The Art of Misogi: Aliza Richman and the Odyssey of the VOG

Overcoming Challenges in the Odyssey of the VOG: An Interview with Aliza Richman

In this episode of the Art of Type Two Fun podcast, host Karey interviews Aliza Richman, who just completed the Odyssey of the VOG, a grueling 350-mile bike packing race in Oregon. Aliza shares her journey, detailing the highs and lows of the race, her mental and physical struggles, and the strategies she employed to overcome them. She discusses the significance of preparation, gear choices, and the importance of mental fortitude. Aliza also reflects on her training regime, previous bike packing experiences, and the lessons learned from pushing her limits. The episode highlights the importance of perseverance, proper planning, and the support of friends in accomplishing challenging endeavors.

******************************************

Learn more!

Aliza's IG

Odyssey of the VOG Bikepacking Race

Misogi Studio in Corvallis, OR

Coach Emma Maraanen

Youtube Episode 

Transcript

Odyssey of the VOG w/ Aliza Richman

​[00:00:00] 

Karey All right. Welcome to the Art of Type two Fun podcast. I am Karey, your host as always, and I have with me tonight infamous Aliza Richman who just finished the Odyssey of the VOG, which we are gonna talk about tonight. Uh, welcome Aliza,

Aliza Thanks, infamous. That's, uh, interesting.

Karey is that, is that a negative

Aliza I,

Karey Like you're notorious? I thought that when I was saying it and I was like, maybe I'll get away with it.

Aliza you know, you can't get away with anything with me.

Karey right. Awesome. So we are fresh out of like, not even 24 hours from finishing, um, from Aliza finishing her race. Um, but we are gonna, [00:01:00] so we're gonna talk about all things about the Odyssey of the VOG, which is a bike packing race up in Oregon. Um, and then, uh, but we're also gonna talk about some other of our recent adventures together and kind of how it helped Aliza Prep for the VOG or, we'll see.

I don't know. I haven't even heard of, I haven't even heard what she has to say. So we're gonna, it's all a mystery. It might be a surprise about what we talk about tonight. Um, but anyway, first of all, let's just touch base, like, first of all, congratulations on finishing. Thank

Aliza Thank you.

Karey you. And finishing in like, super good time.

Like crazy. Uh, what was your total time?

Aliza Uh, it was 63 hours and 32 minutes.

Karey Yeah. That's fantastic. And so tell us just a brief snip about uh, what is the Odyssey of the VOG?

Aliza Uh, well, the Ossey, the VOG is, uh, this bike packing race, um, in Oregon. Uh, it [00:02:00] starts in Salem and it, um, is 350 mile. Um, it's put on by, uh, these two guys, Ben and Seth, who are fellow bike packers. Um, and they live in Salem. So they are really familiar with all of the roads, um, especially the gravel roads out from there.

And VOG, um, VOG stands for Valley of the Giants, um, and it's a group of old growth trees that is just west of Salem in the claw forest. So they made this route. Um, actually Ben posted about this route on his blog, which I stocked a lot at the time because he had really cool adventures and kind of gear tips and bike tips and things like that on it.

And he talked about this route that he did. Um, or that he kind of created and he posted the route and just basically went through the Valley of the Giant. So I kind of took that route and made it my own route. And I did a section between Salem and uh, Pacific [00:03:00] City and just did it one way and got picked up.

Um, and we got to see the Valley of the Giants, uh, old growth area, which is really beautiful. Um, but that was just one section of it. So this whole route, uh, goes through the Valley of the Giants, uh, over to Pacific City, goes up the Pacific Coast, um, from Pacific City up to Nit Tars Bay, and then over to Tillamook, which is where the milk and cheese and ice cream comes from.

Karey asks that it is really where it comes from.

Aliza It's where it comes from.

Karey and it's

Aliza Yep.

Karey comes from.

Aliza And the route actually goes right by the factory. And I went past it on.

Karey some snacks?

Aliza I did not. I was, uh, kind of, I kind of spent a little bit too long at Denny's feeling sorry for myself, which I'll go into that. Um, but uh, yeah, it actually goes right past Tillamook and then it goes to the Tillamook Forest, which kind of, again, more logging roads kind of makes your way up and over to, uh, the wine country, the Willamette Valley of [00:04:00] Oregon, which is where a lot of the great pinots come from.

Uh, we kind of went wound our way through the wine country up again through some more big climbs and back to Salem. Um, total stats of this ride. Um, 354 miles, um, and 32,770 feet of climbing, give or take.

Karey Give or take. Not that you were counting.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey And is that the stats that your Garmin said or is that the stats that they said on the

Aliza So, yeah, I actually wrote down my Garmin stats. Um, although I had my Garmin set on auto pause, which, um, unfortunately when I was hiking, biking, and going too slow, I didn't get any credit for that elevation. And there was one, there was, I had, it was, I had a one, a one hour hike, a bike section on Sunday, uh,

Karey crap.

Aliza on a gravel [00:05:00] road.

And I don't think I got any credit for it. So I think it's like I'm missing like a thousand feet. Um, but the stats were pretty, I think I got like 2000 feet more of climbing,

Karey Okay.

Aliza on my Garmin.

Karey Yeah. So pretty accurate, but

Aliza Pretty accurate. Yeah.

Karey Still a lot of climbing. Oh my

Aliza A lot of climbing.

Karey going into this, um, what was your, you had a goal of time

Aliza Mm-hmm. It was 60 hours.

Karey hours,

Aliza So a.

Karey so even with all your suffering, which we'll get into, you basically hit your goal

Aliza Yeah, I was just a little bit over it. Yeah.

Karey hours off of 60 hours is not a bad,

Aliza Yeah. I, um, yeah, I was, overall, I'm pretty, I'm pretty happy. Um, I, I definitely pushed myself harder on this race than any other race I've done. Um, uh, but I still slept, I still got like four to five hours of sleep. Uh, both nights I was out on the trail. [00:06:00] Um, and yeah, still I'm pretty, I'm pretty happy with the result.

Karey That's awesome.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey as you should be.

Aliza Yeah. Thanks.

Karey So, um, okay, so knowing like, so I know you pretty well, but at this point, and, uh, for those who know you and maybe even that have just heard you talk on the podcast before, like you, I wanna backtrack a little bit because like this, you have a few, or you had a few, or you have a few like major events this year that you're like training for?

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey one of which was, uh, well, no, was, um, whatchamacallit? No, not Berkie. So shoot, why can't I think of it? Oh, Leadville was last year.

Aliza Leadville was last year. Yeah.

Karey that kind of started this whole shebang of like [00:07:00] your, like that was one of your biggest events that you've done as far as like racing Correct. Is like,

Aliza I say like the big lonely is kind of where things started. And that was the year before. And I did that as a duo with Deann. Um, which is actually very similar kind of style race to this. It's also in Oregon, it's also 350 miles. It's a little bit less climbing, um, but still like very rugged and out there.

Karey Sure.

Aliza Um, and, but, you know, still took that race, took us 74 hours to complete.

Karey gotcha.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey yeah, so we'll get into that a little bit.

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey what, so I am just making a little note here. Um, so as far as like, so what I'm getting to is like, your training, first of all is like kind of a question that a lot of people like how. especially 'cause I mean, your, your job is a little bit flexible [00:08:00] as far as, um, you have to work a lot of hours when you work and it's demanding when you work, but it's, you also have some time So let's talk a little bit about, um, like your training and if you've worked with a coach and like, what has your training looked like this year, going into these events, um, and like really looking to like, really push yourself and things like that in your racing. Um, and do you feel like it's benefited you?

How do you think it's like shaped you as like both mentally and physically as a rider? Like in especially going into this solo, um, ultra endurance event?

Aliza Well, as you know, I you. I had a knee replacement over three years ago at, at a, at a young age, at the age of 40. Um, and it was kind of like coming af out of that. Um, I wanted something to work towards and to stay fit. Um, so I think it was maybe two years or a year and a [00:09:00] half after that I started thinking about doing, um, that bike packing race, the big lonely and also the high Cascade 100 mountain bike race.

Karey Oh yeah.

Aliza Um, and so, uh, you know, I am not a young spring chick anymore and I have lots of injuries. I've broken my pelvis in the past. I, you know, my, my knee. Um, and so I wanted to be smart about training. So I started working with my coach then, um, Emma Marina, and she is based out of Bend, Oregon. She's a professional, uh, mountain bike, mountain biker as well.

And yeah, she, uh, we work together and I get training, my training plan from her and she helps, um, structure my workouts and I like having the structure. Um, and, but I've been learning a lot. Every year I'm learning more and more like what that structure's like and how my body reacts to it and how I recover from it.

Um, I do have a very unusual schedule. I work, um, five 13 hour shifts in a two week pay period. Uh, I usually do 'em kind of all in a row. I usually will have like [00:10:00] one day. So I usually work five out of six days. So I essentially have eight days off in a row, um, every other week. And so I'm able to do a lot of training in that span, but it really isn't the best way to train.

Like you kind of wanna like spread your training out more. Also, I have like the days that I work, since I work 13 hour shifts, I really can't do

Karey Yeah.

Aliza more. I can't really train on those days. Um, so yeah, my training's a little unusual. I bet I could get more out of it if I maybe change my schedule around, but I've, since I split my time, my job is in Portland, but you know, my house is in Bend.

It's kind of like the schedule I have to work with at the moment. Um, but with that, I think it's still been very helpful. I've definitely gotten faster. My power numbers have improved every year and I'm getting older and my power is improving, which is kind of cool to see. Um,

Karey Old woman power.

Aliza yeah, that's right. Uh, Emma herself, I think is like older than me, and she's still in the [00:11:00] pro

Karey doing

Aliza racing against all the pros and doing awesome.

She's kicking butt. So, uh, yeah, age is just a number.

Karey Exactly.

Aliza Uh, so yeah, I.

Karey what types of, like, can you talk a little bit about like the types of workouts that you've been doing? Because I think a lot of people think like, um, like, oh, ultra endurance. You've gotta just always be training, like these long hour, you know, these long hours on the bike and stuff like that. Like, is that all you've been doing or do you do a lot of like interval type stuff?

Aliza Honestly, I think the best thing, especially for someone my age and with our need to recover is doing more efficient workouts that are shorter and more targeted. And so I do a lot of, I do VO two, I do a lot of, um, threshold interval. Um, and usually my workouts are an hour and a half long. Um, and I oftentimes just do 'em on the trainer.

'cause for me, it's easier to like hit those power numbers on the trainer. Um, and then on the spans where I'm off, [00:12:00] um, usually on the weekends, I, I do my long endurance rides and usually those rides aren't structured, it's just time on the bike. Um, and usually they're like three to four hours for each ride.

Karey nice.

