Continuing the series on suffering Team Member Mike “the Spike” Piker sends us these reflections from Oregon…

Well, I survived my third and toughest Cream Puff 100 Race and thought I would send out some details to my friends and family.

This year was the toughest by far for me. Don Pearson, the race coordinator, told me at the finish line that this race was the toughest since the first CCP100 in 1995 when only 3 of 19 racers finished. This year the enemy was not the approximately 19000 vertical, the high speed descents or bike mechanical issues. The real enemy was the heat.

The race was an exercise in survival for most racers. It was evident to me by mile 40 that I would have to give up my hope of placing in my division and just focus on finishing.

Up to this point I had been feeling well and was pushing a steady strong pace that I felt I could maintain. As I climbed toward aid 3 near the summit loop I could feel the heat sapping my energy. I reached aid 3 and noticed several racers sitting around in shady spots pouring ice water over their heads and looking wasted. Personally, I felt the same as they did but figured that I could feel crappy at the aid station or feel crappy making forward progress. I chose the latter. However, I was almost in disbelief that I felt so bad and was only 40 miles into a 100 mile event.

I descended to Aid station 2 where Meagan and Stacy (my sister) were crewing for me and two other racers from Jackson (Jay and Tracy Petervary). They helped me refill fluids and got me some solid food (i.e. banana and Orange slices) before I took off to complete the descent to Aid 1 to finish the first 65 mile lap.

The volunteers at aid 1 were handing out a hose with a sprinkler head to all racers so they could soak down and lower their core temps. I was very thankful for this because I was sweating profusely and hadn’t been able to cool off even on the descent through shaded areas of the forest. One of the volunteers mentioned that it was 95 in the shade.

The hardest part of the race was ahead. The main climb from Aid 1 to Aid 2 is approximately 2500 vertical over 8 miles of mostly south facing logging road. It was this section of the race where racers were dropping like flies both figuratively and literally. I actually talked to a racer on the climb that cramped so badly that he could not move his legs to clip out of his pedals. His legs seized and he could only watch in despair as he fell off to the side unable to move. I also experienced some cramping but was able to dismount the bike and walk them off.

When I left Aid 1 I took three 20oz water bottles. With still over a mile left to Aid 2 I had about two sips left in my last water bottle and was wishing I had taken a fourth bottle. In 8 miles I had consumed 60 oz of water and about a dozen electrolyte pills. What had been a middle ring easy climb during the morning was now a slow arduous little ring grind. Throughout the climb I kept noticing numerous racers coming down the road in the opposite direction. I knew that all of these racers were DNF’ing (Did Not Finish). In a strange or twisted way this gave me extra will power to keep going. I was not about to join the stream of racers that would have a big DNF next to their name at the finish. I finally reached Aid 2 where Meagan and Stacy were waiting. I decided to go with a camel back so I could carry extra water. After the previous climb I knew that to run out of water was a sure DNF and did not want to take the chance. I also knew that if I made it through the next climb to Aid 3 I would finish the race for sure.

The climb to aid three was almost as bad but by that time I had further slowed my pace and started taking in more water. It was on this climb a couple hours earlier that fellow team mate, Jay, blew up. He vomited twice but was able to pull it together and make it to aid 3 where he was iced down for approximately 45 minutes. He recovered from this and went on to take 8th overall with a finish time of about 11:30. Amazing!

I completed the second top loop and made it down to aid 2 to see my faithful crew again. I was feeling terrible but now knew I would make the finish barring any bad wrecks or mechanicals.

Few words can describe the pain, exhaustion and actual exhilaration I felt on that final push to the finish. Those of you who have done these races or have run marathons or simply have pushed beyond personal physical limits can understand.

I crossed the finish exhausted and in rough shape but with high spirits. My finish time was approximately 13hrs 20minutes. Not near my goal but good enough to earn 5th place in my bracket and 34th overall out of 120 starters.

Special thanks go to Meagan and Stacy. They were my motivation and my means to completing this race. Without them I would not have finished.

A few Race Tidbits and observations:
- Tracy recorded 101F on her bike computer. I believe actual temps were higher on some sections of the exposed climbs.
- Approximately 50 – 60% of the race starters did not finish.
- I consumed 430 oz of fluid during the race and urinated once. It was bright yellow almost orange indicating I high level of dehydration.
- Hammer Products did not work at all. I abandoned them early on in favor of ice water, Ice gu2o, water melon, banana, orange slices and pretzels
- I consumed approximately 40-50 endurolytes
- The Yeti performed flawlessly. My bike set up was spot on.
- An experienced and caring crew is invaluable.
- Tracy was DNF but did not quit. She did not have enough time to the cutoff to complete the top loop. She was strong and without doubt could have finished.
- There are no finer aid stations and volunteers than those at the Cream Puff. Of all races in which I have participated these are the best.
- Temperate Rainforests can at times be more tropical than temperate.
- And finally…Never ever Quit!

Mike