Death Valley, Part One

JDRF West Michigan Ride Team

On October 16th, 2010, I joined 41 other cyclists from West Michigan, and over 350 from around the country, to ride 100 miles across Death Valley, CA to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). It was the culmination of me putting over 2000 miles of training on my bike (actually my FIL's bike) over an 8 month period, all to raise money and awareness about Type 1 Diabetes, a lifelong condition that effects our oldest daughter Emma.

It was also several "firsts" for me: the first time I've raised more than $3000 for JDRF in one year, the first time I've ever done a century ride (100 miles), the first time I've done a Ride to Cure Diabetes and the first time in Death Valley! But it was also the first time I've gotten to know some great families from West Michigan (and around the country) who are affected by Diabetes like our family is. It was truly an awesome experience, that I hope to do again next year.

But like most adventures, it had its bumps and bruises (and near heat strokes) along the way. It all started a few weeks prior to the ride. We were scheduled to be out in Death Valley Oct. 14th - 17th, flying out Thursday the 14th with the ride happening on Saturday the 16th. As the week got closer and closer, I realized I hadn't heard anything about the flight plans to get out there. I had dropped off my bike to be shipped out two Saturdays before the ride, but nothing else was mentioned in the flurry of planning emails about my travel itinerary. It turned out that I signed up for the wrong fundraising package, and was responsible for my own flight. Drat! Scramble!

I was able to get a direct flight booked with Allegiant Airlines, with just a few seats to spare on the plane. The big challenge was that my flight left at 2 PM and arrived in Vegas at 3 PM. The last shuttle bus out to Death Valley (a 2.5 hour drive) left at 4 PM; I knew it was going to be close. Whaddayaknow, delayed 2 hours in Grand Rapids. Strangely, I ran into Kolene Allen at the airport, who I know her and her author/illustrator husband Ryan Hipp through Twitter. She was delayed with two friends headed out for some animal rescue work in Nevada and Utah (I believe). Such a small world.

Finally we were airborne and headed to Vegas. Through a flurry of emails with JDRF folks, I found out that the shuttle bus company would have a representative there by the baggage pickup until 4:45 PM Vegas time.

Flying over the Rocky Mountains

As we touched down in Vegas at 5:15, I knew my goose was cooked. There was no way I'd be able to get through the airport, through baggage claim, and still find the shuttle bus rep waiting there. Plus, I was starving, as the time was now 8:15 Grand Rapids time and I hadn't eaten dinner (nothing but small snacks on the plane). And to top it all off, my Droid was giving me that nice yellow low battery symbol. Great.

As I grabbed my bag and found a wall outlet near the bathrooms (lovely), I called my wife to try and figure out what I should do. I had been told that there was no cell or wi-fi service at the ranch where the team was staying in Death Valley, and everyone was already out there before me. I had no idea what my options were: Was there a shuttle coming the next day? Should I stay the night in Vegas and hope for that? Should I rent a car on my own and head out on the 2.5 hour trek across the desert? (at the cost of $140) I even shared on Twitter that I envisioned myself becoming the star of some cult horror movie starring Rutger Hauer, where I'd be the dumb city guy getting caught up with Leatherface and his twisted cannibalistic family out on the dusty highway.

While I was standing there with my Droid plugged into the wall outlet in the airport looking like a tool, my wife was perusing rental car sites online at the other end of the phone. Just then, on my wife's computer, a Facebook status update from Katie Clark, one of the West Michigan riders out in Death Valley, gladly proclaimed at that moment "relaxing." Woot! I told my wife to send Katie a message to call my cell phone! She did, and it just so happened that another rider had been delayed at a layover in L.A., was about to land (late), and one of the coaches from Toronto and his wife were about to land and were driving out to Death Valley in a rental.

The rest of that evening was pretty uneventful, other than a dark ride across the Nevada desert with three people I'd never met before, and a stop at a grocery store in Pahrump, NV to load up on alcohol and water (the last outpost of civilization before Death Valley National Park). The drive out was nice, visiting with the other three riders from different backgrounds and all riding for different reasons, all while watching the moon eerily disappear and reappear behind ever growing black silhouettes of mountain ranges. Finally arriving at Furnace Creek Ranch at 10:45 PM (1:45 AM Grand Rapids time), I couldn't really appreciate the bizarre landscape that awaited me the next day. And since it had been dark upon leaving McCarran airport, I really had no idea what the landscape truly looked like. And wow was my throat getting dry...

To be continued...