Aliza so it's just, uh, the balance between the structure and then, uh, the, yeah, the endurance rides.

Karey Totally. And I

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey to remember because I mean, there is something to get like miles in your legs and that's where like, I think it benefits us like that. We've been riding for a long time, uh, for many years, and that does come with time and experience, but also there's a lot to be gained in a short amount of time, like you're talking about with like a focused, you know, was it, was it Mariah Moldenhauer that was talking about like her training, like her longest rides were only four hours and she did those periodically or whatever, you know what I mean?

Like,

Aliza Yeah.

Karey like she was out there and she won the atlas, you know what I mean?

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey it's, you can get a lot done for that short amount of time, which I think is really, really almost a relief to hear.

Aliza Yeah, there's a lot of science behind it and, you know, our body is like, they [00:13:00] need, it needs recovery.

Karey Right.

Aliza Um, and if you're always like, just trying to get as much out of it as possible, it's gonna not produce anymore. It's not gonna be able to build. I'm just gonna start breaking down. So, uh, so yeah, it's about being smarter with training, especially if you're busy and you have, you know, full-time job and.

Busy life and you're not a professional athlete, like you have to just balance those things.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza I think having structured training, and you don't have to have a coach to do that, you know, like, you know, I could just sign up for Trainer Road and, you know, there's other programs, Strava or whatever, or not Strava, um, Zwift and they all have structured workouts so you can sign up for.

And, um, but for me, I like, I like the accountability of a coach and also I'm able to like, talk to her before an event and get her advice about things. And she is, she's been really great and helpful.

Karey that's really cool.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey Um, so then you did, so as part of leading up to this, you did a couple, so you did the Burkes. So you're able to train on like, you know, in the snow and during winter months when [00:14:00] it's raining up in Portland, like. You're able to train for something

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey keep motivated and stuff like that, which is like super important.

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey let's touch base, 'cause we never got to really touch base about the Berkie. Like how was that for you as an event as a whole and just like your experience there.

Aliza Well, the Berkie was an interesting experience this year. Um, I, yeah, my training went great and actually a lot of my training for the Burke, because it's still like an hour drive, you know, hour plus drive to get out to the snow and, you know, snow condi, it's all dependent too on the conditions of the snow.

If it's raining, it's not really great to go out. Um, I actually did a lot of my structured training on my trainer, my bike trainer for the Berkie. Um, 'cause it's a lot of the, you know, the endurance, um, like VO two threshold stuff is still the same.

Karey mm-hmm.

Aliza Um, but yeah, so the Berkie, um, I, you know, my training went well, but I got a little sidelined, or not sidelined, but I got [00:15:00] derailed during my race helping a man who had a really bad crash and maybe broke his wrist or shoulder and, um, it was pretty cold and I'd just taken my WFR certification and so I was like being a helpful, like bystander.

So, um, so I got really cold and like that happened in the first like 45 minutes of the race and it was a six hour race, right? It took me six and a half hours to complete it. It's a 53 kilometer classic cross country ski marathon. And I finished, I did it. It was my first time doing the whole Berkie, and I am proud of that as well.

But it wasn't the time that I wanted.

Karey yeah. Oh, but you helped somebody in need,

Aliza Yeah.

Karey There you go.

Aliza Yeah. And I don't know if I would've, I'm wondering like, I don't know if I would've been able to get the time or not, but I finished. So, yeah, it was good. And it was good winter training and it's, you know, it's so fun and beautiful to be out in skis in the snow. So I liked all that too.

Karey [00:16:00] Totally. Totally. And then, so let's talk a little bit about, um, did you have anything between then and then when we did the white Rim trail that

Aliza Uh,

Karey part of your, like,

Aliza no, not,

Karey training. Okay.

Aliza no, just training. I basically, like, I retired from the, the season for skiing right after the Berkie and started bike training.

Karey For the white rim.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey So, yeah. So let's talk a little bit, I wanna talk a little bit about, 'cause we are gonna do like a separate episode, but then this came up soon, so let's just hash out the, the white rim because like I'll say like, you know, so white rim was like training for you. You got a little bit of the warmer. Um, even though it was like, it was really great weather. I mean, we really couldn't have asked for better, um, except for the wind. But, you know, that is what it is out there. But like I myself, um, we, we kind of talked about this after the fact, but like I I would say a moderately high amount. I probably could have done better. [00:17:00] Um, that's life. Um, but I trained pretty hard for the white rim. Like I knew that it was gonna be hard. So, so we did with our, with my partner Patrick, and then, um, our friend Mike, we, the four of us had planned, um, to do white Rim in a day. Um, and which is a hundred mile loop. Um, for those you don't know, it's like 7,000 something feet of elevation gain. Um, and it's. It is doable in a day. And a lot of people do it well, A handful of people do it. And, um, but it is, it is hard. It is taxing. Um, we had a goal of like 10 hours ride time and that we, anyway, so we'll get into that a little bit. But like, I trained for it. Like I was doing my intervals. I was doing, like, I could have probably done a little bit more long rides. Um, but I was strength training. I was like doing the whole bit, um, and feeling like pretty good leading up to it. Like, you know, riding with Patty, he was like, he was like, [00:18:00] whoa, babe. Like, you know, you're looking really strong, you know, all this stuff. And maybe he's just biased, but like, you know, I was feeling, I was feeling pretty good, you know what I mean? And then, and then, you know, you're on your training blocks and like, you know, I think potentially you were feeling pretty, like, we were feeling like, yeah, we're ready for this. You know, that kind of thing. And then. The day came, and I mean, obviously later we'd find out that I was getting sick, but I'm not, I don't know, I'm not blaming it all on it, but it

Aliza I'll interrupt you for a second. Just so you know, I got so sick after that trip. So if you were, if you were just getting sick and Patty was sick, like I, I think that it definitely contributed to your performance. 'cause I got so sick and it was wiped out for like, and it, and I got sick like twice in, in a week.

It was weird. Like I got kind of sick right afterwards and then it got better. Then I got really sick like a week later. It was so whatever it was, it was bad.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey [00:19:00] I had to miss the whole week of work, like after that. Yeah,

Aliza Yeah.

Karey so, okay, well that makes me feel a little bit better. But yeah, so, so basically it comes down to it and we wake up and we're going, and at first we were fine 'cause it's also like all downhill.

Like the first 20 miles we're like, this is going great. And then the business part of it starts, and I mean, I'll be honest, I had a hard time out there. And Aliza rode like a champ. Like we all, we kind of had this like team mentality going into it that like, we were like, okay, like we're gonna pretty much keep every, each, everybody in sight. Um, we're gonna make sure everybody's okay, we're gonna pretty much ride together the whole time. Make sure like nobody's left behind, like that kind of thing. And we kind of trade off who was riding in the front and like kind of people would go ahead a little bit and then stop for bathroom, you know, and all this stuff.

So I felt like we did good job of like, you know, keeping ourselves together. Especially because like sometimes, you know, one of us was having a hard time and then the other one would feel better at times. But, [00:20:00] um, like how did you feel, like, how did you feel like your ride went? Like, I felt like you, especially at the end, you pulled out really strong at the end.

Like you ended up climbing up Shafer. At the very end. 'cause we talked at the top about parked at the top of Shafer, and you wrote, like, you just were like, Aliza won the race. Let's just say that it's not a, it's not always a competition, but it is always a competition.

Aliza Um,

Karey but like, talk about how you, uh, how you were feeling,

Aliza so I,

Karey felt about the ride.

Aliza I think the white rim was a big mental, mental like ride for me. 'cause it's, it's kind of challenging, right? Because it's a hundred miles and it's all like, downhill in the beginning and then you're like out there and it's like you're really committed to the ride. Like, there is like no other option but like riding out because there's nobody, there's no other way out except for going back out the way, you know, you can't really go out the way you came either 'cause it's gonna be just as bad.

So, um, so I, I'll be honest, I was kind of struggling with the first half [00:21:00] mentally,

Karey Mm.

Aliza but I just kind of like broke the ride up into kind of sections and I was like, in my head, kind of saving myself for that last climb, like that Shafer climb for some reason. Like, I was just very motivated to like get to that climb and it was like, not like looking forward to it.

I wasn't like dreading it either, but I was like kind of looking forward to it. It was kind of a weird thing, like mind game that I, it's like I played, I played this game with myself, so it was like, yeah, it was definitely tough mentally, um, in the beginning. Uh, especially just being down there, uh, in the white rim and just knowing like the miles were just kind of going kind of slow and, uh, there was, it was wind and there was some really steep sections.

Um, but I dunno, we were all together and we, uh, just kept chipping along and I thought we were making like pretty good time and. Thankfully, like I found a way to bring as much water as I did and that also helped my anxiety a lot 'cause I [00:22:00] was able to drink enough and I, because I, that's my biggest issue.

I'm not as heat, um, acclimatized as you guys are

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza in, living in Oregon. So, yeah, I think I just like had a good strategy, um, with like food, with water and um, just kind of pace, like a pacing strategy. And I think I kind of suck. I think I paced myself pretty well and like kind of saving myself for that last climb.

Karey Yeah. Well, I think that's the one thing that I've seen from riding with you, like is, is how you've like, learned more about yourself or like, and I don't know if it's necessarily working with a coach or just looking, you know, like that kind of thing of, or like learning. about like how you pace well and like what you need to be able to do to do that.

You know, it's not an easy, it's hard lessons learned, you know what I mean?

Aliza Well, I learned from you, Karey, the master pacer.

Karey masterpiece. But, but sometimes, see here's the thing though, and I, this is what I wanna get into 'cause this is one thing I'm struggling with, but I wanna get into through [00:23:00] with a VOG because like, for me, um, for me it's like, well, we'll get into, we'll get into that.

Um, but I will say that like, um, you did, I mean, well, and also I, that's the other thing that, like, we talked a little bit about like, uh, like either during the ride or before or after, I can't remember when we were talking about it, but like your nutrition strategy and stuff like that. Like, um, I feel like you learned a lot in like the high Cascades 100 and in. Like those long races like, and then the Leadville, like, can you talk a little bit about that? Of like the things you've learned and like how you've been able to identify like what works for you and what doesn't?

Aliza Yeah, I, you know, I, I learned my first year doing High Cascades, which is a hundred Mile Mountain bike race and me Bend, Oregon in July and it's really hot. Uh, it was like, I've done it twice now, and both like were the high was like almost a hundred degrees,

Karey That's

Aliza very hot. [00:24:00] Um, mountain bike, right? A bike, a hundred mile mile bike race.

And so the first year I did it, I had, you know, all the foods that I usually ate, mountain biking, which was, you know, like different bars and solid foods and like, um. Potatoes and like all this stuff. But when I actually was doing the race, I couldn't eat any solid food, is what I learned, especially 'cause it was so hot.

