Eric B.: That wheelchair’s on the way!

YAKIMA, Wash. — Eric Bruntjen’s voice when he called in on Saturday morning, about 12 hours after finishing all 2,780 miles of the Tour Divide mountain bike race in just about 21 days and 11 hours, sounded pretty chipper.

And why not? He’d finished the race and he is also confident that enough pledges have come in to buy that specialized all-terrain wheelchair for injured Iraq war veteran Evan Mettie of Selah. He was so confident, in fact, that he said somebody should call Denise Mettie, Evan’s mom, to say she should start checking out those wheelchairs, because one will be on its way.

But let’s hear it from him:

Hi. Eric Bruntjen, Tour Divide rider, calling from Deming, New Mexico. All done with the race. Finished up last night on the 3rd, at 10 o’clock exactly. I think it was 10 o’clock and 18 seconds when I pulled into Antelope Wells.

Big day, about 175 miles, I think one of the other riders was saying, so I feel pretty good about that. Mother Nature gave us one last tweak and put some rain on my head — and a pretty stiff headwind, too. But when the sun went down, the moon came up, the rain stopped, the headwind calmed down, and I just let my legs go one last time.

So, good race, boy, thank you to my wife Melanee and my mother-in-law Fran … and my mom for watching the kids, for letting me go crazy on this … my buddy Frank for being remote support … Stephen Gleasner, wow, man, everything you said was right. Who knew that safety and security smelled like a moldy, wet, muddy bivvy sack, but you were right about everything. We’re going to commission a piece of art from you, I think — one of those plywood landscapes. Those are awesome. I’m going to commission one from you, inspired by the Tour Divide. So I’ll get in touch with you about that.

I think last night there were eight finishers. There were a lot of people there at Antelope Wells, a lot of family, and Kevin from Tucson was there, and all the racers that were coming in that day. So it was a special night at Antelope Wells, for sure. It’s an amazing race.

And there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s to thank all my sponsors. Holy cow. You know, I talked to some other racers who were raising money, but listen, nobody’s family and nobody’s hometown stepped up like mine. So, thanks to everyone for sponsoring me, and I think that we definitely raised enough money to get Evan a new all-terrain wheelchair. So congratulations to you. And someone call Denise, tell her to start looking for a chair, because we made it.

So I think I’ll be back in Yakima in a couple of days. Taking off tomorrow from El Paso. Thanks to Matthew Lee for putting on such a terrific race. It’s really an amazing adventure. So … I’m out. Bye.

For everybody who pledged to support Eric’s ride for Evan Mettie by sending your pledge e-mail to tourdechair@gmail.com, I salute you — now don’t forget that other part: to make our a check in your donation amount to the “Evan Mettie Donation” fund at any U.S. Bank.

Kind of fun to go along for the ride on something like this, huh? Thanks to Eric Bruntjen for bringing us along.

– Scott Sandsberry

Eric Bruntjen reaches the end of his ride

YAKIMA, Wash. — The headline is true, and in a good way.

Twenty-two days ago, Eric Bruntjen, the 38-year-old information technology specialist from Yakima was one of 42 endurance athletes from around the world in the Canadian Rockies tourist town of Banff at the starting line of the 2,780-mile Tour Divide mountain bike race.

He was riding in hopes of generating enough per-mile pledges to purchase a specialized all-terrain wheelchair for profoundly injured Iraq war veteran Evan Mettie of Selah. For those three weeks and one day, people have been sending e-mails to tourdechair@gmail.com, with all pledge donations going to the “Evan Mettie Donation” fund at U.S. Bank.

Whether or not Eric Bruntjen reached that first goal won’t be known for a few days, until everyone who pledged to donate actually does so. (Or for anybody who has so far missed out on that part of this adventure to join in the party.) I think it’s going to happen, but for now that goal is still out there.

But tonight, Eric reached his other goal: He rode into Antelope Wells, a border crossing at the U.S.-Mexico border, slightly more than 21 days and 11 hours after he began. I believe he finished in eighth place – out of 42. None too shabby.

I imagine we’ll be visiting with Eric in a few days, after he’s had a chance to catch his breath, reconnect with his wife and two children and catch up on some well-earned sleep.

