2007 “212 Gut
Check”
Participants Reactions to the Event
Dear Josh and everyone who
participated in this race! The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of
Minnesota and the
James J. Fennell
Director
CCFA
651-917-9347
jfennell@ccfa.org
I
would like to thank Josh for putting this great event together. I
definitely need to thank the Crank Brothers for inviting me to participate in
the ride, and an opportunity to gather some pledges for the Crohn’s
& Colitis Foundation.
I
have a new appreciation for all those in this sport! This was my 2nd
time on a road bike, and ironically the1st was in high school riding ND to NE
in a week almost 20 years ago. The 212 ride was extremely
challenging! Special thanks to Dan who assisted me with the shifting
process and my team for motivation. The reward however was so much
greater than chanlenges; the fellowship, open road, and a chance to stay
up all night long eating bagels. I am so impressed at the drive to
accomplish such a feat!
"Far
better it is to Dare Mighty Things...than to...live in the gray twilight that
knows not victory nor defeat." --- Theodore Roosevelt
Thanks
again,
Jim,
I concur. The grassroots
event that Josh has put together was fantastic. I think the thing that I
enjoyed the most was the purity of the event. It was a bunch of guys who
like to ride and wanted a challenge, coming together for a good cause.
Some bigger events lose these simple elements in all the other rules, marketing
and complications in managing a bunch of volunteers. This event was
simply good hard riding for a great cause.
Thanks to Josh for all his work in
putting the event together and good luck to the CCFA in helping people with
Crohn’s and Colitis.
Also, thanks to all the other riders
and support vehicles. Everyone got along great and everyone was pulling for one
other which made for a real enjoyable event.
Looking forward to next year.
very
well said...
...you're
inspiring me to consider
'next
year'...
and
to get back in the saddle
...soon...!
indeed,
timely, well spoken words--
thanks!
Thanks Josh for all the work
you put into this race. It was the hardest 36 hours of riding I ever
experience. I can’t think of any 36 hours on RAAM that matched this
experience….it truly was a gut check.
Boy what a ride! I slept
11 hours last nite, the longest since I was a teenager. I'm attaching
acouple of pictures. Picture one & two is of Troy Erlandson who was
caught napping in his makeshift shelter before the start of the race. The
"hay for sale" photo has Dave Ostlund in the background. Just
some other comments, my watch which is water proof for a dept of 20 meters, now
has a fog of condense water on the inside len. Just how wet was
it? You know the small hole that dish wheels have in
the rim, anyway as I was cleaning my bike today, I had water poured out of this
hole.
Reality Check rider
Josh, Thanks for organizing the
event, my intentions were to try and finish within the 48 hrs, maybe another
year of training? Regardless the route, the race and more important the reason
gave everyone a ride to remember, don't change a thing.
Later,
Everyone. I've enjoyed
reading all of your comments. I was also on the leap frog team
(litterally leaping frogs for the last 45 miles or so) so I can only imagine
what it was like for those attempting to ride it all on their own. I'm
more of a runner and haven't done a lot of biking so I wasn't sure what Blake
got me into. It turned out to be a great experiance. Thank you Josh
of putting it together and giving us all that opportunity to challange
ourselves.
Adding to Dan's list of horribles - that detour and the extra miles that it
brought - but that's one more element that you can't control - like the rain
and wind. Overall I can't think of anything that I would change.
There was very little traffic to deal with which was great. Highway 212
was a good route. I too appreciated the simplicity of the event.
Dare I say - I look forward to next year.
josh,
i
had a personal epiphany on gutcheck this year as well.
...i
was blessed to participate
and
learned more about myself than i thought possible.
there's
something about the shared suffering
we
all experienced
that
was priceless...
and
i know
that
God can use this experience for good
in
each of our lives!
Our team was the only leap frog
team that I know of. I think it was very challenging and exciting experience
even with 5 riders. I’ve done a lot of cycling the last few years and the
Gut Check was by far the most demanding ride I have ever accomplished (and I
only had to ride a fifth of it). Although I did feel like giving in a few
times, I still knew our team would make it. The weather was horrible, the wind
was horrible, rain was horrible etc... But I wouldn’t trade that 36 +- hours of
suffering for anything. My hat is off to those who completed the race solo.
That took a lot of Guts and motivation to pull through all of the obstacles
that were thrown at us. I’m glad I finished and I (think) I am looking forward
to next years race. Who knows, maybe I’ll give it a shot by myself.
I think the direction reversal would be interesting as well.
Thanks for organizing the race and I hope the money we all raised can help the
CCFA!
Josh,
Thanks for putting on a great
race. I'm disappointed in myself but not the race. Weather made it
tough, but that's part of it. I know what to do to train better for next
year.
Personally, I like it west to
east. Except for this weekend, generally, that's the way the winds
are. Plus, those sucky hills in between Newell and Mud Butte are at the
front end of the race instead of the end.
I'll be back next year, for
sure. I can't not finish this race in the alotted time and I can't say
"someday."
Riders,
I
just want to say congratulations to the 3 guys that finished this race. I
didn't have the opportunity to meet any of you because of a camper problem
outside of
Anyway,
I have a lot of respect for those who finished and for those of us who thought
we could take Mother Nature and were proven wrong. I will see all of you next
year and do this all over again.
Hi Josh,
Thank you for putting this race together. This is the first bike race I
have ever been in and it is not one I will soon forget. I am training for
the Furnace Creek 508 in October and this could not have been a better
training ride for me. My crew worked great and we all learned a lot as we
went. If the weather had been great we
would not have had the opportunity
to learn as much as we did. We drove
home on 212 on our way back to
pictured in my mind a few hours before in the driving rain. Maybe that was
a good thing. It truly was a pleasure to meat the people I did and I wish
everyone the best and "safe riding."