Um, so I kind of learned that like, I need less solid food and I just need the carbs. And so over time, you know, I, there's all this research, you know, 90 grams of carb an hour to 120 grams of carbs an hour. And I realized like if it's um, you know, like a Martin or a Tailwind, um, you know, bottle carb mix or a gel,

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza take in those carbs no problem.

And actually I'm now, I'm experimenting with making my own, um, carb mix and own gels too. 'cause it's a lot less expensive

Karey Cheaper. Yeah.

Aliza a lot cheaper. And it tastes pretty similar to the Martin [00:25:00] gels, which is nice. Not the same con, not that same like jello shot consistency, but Yeah. But the taste is similar. So, uh, yeah, I've just kinda learned that.

Um, if all else fails, I always have that in my back pocket. Now, since like that our white women ride, we weren't ha we wouldn't have that same intensity as a mountain bike race that I am able to take more solid foods when there's less intensity. So, um, but I still kind of counted out all the carbs and everything that I brought and I had a carb goal and I pretty much met it.

I think I was taking 90 grams of carbs an hour during that whole ride. Yeah.

Karey you were able to make it up the hill at the

Aliza Yeah.

Yeah. So, uh, but yeah, I've just kinda learned, and I've practiced a lot, uh, in training. Like I, I, I practice eating those carbs in training. Even when I'm on the trainer. I always have carbs when I'm on the trainer too, uh, because of my, I mean, if my ride's less, if I [00:26:00] training rides less than an hour, maybe I won't have much.

But if it's like, it's always, most of my rides are on the trainer over an hour anyway, so, uh, so yeah, I'm taking in my 90 grams of car an hour on the trainer too.

Karey Nice,

Aliza Yeah.

Karey Cool.

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey Okay, so let's, okay, so let's, so that was white rim. So white rim, basically. So we were talking a little bit afterwards about like, I think it's important to recognize like, okay, even though like, I think you rode really well, um, maybe didn't, maybe mentally it was like, you know, you said mentally is very challenging for you.

Me, I don't think it was as it was, it was mentally kind of a. You know, it kind of screwed with my head just because I had like trained so hard and then the day came and like I said, I, I, I just wasn't feel like, I literally felt like my legs were like lead and like, I couldn't push hard, like even if I wanted to, like, I just didn't have it in me. [00:27:00] Um, and, but then again the next day, you know, the next day I felt like poop and then proceeded to get really sick the whole week. So I was probably, there

Aliza Yeah.

Karey why,

Aliza Patty was sick,

Karey Patty had

Aliza so

Karey was

Aliza yeah.

Karey it. I didn't, I thought I got away with not being sick, but I don't think I did.

Um, and then, well, obviously I did not. Um, so I think, I think it's important to recognize that like, um, it's easy to get like bogged down I think with like the. Like when you train really hard for something, I think mentally it's like you wanna come out there and like have it be your best day ever on the

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey best day on the trail.

And sometimes it's just not gonna happen. Like no matter how much training you do, like sometimes there's things outside of your control that your body just says, today's not the day. And

Aliza I will add a tip and trick that I [00:28:00] learned with my lead up to the VOG,

and which I also kind of realized with the white Rim, that may have been our downfall a little bit. And we've, and the thing is, I've learned this lesson many times before. It's like having that buffer day when you're before doing a big event.

'cause we like had a book out there and then we were looking for our campsite. We didn't find it. We had to go back into town, get a motel, and everything got shuffled around. And

Karey sure.

Aliza we were, we didn't get as much maybe sleep as we could have. It was a little more stress. We all that driving, you know, getting there.

So I think if you were like, if say it was like a race, race and yes, it was still an important day for us. Um, and I think if it really meant a lot to, to perform well in the future, I think it's like having that buffer day before the VOG. I had three buffer days. I like, I slept in, I made sure I got at least eight hours of sleep at night.

I ate, I rested, I drank, I had time, plenty of time to get my bike ready. My bike was [00:29:00] all packed and ready, like a day and a half before, which that is, that's me we're talking about. I never am not prepared. I'm usually like fiddling and I still of course was fiddling the night before. 'cause that's how I am, you know, I can't help myself.

But, um, but I was like basically done packing, like, well I really prepared. Uh, I had a whole plan and I prepared like for days and I made sure I was not working for like, three days before the start of the VOG. Um, and so that's something that I've also learned, like if it's a really same thing with Leadville, right?

I went to Leadville nine days before the race to help, well also because I wanted to acclimate,

Karey you wanted to acclimate? Yeah,

Aliza uh, I wanted just the time. I didn't wanna feel stressed. I wanted to like, make sure I had everything prepared and I wasn't, I. Yeah. Worrying about like little things or, or rushing and not getting enough sleep.

Um, I was trying to optimize my body 'cause like, again, we're not young anymore, we're not old, but you know, we're, we're just the right age.

Karey [00:30:00] They were just the right age.

Aliza Sweet. Um, but you have to be a little smarter, like leading up to it if it is important and if, if performance is important,

Karey Yeah,

Aliza it is to me.

Karey totally. so let's get into then, so you trained for this thing and like I said, like, you know, you had your, like your. Which may have been a key. Was that like a key race to you or was it like a means to an end for this bike packing race? Or like,

Aliza Uh, so.

Karey it?

Aliza I was kind of, the way I was treating the Burke is one to do it and complete a full Burke, which I hadn't done before. Um, but also mostly it's to keep, uh, a different way to stay in shape in the winter, um, to train. It gives me something to train for in the winter. Um, and I really am just kind of still getting in cross country skiing and it's kind of the combo of things.

Just something new and something to kind of check off, a bucket list thing to check off the list, you know?

Karey yeah.

Aliza Um, but I [00:31:00] would say it's more just to kind of help keep me fit during the winter.

Karey Yeah, definitely. Cool. And then you had, you know, this other big event, which is I think also important is like, it's hard, especially on the bike packing races where it's so long, it's like trying to find these like key things that are not necessarily a race or something like that, but like, you know, something big enough to like. simulate that prep that you're gonna have to do and like the, the energy that you have to spend thinking about Okay. The course and like, you know, like all that stuff and everything. Um, so let's talk about like, the VOG and like up to it, like, yeah. So you got some sleeps and you prepped for it, and

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey you like taper your training and stuff like that?

Going into it.

Aliza Yeah, I had a taper, but um, I actually never like, talked to my coach totally about it, but the taper I felt like was a little bit less than I. Uh, I, previous tapers I've had, uh, 'cause I did have, I think my last like hard [00:32:00] workout was a week before it was Saturday. And then I did have like an endurance ride I did on Sunday

Karey Okay.

Aliza which I was like, but I, but it, I mean, I still tapered.

It was still a taper week.

Karey Totally.

Aliza and then, yeah, I really focused, you know, I had to work, uh, Monday and Tuesday, but then I was off Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then the race was Saturday.

Karey Nice.

Aliza So I had lots of time to, to prepare, to rest, to eat, to get all my food and everything organized and to kind of minimize like the stress leading up to the race.

Karey Yeah. Super awesome.

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey how many women?

Aliza There were four women.

Karey Okay.

Aliza and, and then, uh, Paige is non-binary. Um, but Paige also finished, uh, this morning, which was awesome. Yeah. So still finished under the 72, under the three day mark, which is pretty great. So,

Karey Oh, that's

Aliza uh, so the fi all five of us, [00:33:00] uh, a hundred percent, you know, I mean, you know,

Karey Yeah,

Aliza rate.

Yeah.

Karey yeah.

Aliza Yeah. So I thought I was pretty proud of that. Like the men can't say that.

Karey Right, exactly. . And I was like looking at the results and who had finished and then I looked at everybody had scratched and I was like, are there any ladies? Or like they,

Aliza Yeah,

Karey Nope,

Aliza no. Yeah, we all finished. It's, it was really great and I think, I mean, I don't think more than three women have ever finished any other previous years I don't think.

Karey yeah.

Aliza so yeah, it was pretty cool. And then, um, the first place, woman, Emma got third overall,

Karey Whoa. What a

Aliza so she podium, uh, overall for this race, which is pretty,

Karey That

Aliza cool.

Yeah. She's really fast.

Karey For real.

Aliza And she got the FKT on it as well.

Karey yeah, totally. I

Aliza Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Karey So fast. Oh my

Aliza By like four hours. [00:34:00] Yeah. She crushed it.

Karey so awesome.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey Um, okay, so let's talk a little bit about your gear. Was there anything new that you were trying out

Aliza Yes.

Karey or like

Aliza Which, yes, I, uh, was a little nervous about it 'cause I don't like doing things without practicing them beforehand. But I put a redshift, uh, suspension seat post on

Karey Oh, you did end up doing

Aliza Yeah. Like a week and a half before the race. And so I only did a few, like, shorter training rides on it. I didn't actually really get to practice it as much as I would've liked.

Um, but

Karey is it

Aliza uh, it's not a dropper.

Karey Okay.

Aliza Yeah, it's not a dropper. Um, but it definitely helped. I think my low back thanked me for it. My, another regions thanked me for it.

Karey Uh huh.

Aliza Um, I saw Megan, you know, Meaghan Hackenin in is sponsored by Redshift and she uses the, that CO so that kinda inspired me to, [00:35:00] to go for it. Yeah.

Karey have to tell her.

Aliza I'll tell her.

Yeah. Um, but, uh, but yeah, I mean, because I, you know, I rode a hard tail. I rode a, the Y cycles titanium S seven, um, mountain bike.

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza it's, it's a bike that's supposed to be 27 5, but I have it with, uh, 29 ERs on. I had 2.1 inch Thunderbird tires, which it's like a pretty good, like gravel plus

Karey Mm.

Aliza kind of mount cross country mountain bike tire.

Has really good rolling, like rolling resistance is pretty good on it. Um, and it has a little bit of grip on the edges. And yeah, those tires were great. Um, I, I actually used to have my carbon fork on, but I switched it back to my suspension fork

Karey Right.

Aliza this as well. And I'm never going back to the Carbon fork, uh, for the, for these types of events anymore 'cause it's just too hard on my, I mean, hands are still have [00:36:00] numbness, but they're a lot better than they were after the big lonely,

Karey Gotcha.

Aliza I did on the carbon fork.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza I did outer bar ends as well. I added outer bar ends to the mix. I did inner bar ends and outer bar ends. And I, I also got two other new things. I got the, um, uh, tail fin long top tube bag, which was new for me and their, and their sweet roll bag or their, their handlebar bag

Karey roll.

Aliza system, which was also sweet because it has, um.

You know, there's an attachment. Uh, it attaches to their, you know, they have their own attachment that the, the, um, the bag attaches to and comes off, off and on the bag, on and off the bag really easily.

Karey Okay.

