, and not go up to Greenlake at all. Going somewhere as opposed to skating circles has always had more allure when it comes to distances -- I hope that obviousness isn't lost in all this talk. These Ultras on the Burke are a great way to assess whether you're ready to tackle STP for example, 130 miles in a day, followed by another 75 the next day. However, skating the Burke at night is illegal and with lights / small crowd, I could see the cops cracking down on something unless permits were in place. But that would require support...especially for those last 8 hours when your mind can go loopy. It might be a plan to look into later, although my wife would probably not want to hear about this
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| blake |
yeah i agree. The greenlake ride is a fun ride but i lose my drive to ride if i dont have some one to skate with. If i am on the burke you cant really quit because your so far out you dont have a choice but to keep skating. I was even thinking that i want to hit 100 miles so my idea was to skate the burke twice no matter what and if i feel good after the two rides then i will go to greenlake. | ||||
| fuzzydeer |
I went for a 5k run (I have not been that training much it keeps getting cut short by responsibilities or the injury}. my injured leg ballooned and I think i pulled something in my calf!
Damn Don't worry though I always do these push things on tons of injuries. I'm told it my MO even my SA skate I had a broken sternum for a lot of it. |
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| fuzzydeer |
I went for a 5k run (I have not been that training much it keeps getting cut short by responsibilities or the injury}. my injured leg ballooned and I think i pulled something in my calf!
Damn Don't worry though I always do these push things on tons of injuries. I'm told it's my M.O. HUGE road rash at KOTF, muscular atrophy and a step deformation in my thigh at Rogue, even my SA skate I had a broken sternum for a lot of it. |
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| pavedwave |
It's like one time Sheldon and I were joking that compared to me he's got the supple "young veal" muscles working in his favor Just go mellow this coming week and your recovery will be fast, I'm sure!
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| pavedwave |
Just stuck this together to prepare any Burke trail noobs to the frequent "cattle guards"
Link 1. look behind you for any speedy bicyclists about to pass on your left 2. assuming it's clear, approach the guard from the far left or far right 3. pump the board just a little before hitting it 4. zip across diagonally |
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| pavedwave |
Ok this is the part where I start eating sunflower seeds, to keep from chewing my fingernails off. Maybe it will be a Monday morning ride for me after all?? Hmmm... If it comes to that, I will definitely overlap you guys by several hours at Greenlake. I'm still holding out hope that the showers on Sunday will be "light"!!
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Sunday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 71. Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. |
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| fuzzydeer |
are peolpe going to ride on sunday if its rainy or are we going to postpone a day? monday-tuesday looks promising. | ||||
| LDPanda |
I cant take the time off work to ride monday/tuesday. If sunday is going to be really rainy ill probably go a day early and ride sat/sun and skip the solstace parade. | ||||
| pavedwave |
I know that Saturday is out for Sheldon (work) and he was going to maybe start around noon on Sunday originally, I'm checking with him on whether he can start Monday. Of course the Sat weather is looking brilliant!!
It's no easy change for me to move to Monday (also because of work) but I might even do some flex-work on Saturday night / Sunday too in order to "earn" a Monday/Tuesday slot...so for now, I'm still holding hope for the original Sunday plan, and keeping an extra-early Monday morning start (like 5 or 6 a.m.) at Greenlake as a distinct possibility. Keeping a sharp eye on the weather and will decide on my own plan by Saturday evening, like 6 p.m., and yakking offline with people that are seriously going for the full 24 hours to figure out how much we can synch up. I would really like as many of us as possible to hit this on the same day. F--king rain!!! Dave I will come out and support you as much as I can, if you do start Saturday! |
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| pavedwave |
Nope, the Monday-Tuesday plan is out for me. My wife had some plans for me Monday night, good ones I hope!
So the original Sunday ride sticks -- ironically, this is the first rain we've had since May 20th!!!  I know this date because it's when my BIKE got it's last ride into work and has been sitting there ever since.
