The following article appeared in The Daily Astorian of Astoria, Oregon, Aug. 14, 2003. It is reprinted with permission.

Dennis Braun puts mettle in his pedal

Author: RICHARD FENCSAK For The Daily Astorian
Section: Local Sports

There were still 40 miles to go when darkness set in near Gold Beach on the southern Oregon Coast. Dennis Braun, on his way to the California border, was feeling the tension and discomfort of a long day. "Everything caught up with me," says the 43-year-old Seaside resident. "I was just beat."

Now anybody who has traveled the 363 miles down U.S. Highway 101 from Astoria to Brookings can relate to the fatigue Braun was experiencing. Although well-maintained and one of the most scenic highways anywhere, this stretch of blacktop that borders beaches, traverses headlands and skirts around and through shoreside towns is a long tedious haul of eight hours or more. If you're driving.

Braun covered roughly the same distance in 20 hours and 35 minutes. Which seems slow until you consider he pedaled the length of the Oregon Coast on a bicycle.

After cresting Cape Sebastian, a cruel climb of 1,000 vertical feet south of Gold Beach, Braun felt a wave of inspiration. "I knew I was going to make it," he says. Fortunately, the road slopes slightly downhill most of the way to the California border. When he arrived at 2:35 a.m. after recording an average speed of 18.1 miles per hour, including stops, Braun was elated and already mentally planning next year's coastal assault.

Just as when he finished, no one was around when Braun's long day began at 6 a.m. July 23 in the South Jetty parking area of Warrenton's Fort Stevens State Park. There he rendezvoused with Jim Carruthers, who lives in Hammond and shares Braun' passion for fitness, especially unorthodox endurance feats. "I think highly of Braun," Carruthers says. "He's pretty much the equivalent of Lance Armstrong (the American cyclist who recently won his fifth Tour de France). I firmly believe that."

Carruthers hopped into his 1988 red Toyota pickup while Braun simultaneously mounted his Cannondale R-700 bike and their Tour de Coast from Oregon's northwest tip to California began. The goal was a sub-24 hour ride, and the plan was for Carruthers to drive ahead a few miles, then wait for Braun to come zipping by. He provided energy bars, fluid refills and frequent verbal encouragement. "You will make it!" Carruthers exhorted, motivating Braun to put extra mettle into his pedal strokes.

"I didn't know what the day would hold," Braun says about his odyssey, a ride he had completed once previously. That was in 1986 when he and a Seaside High School friend cycled the coast in 42 hours. "We wanted to raise awareness of how beautiful this coastline is," says Braun. "I believe we opened some eyes." The ride was reported in local newspapers and mentioned by at least one Portland TV station.

Only Carruthers and a few close friends knew about this summer's Tour de Coast, an endeavor Braun termed "a 17-year-old goal of mine." Late July was the ideal time to attempt it - a window of summer opportunity featuring ample light and strong tailwinds. Those tailwinds didn't materialize until Braun reached Lincoln City, about 100 miles into his trek. "I paced myself to Lincoln City," says Braun. "When I caught the tailwind, I just started jamming."

A key factor was nutrition. Braun consumed 30 or so energy bars and a couple gallons of a sports drink. "I kept him fueled," Carruthers says. Braun concurs: "I needed to force myself to eat and drink every hour, so I pounded those energy bars down."

No slouch when it comes to fitness, Braun has competed in numerous athletic contests including running races, tennis tournaments and triathlons. These days, his sport of choice is duathlon, an event which combines running and cycling. Most recently, he won the May 31 Blue Lake Duathlon east of Portland. Three years ago he was a member of the U.S. team that participated in the World Duathlon Championships in Calais, France. He trains full time, "to show people that life can be awesome after 40 years."

Is Braun' Tour de Coast time a record? Carruthers believes so. "I talked with several people afterward," he says. "I don't believe anybody has done it as fast as Braun. I don't think anybody could."

Ever self-effacing, Braun insists his objective had nothing to do with setting records. "I wanted to thank God for the gift of life, my great health and this beautiful planet," he says. "And I just wanted to see if it was something I could do."

Richard Fencsak is co-owner of Bikes and Beyond. His column appears the second and fourth Thursday of each month in The Daily Astorian.

Copyright, 2003, Daily Astorian, The (Astoria, OR). All Rights Reserved.