Scott Sitler:  

PAC Tour 1992 Northern Transcontinental" I’ve always tried to maintain a decent level of physical fitness. Having competed in track, running was my thing. Throughout the ‘80s I ran for fitness, sometimes 20 to 25 miles per week. When I left San Francisco and got a Cupertino job, I wanted to start exercising again so I could regain the fitness I lost while working in The City. But rather than run I decided to try cycling. The last time I rode bikes was 25 years earlier on my purple Gitane. To get myself started I bought a mid quality Bianchi. Very quickly I sold that bike and bought a Cannondale with higher end componentry. Soon after that I had a custom frame built by Dale Saso, the frame fitting my body dimensions perfectly. My new job at corporate connected me with a colleague named Jeff LaPlante. Jeff was a successful bike racer. He took me under his wing and taught me everything I know about cycling etiquette and tactics. With his guidance I came up to speed very quickly. Within a few months I was riding well and decided to set some goals. The first century (a 100 miler) I rode was one called The Sequoia, one of the most difficult centuries in the entire Bay Area. I didn’t know any better but I rode it well. No sooner did I do that, than did I set an even higher goal - the Davis Double - my first double century (a 200 miler). I rode that well and after that set an even higher goal – something called PAC Tour (a 3 week 3,000 miler!). I vividly remember sitting at my desk one afternoon at work. I had just returned from an errand at a bike shop. While there I picked up a Cycle California newspaper. I noticed an advertisement that said, “Ride Across America – FAST”. I called the number and spoke to Lon Haldeman, a two time RAAM winner. Lon explained that PAC Tour was a 1,000 mile per week crossing of the continental US. There was a lot of climbing and you rode rain or shine. My mind raced with the thrill of doing something so wickedly difficult. I signed up and sent him a check for $6,000. During PAC Tour riders stay at a hotel each night. Because I signed up for a lower cost package I had a roommate. My first roommate was a super nice guy from Atlanta named Chuck. He had to abandon after 3 or 4 days because of knee problems - but remember 3 or 4 days was already 400 or 500 miles. My second roommate was a doctor named Bob Breedlove. He had ridden PAC Tour several times before and was an amazing cyclist (and sadly he was killed by a motorist while riding PAC Tour in 2005). Bob roomed with me for 2 or 3 days before I got my third roommate, a brash Australian named Gerry Tatrai. Gerry went on to win RAAM in 1993. Between Bob and Gerry, I was a cycling rookie rooming with cycling royalty. What I didn’t know at the time was that I was way over my head. PAC Tour is an ultra-endurance event, something I had no experience with. Even though I was well conditioned and physically fit, I had no idea what I was getting into and didn’t realize just how difficult this ride was going to be. We started in Everett, Washington. The first day I rode up front with the fast guys. I vividly remember arriving in Wenatchee, Washington with a group of fast riders. We rode that 126 mile day so fast that Lon and the support team hadn’t even arrived at the hotel yet. Four or five of us waited in front of the hotel, smug looks on our faces because we were the first ones there. Expecting a nice compliment about our speed, Lon instead read us the riot act, telling us we were riding like fools and that we would burn ourselves up within days. He was pissed! Yikes! While having dinner that night I met a Spaniard named Alberto Paquet. He and I became fast friends and started riding together. Alberto was a good cyclist, he and I riding in the upper half of the pack. But little did I know, I was pushing myself to disaster. I was a runner and had good cardio fitness, but that fitness disguised the fact that I wasn’t a seasoned cyclist. After 600 or 700 miles in just 4 or 5 days my legs were fried, but I still had decent speed because I was physically fit overall. I didn’t know it yet, but I was in serious trouble. When making the ride from Cody to Sheridan, Wyoming the route took us on Route 14 Alternate. 14 Alternate took us over a mountain pass on our way to Sheridan. The day started out sunny and warm but quickly changed while Alberto and I were on the mountain. We got caught in a ra...Expand for more