Watching the weather and hoping for a miracle. If its a light rain, I'm still game. If it's downpours and soaked, I will still support any 24-hour riders. Barefoot Ted said he'd be out there as well, and Subsonic Scotty is still planning to come up for the weekend. |
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| LDPanda |
From what i can tell sunday almost looks drier than saturday at this point. If its not pumpable conditions i wont be going 24hours but if its wet saturday and sunday i will show up at gasworks at 8am sunday and start out, even if its just for the trip back to my house. Lets hope those meteorologists dont know what theyre talking about. | ||||
| skatersjourney |
Hey everyone - I just wanted to wish you Ultraskaters a safe and productive weekend! Hope you all get a chance to skate on the day you planned to, wherever you all are, and that you come away with some great memories, and hopefully not too many blisters!
Sorry I can't join in on the efforts just now, but in 13 days I'm going to be starting my trek to Shetland to begin that little 700 mile jaunt I like to call: http://www.northseaskate.co.uk Best of luck guys, just have fun and Paul - push hard sir! Much love from me in the UK, and all at Skate Further xxx
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| LDPanda |
In all likelihood i will be starting my ultra at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow (saturday) morning. Right now the trails are somewhat dry but as far as i can tell, we're expecting rain starting around 4:00 p.m. tomorrow (saturday) to continue thru most of the day sunday. My plan is to continue riding as long as practical considering ill be pumping. If anyone feels like they may want to ride saturday as well then i will start at gasworks. If not, ill probably just start from my house. It is possible my plans will change as i will be keeping a close eye on the weather reports tonight but this is the best ive come up with. | ||||
| pavedwave |
Thanks for the great vibes Laura!
Looks like a total toss-up at this point Dave. They said 50% rain earlier, now Sunday is 30%, making Sat/Sun an even split. Hope we'll see you Sunday morning! Paul and his wife will be shooting down early tomorrow, I'm hoping there's a gang at Greenlake Sunday night to give a proper longboarding welcome. And Monday morning we'll do our traditional post-skate breakfast at Beths, would be great if anyone wants to join, we'll head there right around 8:30 since it's just minutes from the finish at the lake. I'll be hitting the Fremont Solstice parade tomorrow, the nekkid peoples crash the party at 11:45 a.m. and the parade itself starts at noon, flows into Gasworks park. It'll be tough not having too much fun at the beer garden, keeping Sunday in mind!? |
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| wafflesole |
Have the best fun, enjoy th e ride. Good luck to everyone.
nat |
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| jeppak |
Aaahhhhhh Fellas!!!
It makes me sad, sitting in Germany, reading the news about the ultra 
I really have to get there somehow in the next years. I wish everybody a nice ride and good weather! cheers, Philipp |
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| 930chas |
Best of wishes to all you west coast pumpers from the Maryland RUL crew!! Hope the weather cooperates and every one has a blast. We won't be representing from the East this time around, but can hardly wait to get at it again. Enjoy!! | ||||
| blake |
I sadly could not make this one because i had to be in the hospital with my grandpa all weekend but hopefully i can make the next one. i need to try out my new bentley LDP its so fun. I hope all you did good! | ||||
| Redline |
What, no details of what happened yet?
I suppose your all sleeping now...
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| pavedwave |
A very, very long (24-hour long) and exciting story short:
Paul Kent owns the new World Record for the 24-hour Ultraskate at 244.8 miles! Just back from Beth's Cafe and there is a small crew of people crashed out in various places all around Seattle. I'll be joining their state shortly. For now, some post-event shots: 
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| wafflesole |
all push? Holy crap.
Congratulations Paul. that's some mighty impressive distance. |
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| Redline |
You took the words right out of my mouth...wow!
And Congrats to all who participated! |
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| Winnersh |
WOW
Congrats, Paul. Inspirational. |
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| edp_swakakin |
WOW!!!!