Aliza and then on the attachment, they have these accessories that you can put your lights on so it's, they're elevated so that way you can actually actually work, because if it's just on your handlebar, then your bag is usually in the way.

Karey That is my, I have not

Aliza Yeah.[00:37:00] 

Karey mama bike yet. Yeah.

Aliza Tailfin. Yeah, it's pretty smart. It is really good engineering, uh, I have to say. Uh, and the bag went great. It's waterproof. We got, I got a little bit of rain, um, the ride, um, and everything stayed dry.

Karey Nice.

Aliza Dry, uh, so yeah, I was really happy with it. Um, I did and I did the bivy. I know that was, I was texting.

Yeah. I was texting the fun ambassadors like the, the day before, still like wavering which one, whether to be my one person, 10 or my Vivi.

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza And I did the vivy and it was the right choice, even though it kind of rained a little bit that last night. I, it, I'm glad it didn't rain any more than it did. Uh, but it, it worked out.

Karey Uh, what bivy do you have or

Aliza It's, it's the, um, outdoor resource, uh, helium vivy.

Karey yeah, yeah.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey Cool.

Aliza it worked great. Yeah.

Karey Awesome.

Nice. Oh, [00:38:00] that's super awesome. Yeah, I, that's another thing I'm currently research for is a, is a good bivy. So good to know.

Aliza And then actually one of the other guys, uh, on the, out on the ride, he had the same bivy too and he liked it too.

Karey bivy

Aliza Yeah. Bivy twins. Yeah.

Karey awesome. So then, was this race, did it start in the morning?

Aliza Started at 7:00 AM on Saturday.

Karey On

Aliza Yeah.

Karey Okay,

Aliza 24th of May

Karey Very nice. In Salem. Correct.

Aliza sale. Uh, just outside Salem in, uh, like Oak Grove. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Karey Okay, cool. Well talk us through, like, so you had a goal of 60 hours, which, uh, how did you break that down? Like, well, yeah, kind of talk through like the kind of the pre-plan, like what you had on paper

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey your plan stopping points, like how much you wanted to sleep, like that kind of thing. And then like what actually happened.

Aliza Yeah. My plan was to sleep. I knew I didn't wanna, I didn't [00:39:00] wanna go no sleep,

Karey Yeah.

Aliza plan was to sleep about four to five hours a night. And that's about what I did. I slept like four hours, a little more than four hours the first night and like five hours second night.

Karey Okay. Okay.

Aliza and so I broke it down like the first day.

Uh, my goal was 119 miles with 14,469 feet of climbing. And I did it. I made it to where I wanted to make it. I can't believe it. Um, yeah, it was

Karey just

Aliza so,

Karey your bike and you're gonna get there.

Aliza so Karey. These climbs were no joke.

Karey Yeah,

Aliza Like, they were long, like each climb, like there was these huge climbs, they were like 2000 plus feet of climbing in each go.

And some of them were just so steep and the gravel was so coarse and loose.

Karey Yeah,

Aliza so it was just like super slow going. But I had a mountain bike

Karey [00:40:00] yeah.

Aliza most people I think had gravel bikes

Karey Okay.

Aliza and with, um, not as good of gearing as I had. So I would, I definitely,

Karey the tires that you're thinking about, or like the width of the

Aliza yeah.

Karey like that. It's definitely the gearing, yeah.

Aliza It was the gearing I had, I had my 10 52, uh, gx, um, eagle.

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza not, not the transmission, it's just the regular eagle old school, I guess old school now.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza Um, with a 32, uh, tooth crank. And yeah, I was able to ride a lot, a lot. I think I was able to ride more than most, um, because I had the traction and I had the gearing. Um, I remember actually there was this one section where I was getting the top to the climb, and then there were these three guys and there was like a, a gate that we had to like bring our bike up and over and they like this one guy's, you know, approaching the gate and he's like, hike, biking.

And I'm just like, do, do, do like riding up. And they're like, did you just ride all that? And I was like, [00:41:00] yeah, I have a mountain bike. I was like, Hey, it's not my fault. I mean, yeah, might have the heavier bike, but, uh, but yeah, I was able to, I was able to ride a lot more and you know, as you know, riding with me, like if I had a choice to hike a bike or ride, I will ride every time.

It's just so much better for my knee, for my body. And yeah, hike a biking, especially on a loaded bike is just

Karey Yeah.

Aliza so attain for me. So,

Karey I need

Aliza so,

Karey I had some of your determination on that.

Aliza yeah.

Karey off like the first thing I'm like, okay, I am off. It's time to hike,

Aliza But you're, you're a runner now, so I guess that makes sense. Yeah, I know.

Karey There have been many times recently, or like in the last year when Patty's trying to ride, Patty will be riding something and I'll just like be hiking right along next to him and I'm like, if it's as fast for me to hike as it if for you to ride, for me to [00:42:00] ride, then I'm gonna hike

Aliza Yeah.

Karey anyway.

Aliza Um, so, so yeah, it's just, you know, it's the first stretch four. It was like 40 miles and like, uh, what was it? I have, I made a, of course I made a Google Doc about, with all my sections. Um, but it was about 40 miles to the first resupply and, uh, I think it was like, I don't know, three, four, 4,000 feet, 40.

It was like very much golden ratio. Actually, most of the ride it really was, was golden on par with golden ratio, which is, if people don't know, it's like 10, a thousand feet and 10 miles.

Karey right.

Aliza and so that, you know, it felt pretty doable on the legs. So the first resupply was, uh, in Fall City, which is where BlackRock is.

We actually rode through BlackRock.

Karey oh, fun.

Aliza And like one of the guys would like, oh, there's trails. Like yeah, there's some pretty gnarly trails here.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza Yeah. Um, but road through BlackRock was [00:43:00] also a really awesome mountain bike part or area. Um, and, uh, res supplied in Fall City. And then it was, the next stretch was like a 55 mile section with like 5,000 feet of climbing to get to Grand Run.

And I had to make it there by 8:00 PM 'cause that's when the re the store closed. So it was a little bit of a push to get there. But I got there at like, just after 7:00 PM

Karey nice.

Aliza and on a congregated, there were a bunch of other guys there. These two guys like Jasper and I think Ashton was the other guy's name, I can't remember.

Karey Okay.

Aliza but they were like friends and they were riding, doing the ride together. And then there was another group of three guys like Ryan and Anton, and I think. I can't remember the, the other guy's name, but, um, they were all congregating there and right there, like one guy in one group and then Ashton and the other group, they're like, both quit.

They're like, we're done. We're not doing anymore.

Karey What

Aliza Yeah, they like finished in Grand Run.

Karey first

Aliza [00:44:00] Yeah. Well this isn't, it was 90 miles, 95 miles in, so it was, it was like, so it was like 95 miles and like 10,000 feet of elevation. So it was a big, it was a big ride so far.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza about, and then it's at the bottom of this, the biggest climb of the whole route, which is like this 3000 foot plus climb, uh, in like 15 miles.

20 miles. Yeah. 15 miles. It's like 3000 foot. Yeah. It was just a really big climb and it was about to get dark.

Karey Okay.

Aliza So those two guys kind of quit and Jasper was his, he, yeah, he finished, he kept going, but like his friend had the Garmin, so they had to like switch Garmin and like he had a, so they, so they like kind of took, were taking more time.

And so I like left. I was like, all right, well I'll see you guys ahead. I'm gonna, I'm gonna get a head start and start going 'cause I wanna get done. So I start riding up the hill and um, I rode by myself for like three hours,

Karey Aw.

Aliza [00:45:00] uh, because I think I left like right around 8:00 PM It was like two and a half hours.

I didn't see anybody. And all of a sudden I hear Jasper come behind me and I was like, oh, hey. He's like, you'll never believe what I just saw. I just saw the biggest cougar right in front of me. And which means it was like right behind, like it was behind me.

Karey Nikes

Aliza He's like, and he was like, it was beautiful. And I was like, that's not how I would describe being a huge cougar

Karey at

Aliza at night.

So I was like, let's stick together for a little bit

Karey Um,

Aliza until we get to the top at least. And so, but you know, he, so I was just a little bit behind him. So we get to the top and he's like, where are you gonna camp? And I was like, what I saw there was this campground, this he campground, and I was looking on Google maps.

It looked like there was a little covered picnic area, and I think I'm just gonna steal camp in the picnic area.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza So, um, we get there and so it was like, all right, this is where the camp, the campsite is that I'm gonna stay [00:46:00] at. And you had to like, go downhill a little bit to get to it. It is like, oh, I don't wanna go downhill.

I'm just gonna keep going. So he, he kept going and I never saw him again.

Karey Okay.

Aliza He finished like maybe like five or six hours ahead of me, I think. Uh.

Karey Cool.

Aliza Um, so I camped, uh, just at a little self camp, uh, at a picnic table. Um, and it felt good that there were like people around.

Karey Yeah,

Aliza like, it was like, not totally by myself, especially with the cougar siting up there.

Um, but yeah, I slept, I rolled up my bivy and I actually had a really hard time sleeping that night. It was, I got really sweaty from that climb

Karey Okay. Yeah,

Aliza and I just got, yeah, it was, it was just a really big day. Like my total stats for that day. Uh, my, according to my Garmin, uh, a hundred, yeah, it was 120, like almost 120 miles and 14,469 feet of climbing.

Karey That's a

Aliza That was what my Garmin said.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza So it was a big day. My TSS was [00:47:00] 5 86, which is pretty high. I don't think, I don't know how accurate that is. I mean, they say TSS is kind of like a made up number, but as far as just in comparison to other ones I've seen, it was pretty high. Um, so I've got my, like four hours of sleep and it took me a while to fall asleep 'cause I was just really cold, um, shivering in my little sleeping bag.

But I did, I did sleep and I woke up the next morning at, um, my alarm went up at five and I think I was rolling by 5 45. And then, um, but the, I was, it was part, it was like only a quarter way down of the big descent after that big climb.

Karey Okay.

Aliza I started the day on a descent. So I was wearing everything. I was wearing my rain pants, I was wearing my puffy, I was wearing my rain jacket.

I was like, had my buff up, you know, my hat on. I was wearing everything I owned. I had like warm gloves on and I get down to the bottom and. There is this like fishing fish shop, you know, that was open, it was like 6:00 AM [00:48:00] but it's like all these fishermen go there to get their tackle and stuff like that.

So they were open and they had coffee and they made me some like eggs. And so I like hung out there and warmed up for like, like a half an hour. I will notice, like I was kind of looking through my stats and I, I have a lot of stoppage time,

Karey Well, there's

Aliza but

Karey hours right there,

Aliza I know I, I was like, I could definitely make this up with just the stoppage time that I took, but

Karey right?

Aliza I also felt like I needed some of the stoppage time too.

So,

Karey Yep. Totally.

