WE CAN DO HARD THINGS

AROUND 6PM TODAY, CUSTOMER BRIAN AND I TALKED A BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF A LOCAL RACE CALLED VISION QUEST.  For most people, it's a once in a lifetime experience.   It took me two times to figure that out...

... it's hardashell.

A feather under 50 miles.

11000' of vert.

2 miles of hiking.

Average finishing time is 9ish hours.

In '99, the heat topped out at 90 degrees just as I was hitting the hikeabike...

... brutal.

There aren't really any races like that any more. 

VisionQuest has been on hiatus due to forest fires, tree huggers, and now the pandemic thingy.

Supposedly it will be back later this year.

But will it?

I feel like the troubled souls who were doing these insane events 20 years ago are a dying breed.  

My first VisionQuest, we loaded our bikes into a U-Haul and our bodies into a rusted out school bus just to get to the start.

Then we stood in the dark, freezing, smelling tribal smoke as the promoter blessed our efforts.

Brian reminded me about the aid station he manned over the years.  He'd be up there grilling hamburgers.  And people'd eat 'em.  They were 7 hours in and famished.  Just trying to finish the dern thing.

Seems more like today's racers think an adventure is a $500 event, with cushy accommodations and cushy bikes and cushy plane flights.

Back then, I gotta be honest, we were a helluva a lot tougher. 

No suspension,
heavy bikes,
multiple flats,
broken chains,
drinking just water,
eating PB&J.

See that paper number plate?

I'm real proud of that.

One, that I still have it.
Two, that it's #4... the promoter would use your finish from the previous year.  I wasn't 4th, but only 3 guys from the previous year were faster than me... therefore I got number four.

Sometimes ya gotta remind yourself where you've come from... those days when you'd just rather quit, climb under a rock... when it seems like nothing has changed, no progress has been made...

... those are the days I look back on my VisionQuest(s), buckle up, and say...

...  I can do hard things.

One thing I know I would have loved back then is our superlight gloves and socks.  Back then I was rocking the half finger road gloves, which are perfect for ripping the skin right off your fingers in a crash. 

I would have loved our race socks with EZBreathe Yarns and FastMax Compression.

https://pedalindustries.com/collections/socks-and-gloves

If you haven't tried them... knows the time.

Use promo code:  HARDASHELL

and, when you buy gloves and socks the socks will be free when you check out.

https://pedalindustries.com/collections/socks-and-gloves

the code is good for 48 hours.

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164.2 lbs 
40 PullUps 80 PushUps
7 hours sleep
https://www.strava.com/activities/4717699151