But right now, I think I’ll just tip my hat, raise a glass, offer a toast and say congratulations. If anybody has ever earned a Fourth of July worth celebrating, it’s Eric Bruntjen.

– Scott Sandsberry

Eric B.: a busted tire, closing in anyway

YAKIMA, Wash. — Even after a couple of days of struggling with mechanical issues (and out of communication for most of that time), Eric Bruntjen is still competing in the Tour Divide. Not just riding. Competing.

He spent several hours in Grants Pass dealing with a tire issue that made it all but impossible to ride. He called his buddy and logistical aide Frank Hieber in a telephone call, was “sliced open.” It was really too bad, because Eric had that morning caught up with a couple of the five or six riders he had been gaining on for several days, which you know if you’ve been following the Tour Divide leaderboard.

We got a call-in this morning from Eric Bruntjen, which I’ll be posting below, but first I want to pass on something you might enjoy seeing — a photograph or two (if a technically challenged blogger such as myself can manage it when there are no IT guys around) — taken of Eric by an Albuquerque gentleman named Gordon Stalgren. Gordon, who had also been following Eric’s race progress online, drove over from Albuquerque to Grants, hoping to be able to say hello and perhaps raise Eric’s spirits a bit. The photos were sent to me by Gordon’s son, Glenn, an old college buddy of Eric’s who has been following Eric’s adventures both on the Tour Divide site and on this blog.

Thanks to Gordon Stalgren and especially to Glenn, because I’m sure people who have been following Eric’s trials and tribulations will be glad to know he can still smile. I’ll pass along some insights from Glenn below, but for now, without further adieu, here’s what Eric had to say when he stopped long enough in Silver City, N.M., to give us a call.

Hey, Eric Bruntjen calling in from Silver City.

A couple of real quick technical things. First of all, I know my brother’s following the race on the blog, so I want to wish him a happy birthday and I hope he gets better. You shouldn’t be riding those Jet Skis, Warner, you should be doing something safe like riding the Tour Divide with your little brother. [EDITOR'S NOTE No. 1: It sounds like Warner on the message, but if I heard it wrong and have the name wrong, sorry, oops.]

The other thing is, it occurred to me riding in the desert the other night that I hope I didn’t break the rules in Kremmling by accepting a ride in a car, borrowing that guy’s car. I talked to some other racers, they said no, that

was OK because I was off-route. Kremmling’s a couple miles off-route, and my bag was in the kind of dirt below the chipper plant there. But that’s on the other side of the river from where the route takes off, so … I think I’m good. But if anyone out there wants to check the Web site, read the rules and put my heart at ease, that’d be great. [EDITOR'S NOTE No. 2: If you haven't been following along over the past three weeks, don't worry, Eric wasn't cheating and using the car to get further along the course. He was backtracking on distance he had already ridden, to find a rucksack that included his tent and sleeping bag and had fallen from his bike (thanks to a broken clip) as he rode in a driving rainstorm.]

Other than that, I limped into Silver City with a busted front wheel. Just about everything bad that can happen to a tire and a wheel happened at the Wal-Mart in Grants. But I’ve got some tape on it and I’m limping to the bike shop to get a new wheel right now.

Spent the night last night up in the mountains with a Tour Divide fan named Kevin who drove from Tucson to come see the racers. And there were three other racers that I’ve been chasing since pretty much since Montana and Wyoming, were in that campground with Kevin. Pulled in there real late last night, came off the ridge chased by a lightning storm. Pretty wild ride down into the dark canyon. But everything turned out OK. Anyways, this thing’s not over until it’s over, but I got about 125 miles to go, I’m hoping to do it today, and finishing up.

I think I’m good on everything. I’m not eating as much, but that’s a good thing, and my next call will be from Antelope Wells. Bye.

If he finishes tonight as he believes he will, Eric will have finished this 2,780-mile beast of a mountain bike race in 22 days — three days faster than he’d hoped and a good week faster than I’d believed he could do it. Very impressive for a 6-foot-6, 225-pound, 38-year-old man.

But what I have learned over these three weeks, both from listening to Eric’s regular updates and from hearing from his friends, is that Eric is no ordinary guy. For one thing, not many other people I know would decide to take on such a profoundly physical and time-consuming challenge in order to raise money to buy an all-terrain wheelchair for a local veteran he had only read about in the newspaper.

