Pictures for now...

(Mile 16, still dark on Porcupine Rim)

I'm saving most of the amazing pictures Greg took for a possible magazine article, but here are 3 for now.

(Mile 63, Getting my second wind on Amasaback Trail)

(Mile 103.87, Delirious but happy)

Also, I had some requests for the original link to the promo website Greg and I put together. here that is: http://www.bikeabout.net/Centurion/home.html

Here is a link to the video Keith shot on Centurion day.

http://vimeo.com/7252341

Some Thanks are due...

Whew!!!!!! I'm REALLY tired! But, before I head off for another round of sleep I need to get these THANK YOU'S off of my mind.

First--Thanks goes to my wife, and without a doubt my biggest supporter, Mary. She suffered through the long day of frantic pit stops and her husbands shaky nerves. She also put up with the years of ups and downs it took me to get to this point. Thank you my girl! You are the best!

Second--My team! (in no particular order)
Keith Lay-- From the Midwest too, Keith came to Grand Jct a cross country geek on a Ti hard tail. Now he rides a Remedy and can hang with the best of em. I will never forget the final miles of Flat Pass last night, rallying our bikes like we had only been out for an hour. Keith rode two of the major trails with me yesterday , nearly half a Centurion. Thanks! and couldn't have finished without you!

Tim Walsh-- Tim played a crucial role in my ride yesterday. He paced me from the halfway point out to Amasaback. This was my lowest point of the day. Having his wheel in front of me got me through. Tim is in his late 50's yet rides Moab gnar like someone much younger. Tim, I hope I am half as fast as you when I am your age. Thanks!

Dez Garmin-- My pit Mom! Dez helped keep the wheels from falling off. Knowing she was there to keep Mary on track was an enormous load off of my mind. Dez also is quite a good bike rider and kicks boy butt all the time. Thanks!

Gregory Luck-- Greg is the only one who can capture by camera what I really see out there on these amazing trails. His photography is art. There will be much more to come as we start going through the pictures from yesterday. Greg rode the Moab Rim with me, near sunset, so stay tuned! Thanks Greeeg!

Third-- People who called and checked in.
Mom and Dad---It's so good to have parents that support what I do, however crazy it may seem. Knowing that you called was an instant boost. I got to hear your message on Moab Rim. I love you guys!

My Bro Jaron, thanks for keeping tabs. Love ya!

My other Mom and Dad Adamson. We were able to base my ride from their house here in Moab. It doesn't get any sweeter than that. Thanks for your support. Jim stayed up to see me when I got home last night. I barely could talk at that point. Thank you!

Nic Nelson (said in robot voice, of course) The effort you make to keep in touch means so much. Despite the miles between us, you are my best friend. Thanks for all the support.

Caleb Coleman, my other bestfriend. Thanks for the pre ride email!

Andy Adamson, my other brother, and a Centurion winner a few years back! Thanks for your support!

Steve Langello, thanks for the call, sorry we missed you. Moab Rim lit UP last night.

Jacques Hadler---Jacques and I have both been through some horrible injury's in the last few years. He is the king of the comeback. Thanks for calling and I am glad you are back on the bike, although the fact that you are already faster than me is annoying!

Nancy Morlock--- Queen Moab ripper! When are you going to do the Centurion? Thanks for checkin in!

George Rosangana-- Geo stayed back at the shop and kept things running while Mary and I took off for a really long ride. Thanks for your support!

(Boss) Chris Brown-- Boss thanks for the flexibility in work schedule. It made it easy to time this ride with the Trek Launch.

TrekFolks--

Rad Ross Schnell-- Ross found me along the road to Amasaback during my worst moments. He gave me a pep talk and rode with me for a bit. Having the All Mtn and Single Speed World Champion give you a pep talk is some pretty good stuff. It helped me break the "I wanna quit" cycle. Thanks so much!

Larry Young-- My Trek Rep. Larry gave me clothing for the ride and hooked me up with the right people at Trek to make this ride be more than "just a ride." Larry also spurred me to blog the ride so people could keep up with it online. Thanks for the support.

Michael Browne-- Trek Mtn bike brand manager. Michael made me a star on Friday, allowing me the chance to present The Centurion to 16 of the worlds best bike industry journalists. He also had me on stage in front of all of Treks pro athletes, guys I've seen on TV and posters since I was a wee little cross country geek. It was a humbling experience, THANKS!

My Health Team
Sheri Covey-- Sheri has virtually eliminated the pain that used to wreck my back. I used to feel fragile. Sheri fixed that. Check out http://www.ortho-bionomy.org/

Sara Wilcox-- When Sheri left for Boston I was terrified that I would crash and then not be able to be fixed, but Sheri's "young padawan learner" has kept me together in the last few months. Yesterday I had NO hand issues! Thanks Sara!