BIG congratulations to you Paul! AWESOME!!! |
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| skatersjourney |
Paul, I didn't doubt you - if there's anyone who could do that kind of thing, it would be you. I'm so excited right now, that I can barely barely even type. I couldn't even remember my password to login I was so stoked.
Congratulations to all who took part, supported and made this event a magical thing to hear about. Have a beer guys...you deserve it! |
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| fuzzydeer |
I don't think my kidney could hanle beer right now... I might die.
Everyone who is in the know.. the brown urine is starting to clear up a little! and I can't walk at all! hahaha. Thank you all SO much for everything! Especially to James Peters for holding the event and for hosting the website that motivated me to come out here! I also need to thank james for egging me on through the dark hours of the night and of course keeping track of my distance! Forfeiting sleep just to help me stay on track! WOW! Thanks the Barefoot Ted for setting a hurdle for me for coming out to say hi! Thanks to everyone else for the kinda motivation, conversation and helping me with all my stuff... I mean everyone! And lets not forget Rachael who assited my eating and drinking and for biking 300 km to look after my sorry self!! You're all beautiful people. I'm going to try to get more sleep now that I've filtered out some more of the brown stuff! |
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| Batalero |
BRAVISSIMO !!! | ||||
| pavedwave |
I'm continuing to crunch Paul's numbers based off the GPS and manual records kept overnight, interspersed with some awesome pictures of dragons and monsters that Gavin drew. There will likely be some adjusted number for the record, coming up soon.
I also have lap counts for other skaters but I'd like to confirm what they thought they rode and especially whether they did 1 or 2 full 50-milers on the Burke, as I'm not sure with everyone! Please shoot me any additions and corrections to my email address (pavedwave@comcast.net) James: 18 laps + 90 burke - 140 miles + night support Will Best: 26 laps + 50 on burke - 122.8m + night support Andrew: 21 laps + 50 on burke - 108.8m Scott: 26 laps + 28 burke miles - 100.8m + night support Rain: 14 laps + 50 on burke - 89.2m Jonathan Boles - 50m Dustin Howie - 50m William: 11 laps - 30.8m Ariel: 9 laps - 25.2m Jomar: 9 laps - 25.2m Gavin: 7 laps - 19.6m Amelia: 7 laps - 19.6m Sophie: 5 laps - 14m Rachael: 1 million laps! Ride-Supporters: Dave Johnson Calin Schepler Sheldon Lessard Chris McBride John Stryker Spencer Smith |
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| wafflesole |
it RAINED!!!! oh jeez. | ||||
| pavedwave |
Nat, I had all but sworn off Navy Seal Rain Ultraskates myself, since the one last year with Eric when I clocked 208 miles -- which was also all push. (and ironically, my longest one to date) So my wife thought it was pretty bizarre that we intended to push through this one. But the momentum was there, Paul was in town, and nothing could stop this freight train!!
The Seattle side of the Burke-Gilman was dry and sunny, but once over to the Eastside, the trail was completely soaked. For Paul it was never an issue really, being a "pusher" he was going to go for it no matter what. As for pumping, I had to decide whether pushing through a couple hours of this would be worth it in the end. I figured the rest of the day could get better...and it seemed to be working out just fine. Until the return trip to the Eastside, right around 65 miles. That's when I was pumping blissfully along straight into these black clouds, only to be pounded by rain and HAIL half and hour later. 
Still, that was a brief storm. Things just had to get better. And they did! By 8-9 p.m., the lake path was completely dry and I was still fully on track to at least match Ted's 242 and stay close to Paul. Then... the final DUMP at 9:30, which stayed pretty steady throughout the night. That's when I decided to become a part of the support crew
More shots: 
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| jb |
james
50 miles on the burke, montlake->gasworks->marymoor->montlake. nearly all push too. going to go for a roll on the trail again maybe next weekend once i've recovered. gotta get into shape trying for 75+ next time. sucks that there was hail (i was done before it) but great to see such a turn out! |
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| AndrewBirchman |
I did 52 on the Burke. (had to go back to get my water after about a mile in). It comes out to 110.8. This was such an awesome event! Best one I've ever been too!!! Paul was awesome! | ||||
| fuzzydeer |
I think you're confusing the word awesome with the meaning of sleep drunk. | ||||
| wafflesole |
when my life has calmed down a bit and the baby is here and we are in nz, i'd like to have a go at getting over 200. 150 wasnt too bad and i know there is more in the tank.