Aliza um, but day two, like once I got that coffee and me, I, you know, made it to Pacific City and I got a second coffee. There's a really good coffee shop there called Stimulus and they had really good Americano and. Gluten-free. Uh, this gluten-free almond cake. That was so good. I got two pieces. I took a piece on the road with me and I met Matthew, which was another guy in the race.

He was there and he camped in Pacific City that night. And then we kind of like [00:49:00] leapfrogged each other going up the Oregon coast, which was super beautiful. I went past one of my favorite state parks in Oregon called Cape Lookout State Park. And uh, yeah, it was really, really beautiful. Like, uh, I don't think I'd ever done that whole bike ride all the way up to Neat Tarts Bay before, but we go through Cape Nears and just really beautiful Oregon coast section.

And the weather, um, was a little cloudy, but it wasn't raining or anything, so it was, it was nice. And then I made it to Tillamook and I was feeling like a little bit tired and I, it's kind of like you had to do a big resupply there because, uh, it is another. 80 miles to get to the next resupply point.

Karey okay.

Aliza So I wouldn't have another resupply that day.

Karey Yeah. Yeah.

Aliza So I had to get enough, um, yeah, to get me through, uh, for the rest of the night. And it was a big section two with two huge climbs to come for the [00:50:00] rest of the day. So I went to Fred Meyer and kinda wandered aimlessly in the Fred Meyer. Um, oh, something else I'll mention is that I realized that my water filter wasn't working.

It had dried out and I recognized this the night before the race.

Karey Okay.

Aliza Um, but it was like just a, when I would put water in it, just a trickle would come through it. It was just like too slow and too hard. It's a hydro pack one, and I have to read more about it. I think I have to like. Um, like I tried agitating it.

Nothing was really working, so, um, I had to carry all of my water with me. I couldn't filter it.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza So, but I used that. It was clean inside, so I used that to carry more water in my frame bag. But I kind of was walking around, uh, at Fred Meyer and I got some gluten-free Oreos. And, you know, being gluten-free, it's, it's a little more challenging sometimes to like find [00:51:00] things that are appetizing and that you want to eat.

And I very quickly got kind of sick of sugar, but that's pretty much all I can eat that's gluten-free except for potatoes. But the potato chips are bulky and get crummy and stuff. And, but I did my resupply. I um, also forgot, I forgot my bag bomb

Karey Oh no.

Aliza and they didn't have any there. So I got, um, some diaper cream.

Karey Yeah. Hey, I've heard that works just as well.

Aliza Yeah, zinc oxide, it actually worked really well. Zinc oxide, Burt's bees.

Karey white, but

Aliza Oh yeah. I have like some, I have like the opposite of skid marks on my shammy. Whatever you call the white skid marks.

Karey skid drinks totally.

Aliza Um, but like I spent some time in Fred Meyer resupplying and going into the bathroom and I like did a, a nice cleanse of

Karey Yeah.

Aliza everything and put some diaper cream on it. And I took my shammy off, um, because I went to Denny's after that to get food

Karey [00:52:00] Yeah.

Aliza and kind of was shammy free for like an hour.

Karey Ooh,

Aliza that it, I luxury in my, with my diaper cream applied.

Karey Love it.

Aliza Um, but I got a scramble at, at Denny's and then I got ordered just a burger without the bun to go. And, um, I bought bread at Fred Meyer and so I like made some, um, almond butter and jelly sandwiches and then used some of the bread for the, um, for the burger.

Karey very

Aliza And I brought that. Now it's my dinner later that night.

Karey Oh, nice.

Aliza Yeah. So, um.

Karey work really well?

Aliza It worked well. Um, I was, um, I wasn't sure if I would be able to eat it 'cause I was starting to feel not great in the stomach.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza Um, the other thing I realized and I, after the fact, uh, when I was in, um, Tillamook during this kind of rest stop, I turned off my in reach to save the battery. And I didn't [00:53:00] realize that when I turned it back on I had to restart tracking.

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza So that's why my tracking stopped, which we'll get into later since I think search and Rescue was almost called.

Karey Yes.

Aliza um, glad I have friends that care about me.

Um, yes, but that is a mistake that I won't make again.

Karey that later.

Aliza We'll get into that. So I finally get the gumption and I, um, get my, all my food and to go and I get my bike all packed up and I start, I leave. I left Tillamook around a little afternoon. Um, and because I saw that like Tor or not Tory, um, Leah, who is,

Karey yeah.

Aliza was a woman right behind me.

She was kind of nipping at my heel

Karey Yeah.

Aliza that whole day, the whole race actually. Um, she was just entering Tillamook, so I was like, I should get going. So I take [00:54:00] off on the climb and I have this big climb coming up. So I start, I put in Hamilton. That's like my thing that I do. Um, here. Lemme turn my light on.

Sorry. It's getting dark. All of a sudden.

You see me better now.

Karey Yes, I

Aliza Okay. All right, good. Um, so I put Hamilton on and just start just grinding away at this, like really long climb, and I get to a part, my back's kind of hurting. So I sit down on the side of this like gravel road. I hadn't seen anyone in a while, and all of a sudden this like, truck comes down with this like older man, and he was like, there's the guys aren't that far ahead of you.

You can catch him. And I was like, oh, no, I, I gotta go my own pace. And he said, when I ask you how old you are? And I said, I'm, I'm 43. And [00:55:00] he is like, oh, well you're, you're staying young by doing this, that's for sure. Guess how old I am? And you know, he looked like he was in his seventies, so I was like, 68, you know, make him feel good.

He's like, I'm 82.

Karey Oh

Aliza And I was like, wow, that's great. You look great. Like, what's your secret? He is like. I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't smoke. And I have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And I was like, I was like, that's great. And, and,

Karey little

Aliza and then I have my girlfriend here and we just went up to see the waterfall and I know, and there was like nobody there.

And I was like, what? He was like, I'm talking about my dog. Of course, my sch. And he had a schnauzer that was like sleeping in his front seat. And so of course I pop up, I'm like all tired, but I pop up and was like, you have a schnauzer? I'm a schnauzer.

Karey Oh my gosh.

Aliza So it was like a really cool moment and it kind of got me [00:56:00] motivated, but he gave me a pep talk.

He said he was, he'd pray for me and I was like, thanks, so I need it. And so then I like got back on the bike

Karey tell

Aliza then I

Karey were, did you say, is it a

Aliza did, you know, it's so funny. I actually was like, you know, I'm actually Jewish. Um. And he was like, that's great

Karey I love that you told him though.

Aliza we did, because I, he was like waiting for a response from me and I was like, that's great. I'm Jewish.

I don't know, but he's praying, he prayed for me anyways, probably 'cause I'm Jewish.

Karey all the prayers you could get.

Aliza Yeah. Um, but anyways, so I continued my climb and um, that climb was pretty tough. Get to the top and I got this really long, kind of steep, pretty bumpy descent. [00:57:00] Again, very glad that I had my mountain bike with my suspension fork.

I get to the bottom and I'm like so tired.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza So I just lay down and I closed my eyes for like 10 minutes and I did, I think I like fell asleep for like, for a few minutes. And it was just what I needed.

Karey Yeah,

Aliza helped a lot. Um, and then as I was like kind of transferring water and getting my bottles ready to go, uh, Leah caught me.

Karey Oh,

Aliza She was like, Hey, I've been nipping out your heels all day. She was like, really excited and I was like, oh yeah, this is so, this is rough. She'd be like, yeah, um, I'm gonna go filter water. I was like, okay, well I think I'm gonna get going, but please feel free to camp with me if you catch me, uh, so that we're not alone in Cougar country.

And she's like, yeah, that sounds great. Um, so I was like, but you might pass me. I'm kind of, this is some slow going for me, I think from here on out.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza So I left that and again, started my [00:58:00] climb. Um, still listening to Hamilton, uh, 'cause that's my, like, my motivation and um, man to the top of that, the last hour of that la that climb.

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza this hike a bike? It was over 20%.

Karey Oh my gosh.

Aliza was. So I was, and the whole time I was like, why, why are we doing this? Why, why did the route go this way?

Karey Oh

Aliza I don't even know if like, how it was for an hour. I don't even like, can Keegan Swenson even ride up this? Like, I don't know.

Karey writing it?

Aliza I, I mean, I was alone. I have no idea.

Karey Yeah,

Aliza but Ben, the night before the race, you know, we all camped together at the start. He gave a little like, briefing and um, he mentioned that climb. He is like, anyone that can ride that, I'll buy you a beer.

Karey Yeah. [00:59:00] Okay.

Aliza uh, it's, yeah. I think most people probably were hiking, biking, because it's like on a, on a loaded, any kind of loaded bike.

Karey Yeah,

Aliza There's no way that I could ever ride that on any bike, but, and let me be maybe an e-bike.

Karey Right.

Aliza Uh, but it was just so long and relentless and it's just like, that reminded me of the Colorado Trail.

Karey Yeah. Yeah. Were you just hiking for hours?

Aliza Yeah. We're almost like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Stop.

Karey yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Aliza Like what? Like five steps and stop.

Karey Yeah. Oh my gosh.

Aliza And I was just like, why? And then this is like when I first started, like, why are we doing this? Why am I out here? What am I doing to myself? Like I really had, it was like definitely my low point of the whole race.

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza Actually, no, that's not true. I think my low point was the next day, but it was like one of my low points and I was like, this is insane.

This is so hard.

Karey Yeah,

Aliza [01:00:00] tired. Uh, but like, what else can you do? You just have to keep going.

Karey right. Oh my

Aliza And it, and it did finally end. You know, they, they, it always ends like, I'm here now. My, it ended, you know, at some point it did end, and I just like, had to remember that. But it was, it was pretty tough at the time.

And so I think I got to the top, like it was almost nine o'clock I left. So there was the two big climbs. I got to the top of the second climb at nine o'clock. I left Tillamook at noon.

Karey Noon. Yeah.

Aliza Like the climbs just took that long.

Karey Wow.

Aliza Um, so started like descending and it was a little bit of fung. And, you know, I, I, my goal was to make it to mile 2 24 of the course.

Um. And yeah, there was some little climbs here and there, so it was kind of like slow going. It was pretty, it was gravel. [01:01:00] I'm out in there in the middle of nowhere. I'm like, at this point I'm like singing songs and like just making it known that I'm out there 'cause I didn't see anyone. And then all of a sudden all these like, like four by fours, I'm like, there's like six of 'em come out of nowhere riding the road.

And they passed me and they all had these like fluorescent lights on them, like playing music. And I was like, what is going on? Like this is like, I hadn't seen anybody in hours and there was these like loud vehicles go in the same direction as me. And I was like, oh, wonder where they're going.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza then I, you know, I'm still going.

I'm going up a climb. And like it was like an hour later ahead, I see this big bright light ahead. I was like, what is that? And it was like this big bonfire

Karey Oh.