Mario Calderone-- Mario has eliminated my nagging foot problems. Last year I could barely walk after a ride or a day of work. I had zero foot pain in my Mario equipped Shimano shoes. Amazing! (Shoe Design! 648 Main Street Grand Junction, CO, 81501----- 970.243.4777. )

Equipment
VIVA LA REMEDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Trek Remedy is hands down the best all mtn bike made! I punished it yesterday. Across Goldbar are chest high drops to flat landings. By that point I was botching landings, but it ate it up. And then on FlatPass, late last night, I gave up on attempts at smoothness and just plowed into everything. There is a section of "adult human head" sized rocks near the end. Not only did I hit it at full speed, I pedaled through it. Keith followed me on his Remedy. We were giggling it was so absurd how fast we hit it.

Shimano XTR rear wheel. The lightest rideable wheel out there. It was making funny noises, but it did not fail me or bend or go out of true. If they would just make a 20mm through axle front so I could run em as a set!

Shimano XT crank and front der. Not a single missed shift, despite the horribleness of creek crossings and sand mixed together.

Dumondtech lube. I only lubed the chain once the whole day!

RockShox Lyrik coil fork. BUTTER!

Kenda Nevegal front tire 2.35 -- Some would say you can't ride 100 miles off road on heavy tires. Shut up weight weenies! The xtra weight was worth every railed corner and smashed into ledge.

Maxxis Crossmark rear 2.1 tire. This is one tough little fast rolling tire.

Well thats it for now. Much more to come with photo's.

Landon

LANDON is AWESOME!! (and cute too)

WOOOHOOO it is OVER!!! LANDON FINISHES IN GREAT TIME- PULLS INTO TOWN @ 10:36pm!!

That makes his ride 104 miles in 18 hours and 6 minutes. Yep, that's my hubby. What a day! Delirious Landon is showered and tucked into bed now. (I think he deserves the rest!!)

Thank you to everyone who helped out- Especially: Keith Lay, Tim Walsh, Greg Luck, and Dez Garmin!!! THANK YOU- you guys ROCK!! (Special mention: Gustifson H. Blakfur and Akasha Garmin -special dogs of the day.) I am sure Landon will have his own special post later- so check the blog in a couple of days.

Across the rim

Greg went with Landon across the rim - taking shots along the way, making some more record time. 45 min ahead of schedule now... a storm seems to be blowing in and it is starting to sprinkle. We pull out lights and rain gear for Keith and LTM to make the long way out to Flat Pass- the LAST trail!!!

Caution! Drunk Man Peeing

After being caught off guard with the most amazing comeback, we booked it over to Moab RIm where Dez and I hiked up with Landon. Moab Rim climb was really hard on Landon's knees- every step hurting. But halfway up he finally said, "I gotta pee!", he handed me his bike and wobbled over to the edge of the trail- He was so wobbly I thought he was gonna fall over into his own waterfall! But after the excess liquids got out he was ready to keep fighting and steady as ever! He is STILL a half hour ahead of schedule!!!! GO LANDON!!! Yeeehaaa!

Landon's BACK!!

After the bonk, Landon was struggling a bit to get out to Amasa bak, but got a HUGE second wind, he is now a half hour ahead of schedule!!!

AMASA BAK 2:45pm

Landon finished GoldBar bonking... so we rushed to get him some food and gatorade. After a rest he perked up and with Tim leading the way, headed back out on the road... what a slug of a road. Met Ross Schnell on Kane Creek road, he gave Landon a high five and a pep talk. :) We're off to get more grub and batteries/lights ready for Moab RIM.

On the way to GOLD...

Landon finished strong from Porcupine. Even did a wheelie down the road headed to GOLD, Goldbar Rim that is. Showing up on time at 10am and heading back out at 10:05. Dez, the bestest girl ever, has shown up to help me support with her dog Akasha. They are troopers. Lots of lube used this stop. Hot Cheese pizza will await our Dashing Rider at the bottom of the portal.

Still Dark at Porky 6:30am

Met Landon at the Porcupine trailhead. IT IS STILL REALLY DARK. He had a tumble on Slickrock- but, thankfully, landed on "a soft bush". After a quick visit to the loo, he requested something I had never had anyone ask for before... some lube for his chest- his nipples were chaffing. :) Keith Lay from GJ is riding Porcupine with Landon, and Greg Luck got some night shots! Off I go again!

4:30 is early...

Got Landon off at 4:30am as planned. My eyes are bleary, but he took off like a shot! I think I will try to get another half hour of sleep before I need to go meet him at the Porky trail head.

