Eileen Swanson's Tales

At the start of the race, Reid seemed excited and pretty nervous too. I was super excited for him! As the day went on, Reid looked so strong and so happy to be out there. I loved seeing him, running next to him on some climbs to give him what he needed, and to of course keep encouraging him. I loved crewing, it was so much fun, but tons of work. We had to make sure to give Reid the right amount of calories and liquids throughout the day and night! We would drive a couple of miles ahead of him during the day but at night (beginning at 5:30PM) we had to follow directly behind him. This was tough at first, as we were following going anywhere from 5-40 mph, depending on the terrain, and had to be directly behind Reid. It is definitely a job you have to be very focused on and wide awake for, even at 2AM.

I was so proud of Reid seeing him conquer some of the toughest climbs I have ever seen. One of the climbs went on for 20 miles at 10-13% grade into a severe headwind. I watched a couple of really strong veteran riders struggle so bad trying to make it up. I swear I couldn’t stand in one place without the wind blowing me all over the place. And I was just standing there. CRAZINESS! It was that STRONG of a headwind! Reid’s dad was awesome and drove alot of the time, while I navigated and ran out of the car each time we had to hand Reid a drink, food, or more clothing. By midnight, we were all starting to get just a little tired. We were up and ready to go by 5AM that morning. So, it was non stop action since that time. By 3AM, I could tell that Reid was starting to get a little fatigued. How could he not? He was still climbing and it was still windy out AND he had already been riding since 7AM!!

It was so cool watching him ride so strong through so many tough miles, and also so cool to see him come out of the lows he had faced on some of the climbs. I could tell by 4AM that he was starting to struggle a bit more. I knew that this was going to be so tough and that he would face unfamliar territory after 200 miles. He had flown through the first 200 miles in 10 hours and was hydrating and fueling great. So, we were very optimistic and encouraged that he went through the next 100 miles looking good. But at 4AM, he hit a serious low. His body started to shut down. We encouraged him as much as we could and he bravely pushed on. By 5AM it was starting to look tougher and tougher. All we could do was keep fueling him and telling him that he would feel better after the he crested the top of this climb. He was in good sprit, but I could just tell and see how bad he was feeling.

By mile 375 and 24 hours into the race, Reid had hit the worst of his lows and his body basically said no more! Reid sat in the car, tried to warm up a bit, closed his eyes to see if he would feel better, but it was just not going to be his day. He had already climbed over 20,000 ft, rode 375 miles, and hadn’t slept in 24 hours. I kept encouraging him and telling him how proud I was of how far he had gone and he just looked at me with ‘this look” and said I really am done, really I am.” It was so hard to see him look so tired, so beat, and so sad. I just kept trying to tell him how awesome he did and how this was by far the toughest race ever and how proud he should be of going this far! He knew this was the furthest he had ever ridden and the most he has ever climbed but of course it always hurts not to meet your goals.

We headed to the next checkpoint to tell the race officials we were out. It sucked and I know it hurt Reid to tell them, but it was reality on this day. We drove Reid’s dad back to LA and then we headed to our hotel. After 28 hours of being awake, we were finally at our hotel for a much needed shower and nap. We slept for the next 8 hours straight!

I’ll keep cheering Reid up and giving him all the love and encouragement he needs. I know he will be so much stronger in everything he does now, after accomplishing a brutal 375 miles of this seriously incredible race.

Congratulations to all of those that finished the 508, especially Carlo and Billy. You are all so amazing!!!

Cheers,
E