Aliza and I was maybe like, I was only like a couple miles away from where I wanted to camp. But a part of me was like, well, maybe I should camp kind of near here in case like, if, if a cougar does attack me, I could like crawl my way over to the camp and they could help me.[01:02:00] 

That's kind of like what went through my head

Karey Oh my God.

Aliza because again, I'm like, have this cougar fear. And actually like, maybe like a little bit after that, there was this right before a climb was like a 700 foot climb to get to where I wanted to camp was about to start. There was like a nice little spot right next to

Karey Aw.

Aliza the, the stream that was right there.

Karey Oh, okay.

Aliza So I just, I stopped there. It was like a little after 10:00 PM it um, you know, I was able to eat my burger that I brought. I was really happy that I was able to eat it 'cause I wasn't sure. And, you know, brushed my teeth and got my bivy out and my sleeping bag out and was about to like, get tucked in the bed.

And then Leah and Anton and uh, Ryan all showed up.

Karey Oh,

Aliza And so they all camped with me too.

Karey did camp with you. Oh,

Aliza Yeah. Yeah. So it ended up being really good having other people there. I felt like a lot, I was actually slept really well. I had a really good, like five solid [01:03:00] hours of sleep.

Karey totally.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey good.

Aliza Um, and I kind of overheard them. They, they were gonna set their alarm for 6:00 AM and um, my alarm was set for like four 30.

Karey Mm.

Aliza but I ended up like getting up like four 50. I kind of snoozed it. Um, but I got up and I got like a little bit of head start and uh, got out first. And then again just kind of started the next day, which is day three. And again, it's just kind of slow going and climbing up out of there. And the gravel again was just so like coarse and took just slow going.

And I was like, I had 130 miles to do. So day two, I was, I I'll need, I'll just like. Summarize my garments. Said I did 130 miles and, um, 8,200 feet of climbing, but I think it missed some climbing because my gar Garmin did like the auto pause when I was hiking, biking. [01:04:00] So my, uh, ride with GBI said it should have been 105 miles and 9,500 feet of climbing.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza I think it was closer to that, but

Karey like,

Aliza who knows? They'll say it's the bigger one. We'll say it's the bigger one. So the next day, my last day, um, Gar ride, GBS said it was gonna be 131 miles and 9,200 feet of climbing.

Karey dang. That's

Aliza And so I'm, so I'm starting to stay and it's just like slow going and I'm like, I don't know if I can do this.

I started having some serious doubts

Karey Oh,

Aliza and um, you know, it just was getting a little bit like that was my low point. I was like, I didn't totally cry, but it was like. Just feeling so sorry for myself in that moment and 'cause just it was going so slow. And then like there was a moment where we kind of, I finally exit out from this gravel onto a paved road and I was [01:05:00] like, oh.

It's a road like, oh my God, it feels so good. I was like so happy and elated. I was like, oh my God, things are turning around. Because I knew Hag Lake was the next thing. I was like, just make it to Hag Lake.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza Like I've done Hag Lake before, like we did road racing there, you know, back in the day.

Karey Yep.

Aliza I was like, just make it to Hag Lake.

And I'm like, we're on this road section and Hag Lakes Road. I'm like, maybe it's a road all the way. Of course I didn't like look at my ride GPS to see if that was true or not, but I, in my mind I was like hoping like maybe it's road all the way and then I left. Turn comes up and it's back on the gravel and again, it's like a really steep gravel section.

I was like, is he intentionally taking us on the steepest gravel road there are in Oregon? I think this is like,

Karey yes.

Aliza yes. I was like, what? Why are we doing this? This is insane. And again, I'm just, I was just so tired and. I just didn't know if I could finish that day. I really [01:06:00] had doubts. And so I finally make it to Hag Lake and it's a road section and it is like, you know, undulates, there's some little kickers in there.

And at that point I hag like, I get the message from you being like, Hey, your DOT hasn't moved in 20 hours, are you okay? And please let me know. And I think you might've sent a couple messages.

Karey So what had happened was I sent it with the, I sent one with the inReach, but then it said it didn't send, and so I typed a new one and put my inReach outside. But then I think they both sent, um, so that's what happened. Yeah,

Aliza Okay. Because I got two and I was like, how long has you been trying to contact me? It was at that point that I realized that my tracking was not on my gar, my inReach was on, my tracking wasn't on.

Karey Correct.

Aliza So then I got all worried like, oh my gosh, like, did she call the alarm? Is my dad like in a [01:07:00] helicopter on his way?

What is happening? So I get to, I finally get to a place where I have service. I turn my phone on and I called you. And so I made sure that like the search came, could be called off

Karey Okay, so we're gonna stop for an intermission right here.

Aliza okay.

Karey We're gonna, 'cause Aliza hasn't heard this story yet, I don't

Aliza Okay. No.

Karey so, okay, so we're all tracking. So the fun ambassadors and I, you know, or us, we have a text chain, a messaging chain, and uh, we're all cheering, you know, Aliza had shared her track leaders, so we're all, you know, amongst our, going about our business that weekend, we're like tracking you sending you occasional cheers and all this stuff.

'cause that's what we do. And then we noticed after Tillamook you, like, I noticed when you stopped in Tillamook and then occasionally, like after a little while, were like. The group was like, has anybody heard from Aliza? [01:08:00] Like her tracker hasn't moved for a while. Like, is she still riding? And like, we couldn't tell.

And we're like, so then we just started talking like, oh, maybe her tracker just died. Or maybe she left a bag behind. Or like, you know, that kind of thing. So didn't think any much of it, but we're kinda like on, we're like on low alert status at this point. We're like, okay. Like we'll just, it's probably just her tracker, but like, let's keep an eye on things.

So at that point, that evening, I texted Lindsay and was like, Hey, have you heard anything from Aliza? And no, no answer from her, but I figured she was probably, 'cause I vague, had vaguely remembered that she was gonna be on an adventure as well.

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey was like, well, I'm gonna assume that if she was available, she would've heard something from you.

And she would get back to me, or she'll get back to me as soon as possible. anyway, so then we all go to bed. And then the next morning, first thing I look and your tracker is still at Denny's. So I was like, which I [01:09:00] was also laughing 'cause I was like, was like, so I put two and two together, honestly, because like you had post, you had also posted the picture on your Instagram, so we're all being like little sleuths, right?

And we're like, detective working. And I'm like, okay, well the map says Denny's in the Starbucks, but the mug that she's holding says like, whatever, best coffee, whatever. I was like, that was not a Starbucks mug, that was definitely a Denny's mug. Just she was at the Denny's and we're all like, what did she like fall asleep with the Denny's?

Like what is going on? You know, like that kind of thing. Anyway, and so I start being, we start being like I was like to Patty, I was like, babe, like Aliza's tracker hasn't like moved. And I'm a little worried because at that point we figured that if you had. Withdrawn from the race that you would have. Like the closest point was service, obviously was Tillamook, and that you would have let us know, um, because you would've had, like, if you did withdraw from the race, you would've figured out at [01:10:00] some point to get back to civilization and you would've, you know, like that kind thing.

Even if you had to hike your bike, you would've made it by then. Right. So then by the next morning, yeah, it had been like. Basically like, oh, like almost 20 hours since we had seen you last or heard from you last. And we start really getting worried, like at this point we're like messaging amongst ourselves.

And then Heather calls me and is like, okay, what's our plan of action? Like, you know how Heather is, you know what I mean? Because we're all like, we're worried. We're worried. And so we literally like, okay, plan. And then we like dialed Deann in and we're like, okay. So it was like they were gonna call the Denny's and the, when the Denny's and the Starbucks to see if they had seen you. And then I was gonna call, um, I was gonna call Lindsay because I had texted, but I mean, I was like, maybe she missed my text. Maybe I'll, and I'll also leave a voicemail. And that's when we're like, okay, well nobody has your dad's number, but we know. But I found him on [01:11:00] Facebook. And so I messaged him there.

Nothing alarming. Just like, have you heard from her? Like that kinda thing. And anyway. we were worried and then like Heather was like, okay, so what's the plan? Like our next steps, like what timing do we wanna give this? Like obviously we're gonna give it 24 hours and then we call, oh, and I had also messaged the, um, on Instagram.

I had also messaged the Odyssey, the the race promoter, um, and just said, Hey, you know, you're out there, but I know you're probably the finish line, but is there any chance that anybody has seen her, you know, we're assuming that it's just like a dead tracker or whatever, but just, you know, let us know if you've heard anything.

Um, and eventually they did message back, but I think it was just going off of like what your tracker was. You know, they're like, I'm sure she's fine. Like dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. Anyway, so we were like, okay, after 24 hours, like if we really haven't heard anything, like we would call. The Forest Service or like search you know, somebody and let them know that we're concerned just to [01:12:00] like send you out.

Oh. 'cause by then also Jess had been like, yeah, I went to look for her on whatever road it was and she wasn't there. And so we're like, okay, well even if she's slow going, like at some point she should be there again. You would've had cell service and maybe, and you would've like contacted somebody. You know what I

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey we were like pretty worried by this point. And then, so I was like, oh. And I was like, I have your inReach. So I was like, was like, but if your tracker's not on, then maybe her inReach is dead. But I just, just like, I'm just gonna give it a shot. So I turn on my inReach and I message you through the inReach and then voila.

You eventually message back. And I

Aliza How long?

Karey no. And

Aliza How long did it take

Karey It wasn't, well, let's see,

Aliza it,

Karey that long after I messaged you.

Aliza okay.

Karey Yeah. So, but actually I'd also gotten, by that point, I'd also gotten ahold of Lindsay. 'cause she was just coming back into service, um, from her big adventure and, and she was like. [01:13:00] Oh my god, what, what's going on? You know, like that kind of thing. And I was like, I was like, everything's fine. I just wanna see, I just wanna know if you've heard from, and she's like, well I did get like inReach from her 'cause we were doing inReach to inReach, but I've also been out of service, but let me look.

And so whoever she was like driving with like had, they were like looking at the timestamps and like saying, she's like, I have heard from her as of like this morning or whatever. And I was like, okay. As long as it's within, like way closer than like, when her tracker stopped,

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey are okay. Because that means that you were still alive and you were still moving beyond what your Tracker had said.

And so we were, and so I texted the group and everybody's like, oh my God, thank God. And you know, like all this stuff.

Aliza Oh my God.

Karey so needless to say, and then, yeah, and then the inReach thing worked and then you, you messaged back and then you ended up calling me. And so, you know, everything was right in the world,

Aliza Oh my God. That was quite the intermission that I did not know was happening.

Karey yeah, you had no idea. And I was like, 'cause eventually we took it off, you know? 'cause you're on the original text. [01:14:00] Right.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey and then we took it offline to like our, because I'm like, she's gonna get bombarded with like all these texts. Like, oh my God, is Aliza alive?

