Beyond rider Xavier Chiriboga recently finished third in the Arkansas High Country Race, but the eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed a peculiar addition to his setup - a Gatorade bottle propping up his head!
The race starts and finishes in Hot Springs and loops 1040 miles around Arkansas with nearly 84000ft of climbing and terrain ranging from smooth gravel to technical singletrack in a 50/50 split between paved and unpaved surfaces in a “route that don’t go nowhere – it just runs around everywhere” according to route designer Chuck Campbell. Although new to ultra-cycling, Xavier is an experienced Adventure Racer and finished the route in a total of 128 hours with just 6 hours sleeping time.
He was sitting in second place with around 300 miles left to ride when he was hit by the onset of Shermer's Neck, an unusual and debilitating condition that exclusively affects long-distance cyclists. Shermer’s Neck is a weakening of the neck muscles causing the rider to lose the ability to support their head and keep it upright. There is no known cure apart from rest, but Xavier wasn’t going to quit easily. It was time for some ingenuity, and his Gatorade head support was born. A plastic bottle flipped upside down and taped to the chest strap of his hydration pack was enough to provide a rest for his chin to help keep his head up and continue his ride. Although he dropped back from second place, he kept riding to his podium finish.
We caught up with Xavier after the race to hear about the experience.