I'd probably stick with push unless i could find somewhere like dorney where ldp is truly king. Just thinking about pauls skate blows my mind. I can stick to 10mph easily but the times come down because of the rest. I think i could probably up the speed to 12mph but then the endurance of 24 hours comes in. I did 150 in just under 16 hours and we had a huge break of about an hour. my mind boggles with what both Ted and paul have done. just amazing, but it just makes me realise just quite how addictive skating distance is. i love it. oh, im getting some serious mile on the mermaid n virages. best so far is over 10 miles with only the starting pushes. wonderful deck, wonderful trucks. |
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| pavedwave |
The lap counting was not quite up to snuff, so we did a combination of GPS records and my manual tracking from the log book starting at midnight until 7:20 a.m. when Paul stopped. Based on Paul and I coming to our best estimates, then two simple and pre-determined factors of our Seattle course, namely: 1. The Burke-Sammamish and Stone Way daytime = 102 miles 2. The Greenlake loop = 2.8 miles We came to the conclusion of 102 miles + 53 laps, or 250.4 miles total. Once again, Congrats Paul!!! |
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| fuzzydeer |
Wow thanks again guys!
I seem to already be forget the pain and I'm already dreaming of coming back. I got to beat that Paul guys distance record! I actually had tons of fun! and it was so rewarding! I love the concept of a ultra marathon via skateboard! True endurance longboarding. Something I'm going to try to improve at for sure! Can't thank you guys enough (especially James and Rachael haha) James you made this happen, you're a genius! I pray to see you rogue but don't stress over it! |
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| Badger |
huge ups paul, and whats with the smile, you should be wooped and near tears, and is that ted out of the wood work? spoke with james and he noted that a your a canook to boot. congrats and sorry i missed the skate. spent the week in AZ and feared the 101 degree f weather this early in the summer. | ||||
| fuzzydeer |
Hey, by chance did any of you guys happen to see my garmin heart rate monitor? Rachael misplaced it at the ultra skate.
it looks like this : http://www.gps4you.net/2009/compo...armin_Heart_Rat_49a268d78777c.jpg Kinda need it for training was going to use it tonight! |
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| fuzzydeer |
After ted got the record last year he made a post with his tips. Following in his footsteps I felt It fitting I do the same.
#1: Be stubborn! You must be stubborn over all else, Don't be like the mule, surpass him. You must be prepared to teach the mule! #2: Train for an ultra marathon Just as ted suggested, I didn't get around to it this time, if you're like me and you can't get the training in, do as I did and revert back to tip #1. #3: Have a plan I pushed for ten minutes fast and the 2 minutes slow for most of the day. I knew what I was supposed to eat and when. When I got lazy and threw the plan out around 3am onwards, I just stuck to tip #1 #4 know your nutrition, Plan your diet really well and know what types of protien, fats, electrolytes, and sugars to use. What stuff can be easily digested? Test these foods during a long training session. I use LOTS of vega products. I find they are some of the best though up supplements I have ever seen. Whole foods ground up into a complete intake of vitamins. Has any one found my heart rate monitor? |
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| pavedwave |
Great tips Paul!
Haven't seen your heart rate monitor but will keep an eye out and post on NWLB as well. And if all else falls through I'll poke around the attic where I should have one of those that got very little use, it went with a Garmin305 so I think it would be compatible? but I'm not the most organized dude so finding it will be the question
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| fuzzydeer |
HRM Found in Seattle! Yay! | ||||