Grueling Le Tour De Pain No Match For Food Poisoning

There were a couple of flat tires, one very large bear and a pack of angry dogs.

In the end, only a case of food poisoning proved an insurmountable hurdle during last weekend’s Le Tour De Pain III triple and quadruple century bicycle ride.

Alex Renner of Spokane looked to be in good shape to make a strong finish the second day when he developed food poising during the overnight stop in Colville, said race organizer and competitor Bill Misner.

“He rode a hard 167-miler the week before and was really fit,” said Misner.

The other nine who tackled the grueling ride finished. Misner, Martin Scates and Dave Cole completed the 400-mile ride that included 20,000 feet of vertical climb in 27 hours, 50 minutes. Tim Ray and Hugh Bates finished in 30:50.

Four others opted for a 330-mile segment. John Rudnick came in in 26 hours, with Sally Phillips, Bob Bowley and Steve Sauser finishing in 30:42.

Misner noted Phillips was the only one to sign up for the shorter trip, but gained company after Saturday’s leg.

“It’s fortunate they were with her,” Misner said, “because four dogs came out at her on Sherman pass and Bowley did his best growling impression to chase them off.”

Misner, the only one who has ridden all three of the Tours, called this year’s event “awesome.”

“It was a good, hard pace,” he added. “We had tail winds about 90 percent of the time. I’ve never seen that before.”