Glenn Stalgren told me that Eric — who Glenn calls Brunch, a shorthand version of Eric’s last name — had asked him to do this Tour Divide race with him. Glenn, who has a 1-year-old son at home, didn’t think he could be away from home that long. “Of course, similar circumstances didn’t stop him,” Glenn wrote. Glenn also added a couple of little tales from their past history that should help give people yet more insight into how unstoppable a force Eric Bruntjen is. These are Glenn’s words:

In 1997 we rode from Canada to San Francisco on bikes, camping out along the way. Brunch saw the Pacific Coast, I saw his butt (I drafted off him the whole way). I guess that would’ve been against the rules in this race.

Another story about Brunch… He got in a bike wreck a few years ago. He cut his leg pretty bad and hurt his wrist. Finally after three or four days he went to see a doctor because the gash wasn’t closing. “That could’ve used stitches,” the doctor told him. “But’s it’s too late now. You’ll just have a big scar.” (He does). “That was quite a wreck. Hurt anything else?” Brunch mentioned his wrist, only after being asked. The doctor poked his wrist in a few spots and at one Brunch yelped. The X-ray confirmed the doctor’s suspicion. Brunch had a fractured wrist. Before he left the office, the doctor told Brunch, “You’re tougher than the average bear.” I can’t tell you how often I’ve thought the same thing returning from one of our adventures — him bounding and wanting more, me dragging myself from a hot shower and into bed.

That’s great stuff, and I’m very thankful to Glenn for passing it along, as well as the pictures.

I just checked the leaderboard and see that Eric — tire problems and all — has caught three of the six riders he’s been chasing for four states. They were 100 miles ahead of him a week ago. Now they’re eating his dust. Holy moly.

Kind of inspires you to want to donate a penny or two per mile toward Evan Mettie’s wheelchair by e-mail to tourdechair@gmail.com, doesn’t it?  I’m not sure enough have yet enough donations have come in to make that wheelchair a reality quite yet. And that would be a real bummer if, after all he’s been through over the last 22 days, those of us sitting here at home didn’t step up to the plate and do our part.

I’m just sayin’.

– Scott Sandsberry

Oliphant resigns, other coaching news

YAKIMA, Wash. — Bob Oliphant has spent much of this week crabbing off Camano Island. Exactly the kind of thing he’s got more time for now.

After 25 years coaching in Eisenhower’s baseball program — the last 13 of which were as head coach — Oliphant has resigned from the position.

“I think it’s time to get some new blood in there,” said Oliphant, who preceded his head coaching stint with 12 years as an assistant. “After 25 years it’s probably a good time to try something a little different, for myself and the program.”

Oliphant helped direct Eisenhower to both of its state baseball trophies. He was an assistant in 1986 when the Cadets placed third and he was head coach in 2000 when Ike won district and regional titles and placed fourth at state.

Beyond the many wins Oliphant amassed and all the standout players he developed was a passionate loyalty to a program in which he served at every level.

“He went through the process the right way — C team, JV, varsity assistant and head coach — and he bleeds red, white and blue,” said Ryan Froula, Oliphant’s longtime assistant. “You have to applaud a guy who stays in any program for 25 years, especially these days. Bob coached baseball for all the right reasons.”

Oliphant, a 1977 Eisenhower graduate and elementary school teacher in the Yakima School District, also coached for 12 years in Ike’s football program.

“I’ve been very fortunate to work with some great kids,” Oliphant said. “I love the coaching, but it’s a year-round commitment in the toughest league in the state. It’s time to have someone else have a go at it.”

AROUND THE VALLEY — East Valley has hired Darci Dekker (formally Beierle) to take over the volleyball program from Sue Cullen, who stepped down after five seasons. Cullen was the CWAC coach of the year last season. Dekker has coached at White Swan, Zillah and Prosser, where she coached the Mustangs to a seventh-place state trophy in 2003. … Sunnyside Christian has hired former Wapato assistant Ray Hernandez to launch its new 8-man football program this fall. … Sherrie Partlow is replacing Mary Rennie as Naches Valley’s volleyball coach.

