Shortcuts
- A Hint of Ironman, Hawaii, April 11, 2000
- A Wet Grizzly Peak, Orinda, CA, May 7, 2000
- The Davis Double, Davis, CA, May 20, 2000
- The Death Ride, Markleeville, CA, July 8, 2000
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Well, not really a log. More of a collection of short stories about some
killer rides this year. Maybe an occasional hint at where training is
headed...
Shortcuts
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On paper, the Ironman ride (first half) looks easy. Perhaps a total of 1200' of elevation gain over 56 miles from Kona to Hawi. There were very few riders out on this day. This should have been a clue. I left about 10:30, and the first 10 miles were pretty straightforward. Highway 19 has a wide shoulder, and excellent pavement. As I passed Keahole airport, things began to change. The famous Kohala coast winds began to pick up. From the airport, nearly to the turnoff at Waikoloa, I was into a 10-15 mph headwind. Tough riding. I thought about turning up mountain and cutting across 190 to waimea, but at that point the winds died down a bit. So I continued.
Big mistake. About a mile further, the winds were back. The next few miles were pretty slow, but around Hapuna beach, things eased up a bit. Once on highway 270, things continued to be quiet for a few miles, but the ripples on the ocean in the distance were an indicator. Soon, things really started to get exciting. The headwind turned into a crosswind, off the mountains to the ocean. And, it wasn't 10 or 15 mph anymore. It was much stronger. From around Lapekani State Park until the point, it was all I could do to keep the bike upright and on the shoulder. Lots of work, and very slow forward progress. Never thought I'd use such a small gear on a flat road!
The best part of the ride was the climb from Hawi up the Kohala moutains. Highway 250 tops out at aroung 3700'. Finally, a visible obstacle! Or so I thought. Much of the climb is early on, and eventually, it's about 10 miles of rolling hills, open to the peaks of the mountains, some 1500' higher. This meant the return of headwinds and crosswinds. Even the descent on 250, which has to be about 3 miles of 8-12%, required my undivided attention. Around one corner, a gust nearly blew me into the guard rail!
Turning right down to the coast, there was finally a tailwind, and luckily, a nearly empty road - most of the traffic was coming up the hill. This was a very fast and enjoyable descent, although I'd swear that at a few points, it was getting pounded by both a headwind and a tailwind at once.
I pulled into Hapuna Beach at around 4:30 after 83 miles, perhaps 5000+ feet of elevation gain, and three stops. The valets joked, "Want us to park that for ya?". For scenery, the ride gets a 10. For difficulty... I'd have to say this was about the most difficult ride I've ever done. It may be surpassed later this year with the Death Ride. But this was a very tricky and strenuous ride with the wind.
The Grizzly Peak Century was on May 7, 2000. This was my 4th GPC, but the first in the last few years. I planned to do the 107 mile, 8800' ride. I spent Saturday night in Walnut Creek, so I wouldn't have to do the 1.5 hour drive from Los Gatos to the start on Sunday morning. Had I not stayed in Walnut Creek, I probably would not have done the ride at all. Sunday was not a banner weather day. It was raining and cold. But I was there, and the forecast said "partial clearing" by afternoon, so ... Of course, the forecast had said the weekend would be clear and sunny...
The GPC is a figure 8. The first loop is 70 miles, 5200'. The second is 37 miles, 3600'. I was strong on the first loop; holding back, actually, since I planned to do all 107. I was a little ahead of plan by the 2nd rest stop, where they had some hot chicken soup - a nice touch. The next segment has the toughest climbs, McEwen, Mama Bear, and Papa Bear. The climbs were nice because I could warm up. The descents were pretty hairy - cold, and hard to see. It was just enough to keep the bike on a straight course... At the last rest stop, I loaded up with roasted red potatoes (with a little rosemary and garlic, yum), but noticed I was shivering a bit. This rest stop is followed by a 1 mile descent, and I got really cold. There's another 1000' of climbing over the next 4 miles, and although I had warmed up a bit, I was already considering bailing on the 2nd loop. Most of the people I was riding with were thinking the same thing.
