PEARCE ULTRACYCLING
  • Home
  • Story
    • My Story
    • GABA Talk
    • UA Cycling Talk
    • Press
  • Crew
    • RAW 2020 Crew
    • Hoodoo 2019 Crew
    • RAW 2019 Crew
    • Crew Photo Gallery
    • Equipment
  • Blog
  • Racer Bio
  • Race Planning
    • RAW 2021 >
      • Schedule
      • Segment Summary
      • Cue Sheets
      • Hull Canyon-Jerome Cue Sheet
    • Silver State 508 2021
    • RAAM 2022
    • Previous Races >
      • Hoodoo 500 2019 >
        • Timesheet
        • Highway Milesposts
        • Support Plan
        • Support Rules Summary
      • RAW 2019 >
        • Segment Summary
        • Schedule
        • Required Reporting
        • Support Vehicles
        • Timesheet
        • Helpful Links
        • RAAMHQ2019 Access

Sunsets and a Durango Sunrise

12/11/2018

0 Comments

 
"When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle."
​~Elizabeth West, Hovel in the Hills
Picture
Picture Rocks at sunset on my evening bike commute.
As observed by Elizabeth West in Hovel in the Hills, the bicycle is a truly remarkable, efficient, and optimized machine.  On a bicycle, a fit human can cross the country in less than 8 days or complete RAW in under 3 days, sprint in the velodrome at speeds over 50 mph, and descend mountain passes at even faster speeds.  All on a machine that weighs less than 18 lbs.  Sunset and twilight are equally pure and beautiful.  To be able to enjoy them both at the same time is really special.
I've commuted by bike for most if not all of my professional life--nearly 30 years now.  Each sunrise and sunset is special.  Each is different.  Each is more special while riding a bike.  Even on a cloudless day, daylight gives way to the subtle hues of twilight, then darkness.  As an astronomer, I've always enjoyed twilight as daylight fades and reveals the wonders of the heavens.  During RAW, I'll likely see three sunsets.  If all goes well, the first evening sunset should be rolling into Brawley CA--welcome relief from what will likely be 105 F heat in the desert.   Sunset on day two will be near Prescott AZ, with the climb to Mingus Summit and descent down Hull Canyon into Jerome taking place during evening twilight.  Sunset on day three should be somewhere between Tuba City and Monument Valley.   Looking at the time sheet, it's most likely that Monument Valley will be under the full moon.
Perhaps most exciting about RAW is that my third sunrise on the bike should be somewhere between Cortez CO and Durango, perhaps near Mesa Verde, making the 44 mile "sprint" for the finish.  I bet that will be a memorable sunrise.
Day 31, 181 days, 16 hours to RAW 2019.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Eric Pearce

    ​My interest in ultracycling dates back when I first started seriously riding a bike in college in the early 1980s. This is my RAAM story preparing to compete in the Race Across the West in 2020 and RAAM 2021.

    Archives

    April 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018

    Categories

    All
    Nutrition
    Race Report

    Picture
    Picture
Picture

Picture
  • Home
  • Story
    • My Story
    • GABA Talk
    • UA Cycling Talk
    • Press
  • Crew
    • RAW 2020 Crew
    • Hoodoo 2019 Crew
    • RAW 2019 Crew
    • Crew Photo Gallery
    • Equipment
  • Blog
  • Racer Bio
  • Race Planning
    • RAW 2021 >
      • Schedule
      • Segment Summary
      • Cue Sheets
      • Hull Canyon-Jerome Cue Sheet
    • Silver State 508 2021
    • RAAM 2022
    • Previous Races >
      • Hoodoo 500 2019 >
        • Timesheet
        • Highway Milesposts
        • Support Plan
        • Support Rules Summary
      • RAW 2019 >
        • Segment Summary
        • Schedule
        • Required Reporting
        • Support Vehicles
        • Timesheet
        • Helpful Links
        • RAAMHQ2019 Access