AROUND THE REGION — Moses Lake’s Todd Griffith has been promoted from defensive coordinator to head football coach, replacing Greg Kittrell. Kittrell will be an assistant principal at ML next school year. … Quincy’s football job has been taken by former Bridgeport coach Stephen Wallace. … Keith Boyd will replace Mike Carlquist as Cashmere’s boys basketball coach. … Former Southridge girls basketball coach Kristen Davis has taken the same job at Richland, and longtime Suns assistant Scott Stiles will replace Davis. … Pasco boys soccer coach Mike Pardini has resigned after four seasons and two appearances in the 4A state championship final.

Senior Legion update

Central Washington League
W    L    Pct.
Kennewick    14    2    .875
Yakima Valley    12    2    .857
Twin City    11    5    .688
Yakima    9    7    .563
Pasco    8    14    .364
Hanford    4    12    .250
Wenatchee    0    16    .000
Wednesday’s results
Yakima 6-8, Twin City 5-9
Kennewick 10-7, Hanford 0-1

REMAINING GAMES
July 6 — Pasco at Yakima, 5:30 p.m.; Yakima Valley at Wenatchee, 5 p.m.
July 7 — Twin City at Hanford, 5:30 p.m.; Yakima at Wenatchee, 5:30 p.m.; Yakima Valley at Kennewick, 5:30 p.m.
July 8 — Hanford at Twin City, 5:30 p.m.; Kennewick at Yakima Valley, 5:30 p.m.
July 13 — Hanford at Wenatchee, 1 p.m.; Yakima at Yakima Valley, 6 p.m.
July 14 — Wenatchee at Hanford, 5:30 p.m.; Twin City at Kennewick, 5:30 p.m.; Yakima Valley at Yakima, 5:30 p.m.
July 15 — Kennewick at Twin City, 5:30 p.m.

GAMES PLAYED
May 31 — Pasco 9-10, Wenatchee 7-0
June 3 — Yakima Valley 13-8, Twin City 2-4
June 4 — Yakima 12-13, Wenatchee 1-0; Yakima Valley 8-10, Pasco 4-4.
June 7 — Hanford 13-2, Pasco 3-6.
June 8 — Pasco 1-3, Hanford 0-6.
June 9 — Yakima Valley 9-18, Wenatchee 1-5; Kennewick 14-14, Yakima 6-11.
June 10 — Yakima Valley 8-4, Twin City 2-7; Yakima 2-2, Kennewick 1-5
June 11 — Twin City 3-13, Pasco 2-12
June 12 — Hanford 12-0, Kennewick 3-3
June 15 — Yakima Valley 9-14, Hanford 3-0; Pasco 13-8, Yakima 12-21; Kennewick 7-19, Wenatchee 2-9
June 16 — Yakima Valley 10-5, Hanford 7-4; Kennewick 18-12, Wenatchee 4-2
June 17 — Twin City 12-12, Pasco 5-3
June 23 — Kennewick 10-10, Pasco 0-4; Twin City 11-13, Wenatchee 2-1.
June 24 — Twin City 8-13, Wenatchee 3-2; Kennewick 12-3, Pasco 2-2; Yakima 14-17, Hanford 3-6.
June 27 — Pasco 17-7, Wenatchee 7-3.
June 29 — Yakima 18-2, Hanford 10-9.
June 30 — Pasco 6-2, Yakima Valley 5-4; Twin City 14-2, Yakima 0-3.
July 1 — Yakima 6-8, Twin City 5-9; Kennewick 10-7, Hanford 0-1.

Yakima River chinook fishery reopens

YAKIMA, Wash. — The fish are still coming and the fishermen still want to fish for them, so the Yakima River fishery on chinook salmon — which officially ended Tuesday evening — reopened again a day later.

State fisheries managers agreed today (Wednesday) to reopen and extend the season through July 15, in response to the late-arriving run of hatchery fish to the Upper Yakima.

Anglers can only keep hatchery salmon, and that what is dominating this late portion of the run, said Department of Fish and Wildlife regional fish program manager John Easterbrooks.

“The proportion of hatchery to wild fish has increased, and that’s typical later in the run,” Easterbrooks said. “The wild, natural-origin fish tend to arrive earlier, and the hatchery fish tend to come later. There are still a lot of hatchery fish coming through, and here we’ve got a three-day holiday weekend coming up, so we wanted to get this e-reg (emergency regulation) pushed through in time.”