Aliza That's really funny. I mean, I feel so loved.

Karey Yes,

Aliza for caring.

Uh,

Karey lessons learned. This is, I was like, you know, 'cause you did a really, I mean, we always do a really good job of like, for the most part, like you had left, you know, obviously like your dad had your contact information, you share, you know, like, and with our, with your friends and everything, it's a matter of like, you know, there's usually, yeah, there's the track leaders or the tracker that, you know, if a race has that or

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey Um, Lindsay obviously knew, you know, you were contacting her, that kind of thing. Uh, but one thing, like for me, I realized is like. Like, I don't think you can ever overshare with your loved ones of like how important it is that like also even, 'cause we were trying to figure out like, not that we need to know everything, every time about your whole existence, but [01:15:00] like, we're like, okay, like itinerary wise, like if she was planning on 60 hours, you know, so we're trying to like calculate like, you know, where you would expect to be and that kinda thing.

'cause I also think it's important 'cause if something does happen, it's like you want to be able to, the people who are trying to figure out where you are is

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey you know, oh well if she was last at Tillamook and she expected to be here, like it really makes it much easier to deal with that situation.

And then also I was like, we also should have like our fun ambassadors group of like a parents list, like a

Aliza Yeah,

Karey with like our parents or loved one's,

Aliza we should.

Karey numbers.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey that I would've called your dad and made a word, but still, you know what I mean? Like, you

Aliza Oh my gosh. Yeah. But he,

Karey it.

Aliza but he would've also been, because the thing is, it's funny, I actually thought about adding you to my preset messages, you know, 'cause you have your, your free preset messages on inReach, um, just by check-in messages that I, and I always did that beginning of the end, and I have had you on them in the past.[01:16:00] 

Um, but, you know, I took you off like for something I didn't wanna bombard you and I just didn't put you back on. And I, now I know I should just always add you to it, Karey.

Karey Yeah. If we're not riding together, then you just need to always have a,

Aliza Yeah.

Karey third emergency

Aliza But now you also always, now, you know, my inner reach contact and I had it on, I had it on, I just didn't have it on tracking mode, which, um, lesson learned. I didn't realize that I had to Yeah. I didn't realize when you turn it off that it turns off tracking. But now I know it.

Karey Now you learn something

Aliza Yeah. Since we know.

Karey All right, so continue with,

Aliza They do the story.

Karey you, when you did talk, when you did call then you were definitely in a mode of, what am I doing with my life? Can I go on living like this?

Aliza Yeah.

Karey I was like, dude, don't, 'cause you're almost to Gaston and that's can be, you [01:17:00] know, that's a place to like regroup yourself.

Like, I was like, don't decide when you're out in the middle of nowhere, because it's easy to make these rash decisions when you are tired in the middle of nowhere and you're a little dehydrated or a lot dehydrated and you're undernourished and like just freaking tired. You know what I mean? Um, so better to make them after you've like, had a chance to kind of regroup.

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey and that you can do more than you think you can and you'll get there because you're doing it.

Aliza Yep. Well, that was the advice you gave me, and you said, don't make any decisions, just make it to Gaston. Eat something you said direct, you said rest,

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza eat, and then decide.

Karey And then decide,

Aliza So I did, I made it to Gaston and I found this really cute little coffee stand that had, um, a picnic table and grassy area. I ordered coffee and they had gluten-free scones.

Karey it is

Aliza I ordered four gluten-free [01:18:00] scones and an Americano and I sat and I drank my Americano and I ate my s scone and I stretched in the grass.

Karey Aw.

Aliza I did a whole stretch routine for like 10 minutes and it felt so good and the sun came out. Oh yeah. That morning it was all, I think part of the reason why I got so down is that it was raining that morning

Karey Aw.

Aliza and I was like, it's gonna rain all day.

I don't think I can do this in the rain. Like there's just, I was just like really talking myself out of it. But I got to Gaston, got some food, I got some caffeine, I got a nice rest and stretch and I felt much better. And then I was like, okay, 10 more miles, I can make it to Yamhill

Karey Yeah.

Aliza and then I can do the same there and then decide.

Karey Oh, good.

Aliza So I did, [01:19:00] oh, I called Lindsay also in in Gaston, and also she gave me a pep talk too,

Karey good.

Aliza and that helped, but, but also with no pressure.

Karey shut the hell up and get it done?

Aliza She was like. Yeah, shut up you pussy. No, sorry. It's a family podcast. Sorry, but like, no.

Karey it.

Aliza Yeah, leave it. Um, but no, she was very supportive. She's like, just, yeah, she said the same thing as you.

Just like, don't think until you've rested and you've had something to eat and um, just do what you can.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza really nice about it. No, there's no pressure.

Karey Aw,

Aliza So I got to Yamhill and then again, I had this really long, I just like sat in front of the grocery store there and uh, again, I was having trouble eating again, but they had like bananas.

I got a banana, I got some Gatorade. I got like a, a Yorba mate energy drink.

Karey Ooh. Yeah.

Aliza [01:20:00] Um, I used our bathroom, did like a nice, like, washed my face and washed everything and reapplied diaper,

but it was feeling much better. And, and then I got a text from Jess that she was almost to Yamhill finishing her

Karey Oh.

Aliza trip. So I was like, oh. So I like, kind of got excited for that. So Jess and Garrett rolled up as I was kind of finally getting my bike packed up and being like, okay, I think I, I think I can do this,

Karey Yeah.

Aliza I was not, I was still feeling very Glo about the whole thing because it was one o'clock,

Karey Mm.

Aliza PM and I still had 80 miles and 7,000 feet of climbing to go.

Karey Wow.

Aliza But I went in my Garmin and I looked at the climbs remaining

Karey Yeah.

Aliza the climbs remaining. It was like a 1600 foot climb. A 1400 foot [01:21:00] climb, a 400 foot climb, and then a bunch of smaller climbs.

Karey Oh

Aliza So none of it was as anything near as big as what I'd already done,

Karey yeah.

Aliza so I just kind of broke it down. And also it was 60 miles to Sheridan, which is the last resupply.

And then after Sheridan, it's like flat to get back to the, to finish. So it was like, just make it to Sheridan. It's just 60 in my head, it was just 60 miles and two climbs.

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza And so I did that. I did the first climb, and again, I, I was really tired and I just found a spot to lay down and close my eyes again for, for 10 minutes.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza And it was just what I needed. It kind of, it's amazing how 10 minutes can like be a difference maker.

Karey yeah. A little dirt nap.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza Um, and, uh. I put on an audiobook [01:22:00] and um,

Karey porn one?

Aliza yes. That book is so annoying. I, so it, you know, fourth Wing was really, I thought was pretty good. Iron flame sucks, but I hear that the third book is really good again as well.

So I'm like just forcing myself and it's like such a long, it's such a long book. It's like

Karey weren't you on

Aliza 20, I've been, right. I've been doing it in sections because I keep getting like, fed up with it. It's just so, such a whiny, annoying book. But I'm trying to get through it. I actually finished, I actually turned that book off and turned, put a different book on 'cause I was like, couldn't handle it anymore.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza So yeah, I just broke it down and when I got to Sheridan I was like, okay,

Karey Yeah.

Aliza I can finish. So I wanted to use, you know, the, the gas station in Sheridan. A lot of these gas stations in these small towns in this part of Oregon American markets.

Karey Okay.

Aliza None of them have bathrooms inside. They all have [01:23:00] porta-potties, which is very disappointing.

But I really needed to use a porta-potty, but there was someone in it. So I kind of parked my bike and started organizing, taking trash out. And this guy comes out of it looking kind of like a, like tweaked out.

Karey Oh,

Aliza And he had a bike as well, like a, like a whatever, small bike. But he wasn't leaving. He was like waiting for me to go into the porta-potty.

So I was like, oh, this isn't good. Um, so I'm like packing things up and I was gonna throw away a bunch of Oreos and I was like, Hey, do you want my Oreos? I'm not gonna eat them. He was like, oh yeah, sure. So I gave him my Oreos,

Karey Aw.

Aliza but didn't leave my bike.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza give him my bike.

Karey I'll give you my Oreos, but not my mic.

Aliza And so I didn't go to the bathroom.

I just waited until I finished.

Karey yeah.

Aliza But I put Hamilton on,

Karey done.

Aliza I, yeah, I put Hamilton on. Again, my other motivation was like, okay, I'm, when I get to Sheridan, I can start Hamilton at the beginning and that will get me to the finish and that, and it did.

Karey It did. It got you

Aliza Yeah.

Karey I mean, it looked [01:24:00] like you were booking at like once it flattened out. Like you were just like, I know how to do this. Like, let's just get home.

Aliza Yeah. And yeah, I finished at 10 32 and

Karey Yep.

Aliza was there, uh, which was nice because it was like very anticlimactic. 'cause nobody else was there.

Karey Nobody was there. I was like, I'm so glad. When Lindsay told me that she was gonna be there to see you finish, I was like, oh my gosh. I'm so glad. Because that would just be so sad just to like

Aliza I know.

Karey roll across the finish line and then

Aliza Yeah.

Karey go get your car and go home. Oh,

Aliza So anyways, that was a long synopsis, but that was, but I guess it was sixty three hours condensed into an hour and 28 minutes.

Karey I think you did pretty good with one intermission.

Aliza With one in a mission.

Karey Oh my gosh. Yeah, I was when for whatever reason, like I literally could not go to sleep until you were done. Like,

Aliza Aw.

Karey like, I like tried putting my [01:25:00] phone down and was like sitting there in the dark. And then I kept like being like, is she done yet? And then I like refresh refreshed and I was like, okay, forget it.

I'm gonna get up and make me an egg, a scrambled egg. And because I was also really hungry. Liz is at 10 30 at night and I was like, I was like really hungry. 'cause we'd eat at like five.

Aliza Oh my God.

Karey like, okay, I'm gonna make me some protein and I'm gonna wait for Aliza. And as soon as I saw your dot bouncing, I was like, okay, I'm now.

Aliza I really liked your video that you did.

Karey wait, Dwight, congratulations.

Aliza that just, was that just on your phone? Like

Karey Oh, that one. That

Aliza not, yeah, it was like, it was like zooming in on the dot.

Karey because you can record your screen or whatever. And so I was like,

Aliza I thought that was, I like, I thought that was really funny.

Karey Oh my gosh. Well, that sounds like such an epic adventure. Like I,

Aliza Yeah.

Karey of you. So

Aliza Thanks.