Back at the starting point, I was shivering more. Soaked through and through. I signed in, and asked how many people had gone out to do the 2nd loop. Two. I decided to call it a day. No sense in going hypothermic. I dried off, and got into some dry clothes, and magically, I started warming up. As usual, the GPC lunch was A+, and this year, the grills doubled as a nice place for everyone to warm up.
All in all, a good ride. I didn't mind the rain, and would have done both loops if it had let up, or if it had been about 15 degrees warmer.
Next big ride: The Davis Double, 5/20.
I cruised up to Davis on Friday afternoon. The pre-ride pasta dinner was sponsored by Team In Training, the proceeds benefitting the Leukemia Society. During dinner, I read over the map. One thing I noticed was that the last rest stop closes at 12:30 AM. Whoa. Imagine starting at 5:45 AM and not finishing the ride until 1AM. Eek. Anyway, I stopped by a drugstore on the way back to the motel in order to pick up some supplies. I wanted some small containers which would fit in a back pocket, to carry sun screen, BioFreeze (a muscle rub), and so on. Found the perfect match: little one-dose pill containers. I was ready.
I heard that some of the 800 riders start as early as 4am, so in order to make sure I could get parking, I awoke at 3:45, and was on my way to the start line at 4:15. Sure enough, there were lines of flashing red LED's already out on the course. I joined them at 5am. A mostly full moon lit the way. The ride starts out across miles of farmland west of Davis. Volunteers with flashlights pointed out left and right turns. Once daylight arrived, reasonable sized pacelines formed, usually led by tandems. Many, many tandems here. At least one triple.
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At 33 miles, there's a right turn, slightly uphill. I was in a pack
of some 25 riders. I upshifted into the turn, and got out of the
saddle. As my left foot began the down stroke, the chain unexpectedly
fell off. My left knee smacked the top tube pretty hard. Amazingly,
I kept the bike upright and no one in the pack went down. The bad news
was that I lost the pack. Oh, yeah, and now I've got a golfball sized
bruise on the inside of my knee, and 167 miles to go. At least it
wasn't raining. 8^)
Through 40 miles, I was averaging about 19.5. I felt pretty good; ignoring the knee, mostly. I was stopping at most of the rest stops, as it was already getting hot, and I'd go through at least 1.5 bottles every 20 miles. The lines were a little long at the early stops, so what could have been 5 minute stops typically turned into 10-15. The climbing begins at about 45, although most of the serious climbing is between 95 and 133 miles. You can see the elevation profile by following that link. The first climb, named Cardiac, was nice. In fact, I was tearing up most of the early climbs. I hit the halfway mark at about 11:30, just before the climb fto "Top of the DC". On that climb, I was doing about 15 in one section. As I passed two riders doing about 10, and heard one of them say "He's got it. He's got it." That felt good. I skipped the 6th rest stop, although slowed enough to get hosed down by a volunteer. |
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I stopped for lunch at 115 miles, about 12:15 or so. Found a nice shady spot and stretched a bit. A few people had had enough, and were looking for rides back to Davis. Back on the bike, I was starting to notice that it was getting harder and harder to "get back into it". Muscles were a little tired, and it was taking some time for them to warm back up. Also, my shoulders are starting to ache. Hopefully, the BioFreeze and the Advil would help keep that at bay. There's a short climb after lunch, followed by a screaming descent, after which comes the climb they call Resurrection. This was a really hard climb. Not particularly steep; just after 130 miles! After Resurrection, there's another long, screaming descent (8%, I recall). With all of the climbing, my riding average had been steadily dropping. I was down into the low 17s now. No complaints. This is faster than I expected.