The fishery had originally been set to run through June 30, so it ended Tuesday an hour after sunset. But for the last week or more, anglers have been asking the creel checker if the WDFW was going to extend the fishing for another couple of weeks. Easterbrooks said that as of Tuesday, the river was in good fishing condition and that he knew of about 10 chinook that had been caught just above the closed-water line near the Terrace Heights Bridge.

The rules and limit remain the same as before.

- Scott Sandsberry

Eric B. chasing ghosts in the desert

YAKIMA, Wash. — Before this whole Tour Divide adventure began, Eric Bruntjen told me he was hoping to be able to complete the 2,780-mile mountain bike race — which basically follows the Continental Divide, crisscrossing it at times to generate a daily average of 10,000 vertical feet of climbing — in 25 days.

At the time, I thought he was crazy. He’s 38, which is a young man in many ways but not by elite-level endurance-athlete standards. He’s 6-foot-6 and weighs 225 pounds, which is not remotely the typical tale of the tape for a mountain biker, much less for an endurance athlete. I looked at some of the finish times from the last couple of years in the Tour Divide and thought no way was he, as a first-time competitor, finishing in 25 days. I could 27, maybe, or 28. If at all.

Clearly, I misjudged Eric Bruntjen. Today is his 20th day. And unless he has some major mishap, it looks like he’ll finish by Saturday night — his 23rd day. Despite suffering a badly sprained ankle a week into the race. Despite heavy rains that hammered him for probably 14 or 15 days of his ride.

Holy moly.

He called in Tuesday afternoon from Cuba, N.M., about 5:45 p.m. his time. He still had several more hours of riding to do, but here’s what he had to say:

Hey, Eric Bruntjen calling from Cuba, New Mexico. Been a pretty good day today. I spent the night in the desert outside of Abiquiu yesterday and rode back up to 10,000 feet today. New Mexico is tough riding — a lot of rocks, pretty technical. But it’s just a terrific state. It’s so beautiful, and the riding’s been a lot of fun — challenging but fun.

On a technical note, right now I’m going to take an approved alternate. It’s the only alternate you can take in the race so I’m going to be on pavement to avoid some dangerous areas if there’s a storm between Cuba and Pie Town.

Something kind of interesting in the mountains today, there’s a rainbow gathering. It’s thick with hippies; they say there’s 2,000 of them up there, and I rode right through their camp. So for a little bit today I wasn’t the only funny-dressed, stinky guy in the woods today. So that was quite an experience, to ride through the hippies like that.

Other than that, I’ve been chasing ghosts all day, just tracking down these tire tracks that I see. It’s been fun but challenging. So tonight I’m going to be out in the desert. Tomorrow, Grants. And keep heading south.
I’m feeling pretty good. Bike’s hanging in there. I’m optimistic right now, but there’s a long ways to go before this thing ends.

Eric has been steadily gaining on about six riders for several days. A week ago, they were 100 miles ahead of him. This morning, he’s within 30 miles of them. If you want to see if he’s gaining on them, you might check out the leaderboard on the Tour Divide site.

On another note, pledges have slowed down in recent days in Eric’s ride for Evan Mettie, the Iraq war veteran who was profoundly injured by bomb shrapnel. He’s been riding to raise money for an all-terrain wheelchair for Evan, with people supporting this effort by making per-mile pledges to tourdechair@gmail.com.

If you pledge a penny per mile, you’d be pledging to make a donation of just under $28 to the “Evan Mettie Donation” fund at any U.S. Bank.

And that would put Eric that much closer a goal every bit as big to him as the finish line.

– Scott Sandsberry

West Valley, La Salle 4th in Cup

Wells Fargo/WIAA Scholastic Cup
Final 2008-2009 standings
Points awarded for academics, sportsmanship and athletic performances throughout the school year.