So much for Sleepy Time...

OK, so it's 3:40 in the morning. I woke up at 3:00. I was supposed to get up at 3:55. Well, at least I won't oversleep. Gustifson is here with me, he knows it's a big day. He'll get his chance to ride/run with me, probably over Amasaback Trail this afternoon. He was with me in 07 too, when we watched the other end of the day slip behind the rocks of Canyonlands.

This year so many of my friends are supporting me, quite a few will ride sections with me. This should have an amazing effect on my morale as I start heading toward the "darker places" tonight. It can get pretty weird out there, with nothing but a beam of light separating you from the cartoonish landscape of frozen sandstone and the monolithic outlines of distant cliffs.

It's 3:55, time to get up. Here goes somethin.....

"Comandon' Landon"

IT'S GO TIME!!!!!!!!!

It's 6:45 October 23rd. I just got back from the Trek Remedy/Scratch bike launch. What an amazing opportunity! Thanks to Michael Browne, Treks National Mountainbike Brand Manager, I was able to present my Centurion attempt story idea to 16 mountainbike journalist from all over the world. The room was stacked with Trek's best pro riders too. I gave a little talk and explained what I'm going to be doing tomorrow. It went very well and I don't think I stuttered too much.

So, after dinner and some gear prep I am off to sleepy time. Tomorrow I ride!

"RIDE EM ALL"

Landon

A TOUR OF ROCKS...

We didn't get to take our normal summer trip this year due to some un-timely staffing problems. With things slowing down at work we took about 5 days off and did a little touring around south east Utah and Western Colorado. However, our vacation started with work. I was hired by a Pro Duo team as a wrench at the 24 hours of Moab. They finished second. We spent Monday after the race resting in Moab.

From Moab we headed to the little known Cedar Mesa. A place that once had an amazing culture living there, hidden in cliffs and occupying the many canyons. It's quite an experience to visit the dwellings of people who lived 700 to 1200 years ago.

After a night of sleep interrupted by a quick rain that stopped as soon as we got the tent up, we headed across Cedar Mesa. The mesa ends abruptly at Muley Point. One can see Monument Valley, Navajo Mountain, The San Juans, The Abajo's, Sleeping Ute, even ShipRock in New Mexico.

One thousand feet below Cedar Mesa is the San Juan Goosenecks State Park. The river is yet another 1000 ft below! The Goosenecks are what are called "entrenched meanders"

After the Goosenecks we drove back toward Bluff Ut. planning to head for the Four Corners. But, this trip had no itinerary and I had always wanted to take a jeep road that wound below Comb Ridge. After an hour of Baja like driving through deep sand and whoop-de-doos we came to the San Juan river. A steep rocky climb requiring low range 4x4 ascended a rise. Mary and I speculated that the hill might be the famous San Juan hill that the Mormons drug their bloody beaten wagons up in the 1870's. But, the hill seemed too easy to be famous. We drove on...

Well, the first hill wasn't the famous hill, but the next one was! I locked the truck in LOW, and engaged the rear diff locker... Mary didn't want us to keep going, and of course, this made me want to climb it more. But, after much tire squealing and near truck flipping I caved in and stopped. We hiked the rest of the hill. At the top engraved in the rock was "O GOD WE THANK THEE." I cannot imagine getting a team of horses or wagons up that incline. I couldn't get a capable locked 4x4 truck up it.

On our way to the Four Corners we got distracted by a sign for Hovenweep Nat. Monument. I had read about it and had always wanted to go there, so we did.

After lots of hiking our feet were tired, so we headed into Cortez to eat a dinner not prepared by us. A trip to the local bike shop got me a map of the Sand Canyon area trails I had heard so much about. We camped on a BLM road just a few miles past the trails. Sunrise was pretty good.

The trails were good, but add the experience of riding with Cliff Dwellings above your head and you have a really cool experience.

This is what riding would be like if we were allowed in Mesa Verde Nat Park, not that we should be? But...if we are carefull this is a great place to ride.

Moonlight To Megaladon To Flatpass...

Tim and I went up for our last high altitude ride of the year. I had missed the aspen tree's show my a mere two days. Most of the leaves were on the ground. It was OK though, I was in the mountains on my bike. This ride would be my first big test of my hands, to see if a 6000 ft descent would cause a relapse. It was COLD up there. Here's Tim ripping down Megaladon. That trail is as good as it gets if you like desert technical riding. When we popped out at Flat Pass I went on down the trail, Tim called it a day. I finished feeling strong after 6 hours with NO hand pain.

The sky lit up the rocks of Castle Valley on the way home. What an awesome place to live!!!