Texan Gary Gottlieb – Courageous Tejas 500 Champion

Gary Gottlieb

Fellow cyclists in Texas recognize him as one of the strongest and consistent randonneurs around with a history of completing every randonnee on the schedule year after year.  On weekends without randonnees, he’s out there on the road riding permanents.  So, it’s no surprise that this will be his second straight year of turning in over 30,000km of organized randonneuring, half of that with his wife Dana on their tandem.  Not impressed yet?  Well, the cherry on the top is that this Texan was the second behind fellow Lone Star randonneur Dan Driscoll to receive the coveted RUSA 100,000K Galaxy Lifetime Achievement Award.

If you’re not a Texan, then you may not know that we’re talking about Gary Gottlieb.  An extremely accomplished randonneur he is, but confesses that he’s not much of a racer.  In fact, the Tejas 500 in Glenn Rose, TX is the only race that he competes in.  “The Tejas 500 is the only Ultra Race I do, says Gottlieb, it is local and run by my very good friend Dan Driscoll and I figure it is easier to ride the 500 miles than it is to volunteer.”  With that said, Gary entered the 2010 edition and came from behind by outlasting the “Rabbits” in the field to take the win on his own home turf.

Gottlieb explains that “The Tejas 500 is just a very fast 800K brevet for me and I really prefer the companionship of riding with others, but the solitude of the roads, especially at night, are very rewarding.”  ”Besides, The Tejas 500 course is made up of roads I ride on all the time.  It is the western half of the famous Goatneck course.  I could ride it blindfolded.  I know every turn, hill, drop, crack, hole, and the names of the bugs along the route.  I guess that gives me the hometown advantage.”

So, would that “Hometown advantage” be enough for a repeat performance?  Why not, in addition to the “Home Court” advantage again this year, Gottlieb promised to use the same race strategy he used to break the winner’s tape last year.  He explains that the strategy is not complex, “I just ride the loop 19 times and when it’s over I stop.  My wife Dana, my friend Debbie Breaud (who did solo RAAM in 1991), and Dana’s mom Kathy Hill crew for me.  I ask them to not tell me how I am doing until I finish.  I never get mad on the bike and just enjoy to ride. No matter what the weather is or if I am in the lead or dead F-ing last.  I just have fun.”

Gary Gottlieb - © Grace Photography

Pretty simple, but what Gary didn’t factor in, nor did anybody else, was the Drama that he would have to endure to get it done this year.   He was undoubtedly executing his race plan with precision.  For the first 14 laps he was like a kid on a new pair of roller skates, just having a fun time on the bike.  He turned in a first 26.5 mile race loop in the fastest time of the field in 1hr 17min.  From there he settled into a consistent lap pace that would vary no more than 11 min averaging 1hr 29 min though the first 21 hours and 371 race miles.  The plan was indeed working once again, his strong steady pace had put him 4hrs 16min in front of his closest competitor and he was a mere 5 min over his 29hr 37 min winning pace.

Well, on lap number 15, with more than a 4hr lead, the wheels fell off the kids new pair of roller skates.  No, the wheels didn’t fall off Gary’s Lightspeed, but something even more unpredictable happened.  A tanker truck spilled diesel fuel on the course at a stop sign in downtown Glenn Rose.  Unaware of the spill and the first rider through this section, Gary lost control on the slippery fuel as he tried to stop for the sign.  Even worse, after crashing he was unable to get up off the pavement and lost consciousness due to the high concentration of fuel vapor.

Gary Gottlieb - Jim Finger Photo

“I was overcome by the vapors and passed out.  When I woke up in the ambulance my blood pressure was 60/40 and I was vomiting,” said Gottlieb.   He went on to explain that “Once in the ER my vital signs returned to normal and I wanted back on the bike.  I started to feel better.  They wanted me to stay the night and they were going to take x-rays, an MRI on my shoulder, an EKG, and hook me up to an IV.  I said just clean my arm and give me some ice water.  My wife had to sign me out and Kalleen Whitford picked me up in her RAAM van.  Back at the pit I threw up again.  I drank four bottles of Nuun and popped several Power Gels and felt better.  A race official dropped me off at the point where I crashed and I got on to riding again.  I lost three hours total.”

Even though he didn’t know it at the time, the official time splits show that once he returned and finished lap 15, he still controlled the race with nearly a 2hr lead.  Continuing on, Gottlieb worked through the pain of his injuries which included bruising of his shoulder, arm, thigh, and calf, along with road rash on my arm right where it sits in the aero bar’s arm rests.  As he continued to ride, he was able to block out the pain and ride to the finish.  “I was very happy just to finish,” said Gottlieb.  “I waited for the other racers who started the race later than me to finish before I could finally see that I had actually won.”

Gary did in fact win the 2011 edition of the Tejas 500 in a time of 32hrs 12min, 3hrs 20min ahead of 2nd place Jose Louis Bermudez, from College Station, TX, and Greg Conderacci who trailed by 7hrs 41min.

Congratulation on the win Greg!  Hope you heal quickly!

More from Gary Gottlieb:

Many of the people who did the Tejas 500 and 24, 12, 6-hour time trials are my riding companions on all of these brevets and permanents.  I usually do most of the pulling and they are called my ducklings.  The only one who is not content on my wheel is Dan.  He likes to pull because he is our leader in the Lone Star Randonneurs and a strong rider.

I would like to add a plug for the Tejas 500 and Texas Time Trials too.

I really like the format of the Tejas 500 and the Texas Time Trials.  The event is staffed by very friendly people from the FWBA (Fort Worth Bicycle Association) and LSR (Lone Star Randonneurs) which are both of my home clubs.  The way the race is set up you do not need (and are not allowed) a follow vehicle and you can self crew if you like.  If you self crew most likely another friendly crew will adopt you and help you out like this year on the 500 by our tent city.  The atmosphere is more like a weekend fair full of tents of old and new friends. One of my favorite things to do is just hang out and walk around talking to the other bicyclists, crews, families, and staff after I finish the 500.  I don’t even get a hotel room.  I just hang out and watch the other events and grab a few Zs in my lawn chair now and then.  There are many fast food places, restaurants, and even a bakery within walking distance of the event location along with several hotels.  I just bum a room to get a shower and then go hang out.  It’s more fun that way.