Class 4A — 1, Mead 1,355; 2, Richland 1,185; 3, Skyview 725; 4, Rogers-Puyallup 715; 5, Newport 705. Locals: Eisenhower 65.
Class 3A — 1, Mercer Island 1,975; 2, Bellevue 1,125; 3, Lakeside 995; 4, West Valley-Yakima 965; 5, Columbia River 905. Locals: Sunnyside 95.
Class 2A — 1, Squalicum 1,345; 2, Archbishop Murphy 1,335; 3, Tumwater 1,215; 4, Pullman 1,185; 5, Burlington-Edison 1,055. Locals: 7, Selah 870; 13, Ellensburg 575; Prosser 275, East Valley 140, Toppenish 105, Grandview 75, Wapato 75.
Class 1A — 1, King’s 1,645; 2, Bellevue Christian 1,210; 3, Royal 1,165; 4, Lakeside 950; 5, Cascade Christian 845. Locals: Naches Valley 395, Zillah 300, Granger 135, Highland 135, Goldendale 105, Cle Elum 30, Mabton 25.
Class 2B — 1, Bear Creek 1,245; 2, Evergreen Lutheran 845; 3, Colfax 735; 4, La Salle 715; 5, Asotin 635. Locals: 12, Riverside Christian 465; Kittitas 215, White Swan 100, Lyle-Wishram 60.
Class 1B — 1, St. John-Endicott 855; 2, Mt. Rainier Lutheran 825; 3, Odessa 810; 4, Almira-Coulee-Hartline 695; 5, Cusick 635. Locals: 13, Bickleton 245; 17, Trout Lake-Glenwood 190; Thorp-Easton 155, Klickitat 145, Sunnyside Christian 115, Yakama Tribal 25.

Hey, marathoners: Remember Bruce Stobie?

YAKIMA, Wash. — A few months ago during some of the Herald-Republic’s advance coverage of the Yakima River Canyon Marathon, I did a feature story on Bruce Stobie, a former distance runner and ex-Central Washington University collegian who had been blinded in an automobile accident  a quarter-century ago.

His blindness not only didn’t prevent him from taking part in races like the Canyon Marathon — which he cruised in about 4:45, by the way — but also didn’t stop him from climbing mountains.

I got an e-mail today from Ron Fleck, his climbing mentor and one of the people I interviewed for that feature story. Ron had an update that I hope many of you will find interesting.

Last weekend, Ron, Bruce and another climbing student of Ron’s named Matt (he’s the guy at right in the photo) climbed Mount Adams. For Bruce, it’s a training climb: He plans to climb Mount Rainier with a guide service in a couple of weeks.

Here’s some of what Ron had to say.

Conditions were just about ideal for this outing. While not technically difficult (no crevasses, etc.) it is an endurance test as it requires an elevation gain of 6,600 ft (2 km) from the trail head to the summit. We camped Friday night at an elevation of 9,300 ft. and left our camp at 5:00 a.m. Sat. with ice ax and crampons, heading toward the summit on a snow slope that varied between 30 and 40 degrees. We arrived a bit over 4 hours later. For Bruce the descents are generally more difficult than the ascents but we managed that all with just a few minor slips. We were also able to glissade (slide on our butts) part of the snow slopes on the South face. The hardest part was probably the descent from camp to the car as we had to navigate some very slippery slopes and also descend some loose volcanic rock - a definite challenge, even for those who can see.

Kudos to Bruce and his climbing partners. I can attest from experience to the difficulty of negotiating that loose volcanic rock, and doing that without being able to see it would have to rate — to quote from a favorite movie of mine, “The Abyss” — a Sphincter Factor 10. And now Rainier? Now that, all you marathoners, is really going the distance.

– Scott Sandsberry

Fishing report for week of June 29

YAKIMA, Wash. — Jim Gallagher at the Yakima River Fly Shop in Cle Elum has sent in his latest Yakima River fishing report Tuesday morning for the upper Yakima. Here’s what he had to say for this week:

The Yakima River flows are moderate for this time of year at approximately 3,000 to 4,000 cubic feet per second. Much of the flow is coming from Lake Cle Elum to meet the irrigation needs of the lower Yakima valley. The water clarity has been very good. With the higher flows, the river has been best fished from a drift boat versus wade fishing the banks. The dry fly fishing has improved greatly this past week using large terrestrial and stone fly patterns. Beige and tan colors in about a size eight have worked well. Make sure the big dry flies are fished with a little movement to elicit a take. Basic nymphs such as prince nymphs and pheasant tails fished about six feet down have also produced takes. It appears summer fishing has taken hold of the Yakima.

Happy fishing.

– Scott Sandsberry

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