What happened in Death Valley ..wind and carnage.

Lyresa and I met 40+ mph headwinds on the floor of DV heading south. I got on my bike at Furnace Creek after she battled the wind from Stove Pipe Wells (after descending Towne Pass). I managed to settle in at about 6mph into the constant wind with frequent side gusts wrestling with me for control of my bike. After 4+hrs, I had gone ~20 miles. I could feel the wind getting even stronger. After Badwater, a huge (>50mph) gust hit me, took complete control of my bike, spun me around and across the road into the ditch on the other side. I couldn’t even walk my bike into the wind as other larger riders were trying to do. At that point I got in the van and we all rested for about an hour. The wind had not changed in direction or strength. We followed the lead of many other teams who DNF’d at that point. I’m really disappointed. So much preparation went into this. But there is always next year..