Karey I mean we're, you know, we're long on time right now, but I just wanted talk a [01:26:00] little bit about, like you mentioned, um, that this race specifically, you really pushed yourself. Um, and that's one of the things that I, you know, we talked about me being a master pacer or whatever, like. I think that I, I am learning that as I'm getting myself into more like ultra endurance race situations, especially on the bike, like it is hard for me to overcome that governor of, like, that self preservation basically is like, I know how to make myself last for a very, very, very long time. And sometimes I wish I could like tap into that.

Um, that, I don't know, just pushing it a little bit more without the fear of like, um, just coming to a crash and burn. You know what I

Aliza Yeah,

Karey Like, not literally, but like, you know what I mean? Blowing up and then not having the legs to finish. Like do you feel like you, like looking back, do you feel like you [01:27:00] yourself in the ways that you wanted to?

Would you have done anything differently? Like how did, let's talk about that.

Aliza I mean I definitely pushed it. That first day was like, that was the biggest day I think I've ever done, uh, climbing wise for sure. On a bike like 14,000 feet. That was more than Leadville. Um.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza And, and it was a loaded bike and like, you know, gravel and everything. So, um, yeah, I definitely, it was an ambitious goal, I think for me to do that.

Um, and yeah, maybe I, maybe that was too much, um, in a, in a, in a sense just because I felt so tired and I felt like I, my power definitely dropped off significantly on day two and then even more on day three. So I definitely slowed a lot down a lot. And I wonder maybe if I'd done a little bit less on the first day, if I would've been maybe a little bit faster on the second [01:28:00] day.

I don't know. Um. But I also was able to do a bigger day when I was freshest. So, I don't know. I mean, it's a good point, but it's funny, like going into this race, I did really wanna push myself and see what it was like

Karey Exactly.

Aliza um, and I was push not just physically with like the distances and the elevation, but also this was my first time ever bike packing solo

Karey Mm-hmm.

Aliza camping alone and being totally self-reliant and not having anyone else as a team member.

Um, and that was really scary for me. It was, I definitely outside my comfort zone. Um, but I wanted to go there. I was really like very fearful of it for a long time of doing it. But I kind of like made the decision and I was kind of determined to like, to make it happen. Um, and I'm really proud of myself for that, uh, for doing that and overcoming that fear.

Um, and so that felt really good. And, you know, I intentionally wanted to put myself in this. Into the discomfort. [01:29:00] And I was in it and I was like, why did I do this? In the moment I'm like, why did I do this? And so like, it's funny, we talk about type two fun, type three, fun type four fun type six fun or whatever, you know, whatever number it was, it was there.

Um, but now that I'm, I've come on the other side, it's like, okay, like I, I know what the purpose of it was, you know, like it was to push me and to overcome a challenge that I thought was maybe like a stretch. And it was a stretch. And, um, I wanted see if I could persevere and do it. And yeah, I was able to, and I am really proud of that and I'm glad that I was able to do it without, and it's always that fine line, right?

Like not getting injured, you know, I'm have my medical background, so I'm like. When I was feeling kind of bad, I was like, why getting rhabdo, which is like a breakdown of your muscles and it can cause kidney failure and it cause your heart to stop if your potassium gets too high. Of course, my mind [01:30:00] spirals into these things and so, you know, it's always that line.

Like, I don't, I want longevity more than anything else. I don't wanna be healthy, you know, long in life and be able to do these activities for a long time. So it's that balance, like am I pushing too far where I'm jeopardizing like my, my knee, my, my body, my health. Um, and I think I got. Closer to that line maybe, but I don't think I crossed it.

I think I was still within my limits. Um, it just was outside of my comfort zone by far.

Karey Yeah.

Aliza But I think that's okay. Um, it's okay to be there. And it's interesting like the, you know, mis oggi, which is the, uh, you know, the sauna cold plan business at Deanna. And I started like, that's the whole principle of Miss Soge.

It's like overcoming these challenges and having this like perseverance, um, and this like purification process. And you know, it's like with a cold plunge, it's difficult and it's challenging to like get into it, but then you have the reward on the other [01:31:00] side and you, and that just the fact that you're able to overcome that discomfort.

Is rewarding and meaningful. And that's definitely what I think this experience ended up being for me, even though it was like so hard in the moment and I was really questioning it and like having my low points, like there's always, for every low point there's gonna be a high point. And that's something too to remember in those situations.

The other thing I kept thinking is like, you know, this was kind of a, a stepping stone for me for doing Atlas. And also like, I kept being in my mind like, this is my resume builder for Atlas. And um, like really this is the test to see like how,

Karey How

Aliza you know, how I fare? Yeah. And Atlas like that still scares me because it's like basically what I just did every single day, but for four more days.

And that's really scary, but it's like, okay, like. Is that possible? Like, I don't know, maybe, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But I do wanna try, I wanna try to see if I can do it and to train for it. And I [01:32:00] have like, you know, there's things that I learned in this from this race that I maybe wanna change and do differently.

And maybe different training strategies to improve my fitness, improve my strength, improve my endurance, um, bike changes, gear changes to like, make things lighter. Like there's a lot of, I learned a lot in this process to hopefully help me succeed in Atlas. If I get in,

Karey yeah, you will. I will.

Aliza you will. Deann will.

Karey So, yeah,

Aliza Yeah.

Karey then we'll just tie a bungee onto you.

Aliza Oh, I, I see why I was invited now.

Karey or I'm just gonna be running beside you on my, oh, there's more than one way to skid a cat, as they

Aliza That is habits. It is what we say.

Karey to climb a hill.

Aliza Yep.

Karey Oh my gosh. Well that's super awesome. I am, I I love that we also got to touch base so soon after.[01:33:00] 

Aliza Yeah.

Karey it's a while and you forget some of the things, but like having it so fresh and like that bitterness, but also the, the gratitude or, you know what I mean, they'll just like, the feeling of accomplishment I think is huge.

And to have that like right now is like, and be able to capture that tonight is like really awesome. So thank you for sharing your and outs and your diaper cream

Aliza Oh, maybe TMI.

Karey with it.

Aliza Sorry about it.

Karey No, goes on this on this show. Oh my gosh. I mean, somebody's gonna learn from that when they're on the boonies and they're at a convenience store and all they got is diaper cream. Well get it. You're gonna be, you're gonna be thankful you have it. I have

Aliza Yeah,

Karey as well.

Aliza yeah.

Karey Oh my gosh. Well, awesome. Is there anything, well, I always ask.

Okay, well, you just said, okay, so three things that maybe you learned from [01:34:00] this race. could be anything.

Aliza Uh, I want aero bars for the next, the next one, um, I do have, I'm having a little bit of hand numbness, but it is better than it has been in the past. Um, I wanna dial in my, uh, my kit more to, um. Maybe take a little bit less, fewer things, maybe have a little bit cleaner set like gear set up, uh, maybe less.

I brought a lot of like plugs and things. I was very fearful of, like plugs for my, for punctures. I was very fearful of like getting a really bad puncture and being really far out there and being like alone and cougar country. And so I like, I brought three different, I brought a dyna plug, like I brought the Stan one.

I brought bacon, like I brought three different ones. I brought super glue, like I brought suture. I was like just like so afraid. So maybe I can like not bring three plugs, three different types. Um, so I can like dial in maybe some of that stuff too. Um, [01:35:00] and then I guess like the third thing that I learned, um, I don't know, I guess that something like something I learned or something I would change about my setup.

Either.

Karey learned

Aliza Yeah, I learned that my bo like my, the mind is, is can do a lot more than you think it can. I, it when the body feels like it can't do it, like it,

Karey yeah,

Aliza you can really do a lot more than you think. And so that was something that I've, I guess I've experienced that before, but this was definitely, this challenged me the most, like more than it ever has before.

Karey yeah. That's pretty, pretty special.

Aliza Yeah.

Karey That's good. And then what were your three favorite snacks? I know you said you kinda got sick of sugar and you were kind of

Aliza I got so sick of sugar. Um, I'd say the gluten-free scone,

Karey Yeah.

Aliza uh, the gluten-free almond cake

Karey Nice, nice.

Aliza [01:36:00] was really good. And run gum

Karey Your run gum.

Aliza that run gum. Oh my gosh. That, that's another thing I too, I would like get, I was like, okay, when I get to the next. Like, when I get to 500 feet left in this climb, I can take a run gum. Like it's something to like look forward to.

Karey Oh my God. For those of you who don't know, run Gum is a tiny little tablet of gum that has how many milligrams of caffeine? It has

Aliza I wanna say it's like 10 milligrams, but it's also other energy stuff in it too.

Karey yeah.

Aliza It's like a five hour, hour energy, but it's maybe like, it's like a one hour version of five hour energy, but gum version

Karey Yep,

Aliza and, uh, it's mint flavored, which is nice. It's cleanses the palate.

Karey yep.

Aliza running gum. If you're listening, I'm, I'll totally take, uh, sponsorship.

Uh, I think you're amazing.

Karey Okay. So what sponsors do we have? We have, uh, you, you shouted it out to tail fin and you shouted out

Aliza Redshift.[01:37:00] 

Karey and

Aliza Redshift.

Karey Yeah. We are hopefully going to Atlas, so if you're listening to this, we can all use a little gear every

Aliza Oh yeah, definitely.

Karey Awesome. Well, congratulations again. And

Aliza Thanks.

Karey this race to people?

Aliza I would, it's, it is a good kind of like first race. I would definitely wouldn't do it if you've never bike packed before. I think having bike packing experience and like hike a bike experience is important. Um, but yeah, or even to tour this route, it would be a beautiful route to tour. I definitely would recommend a mountain bike or like a gravel bike with big tires on it.

Um, but it's, it's a beautiful route especially. So we actually had a detour away from the Valley of the Giants 'cause I think they were doing construction on it or something. But I think the value of the Giants, uh, will reopen next year. So if you [01:38:00] could see the value of the Giants in, um. Camp in that area, that'd be really cool too.

So touring, touring parts, there's a northern, you can do the northern tier, the southern tier of the route to, um, to make it shorter, uh, it's definitely, it's a beautiful route.

Karey Nice. Awesome.

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey Well, anything else you wanna you wanna say before we sign out?

Aliza Uh, well shout out to my business partner Deann, and our business Misogi Corvallis, which is, uh, on Instagram at Misogi Corvallis, our sole plunge, uh, definitely a big part of my recovery and, um, part of my general recovery is Sauna and Cold Plunge. Um, so yeah, shout out to Deann. Thanks for everything she's done for that.

Yeah.

Karey Yeah, check it out. If you're in

Aliza Mm-hmm.

Karey which is just the hop skipping away from Portland

Aliza Yep.

Karey or

Aliza And people who did, the people who did the VOG too, it's, uh, only, uh, like half an hour from Salem, so.

Karey Half an hour from Salem.

Aliza Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Karey [01:39:00] Good job you guys.

Aliza Yeah, thanks.

Karey All right, well, we'll sign up for tonight. So with that, signing out.