The 165 mile rest stop (RS9) deserves special recognition. There were about 30 cyclists, and almost as many volunteers. One took my bike, another asked what I wanted in the water bottles (water, gatorade, or lemonade. No beer - drat). "Ice water, please." There was a large bucket filled with ice water and washcloths, and rather than just offer me one, a very nice volunteer washed my face! What service! They had a kiddie pool filled with sodas of all kinds (caffeine - yes), and V8 (check out the first three ingredients - tomatoes, water, SALT). I had one coke, two v8's, and a pile of potato chips and pretzels. Excellent volunteers, and just the foods I was craving. Bravo!
The last 35. It was about 4:15. I planned to go straight on to the finish. One description of the ride says "Fortunately, the [last] 60 miles along Hwy. 16 and farmland backroads is predominantly downhill." I'd modify that. At least 30 of that 60 is predominantly flat. That means work. Initially, things were going ok. Pedals turning for 20 mph or so. I decided (or, was required) to hop out at the 175 mile stop (see description of RS9). About 5 miles later, with 20 to go, I realized that all of the downhills were behind me, all that remained was flat farmland, and I really didn't have anything left. I was plodding along when another rider caught up to me. He'd been trying to catch me for 3 miles. "What for?", I asked. 8^) We were both pretty wiped out. He was completing his 20th Davis Double vs. my first. We stayed together. At one point, he suggested that I just go on. At most, I could have gone 2 mph faster. Why bother? I stayed with him until the last rest stop (at 192). He pulled off; I skipped it. Over the last 6 miles a few very small pacelines went by. I made an effort to latch on to one of them; nothing there. Oh well.
I finished at 6:44pm. A small group of volunteers and spectators applauded - nice touch. The total time on the bike was 11:57, off 1:47. overall riding average about 16.7, average stop was about 12-13 minutes. Strangely (perhaps not?), I was not at all hungry or thirsty at the finish, though I could not resist the chocolate ice cream. I was tired, but not sleepy, so I headed out for the 2 hour drive home.
The Davis Double was an interesting experience. I left with a renewed appreciation for the incredible beauty of the northern California landscape; there is some really gorgeous terrain back near Lake Berryessa, Clear Lake, Rutherford, and so on. And I have a new appreciation for what it is to be in the saddle for 12 hours. It was hot - over 100 in some places. The heat didn't bother me overtly, but I'm sure there were some subtle effects. Never having done more than 120 miles, I really didn't know how to budget effectively for a 200 mile ride, however I have no complaints at all - I'm very happy with the numbers. Overall, a good ride.
Next planned ride: The Death Ride, 7/8/2000.
For the event, Monitor pass is closed to cars until noon, and Ebbetts is closed until three. This is very handy, especially considering the volume of bicycle traffic. It was a very crowded climb - it's the first, lots of people start around the same time, etc. Something of an obstacle course getting to the top. You'd think you could just use the whole road, but that is not wise. Some people start the ride as early as 4am, and they are already on their way back down. Anyway, it was a pretty good climb, with some excellent views. The rest stop at the top was crowded - long lines. I got some food and water, and my "sticker" to indicate that I had completed the climb, and started the descent.
The first descent, down the back side of Monitor is a screamer! It is a non-technical, steep (8.4%), and long (10 mile) descent of some 3000'. Very fast speeds are possible, and although I'm not much of a descender these days, about 52 mph was achieved. Near the bottom, the number of people making their way up the 2nd climb steadily increased. Around one last bend, all I could see was a mass of people and bikes blocking the road - this was the turnaround point. Brakes on, get a sticker, about face, and climb back up to the top.
On the climb back up, I ran into one of my neighbors, also doing the ride. We chatted for a while, then I continued on up through the field. By the top of Monitor for the 2nd time, it was starting to warm up. Since there was another screamin descent coming up, I stuck with the warm clothes (arm warmers, windbreaker and tights). On the 2nd Monitor descent, I started feeling a thumpa thumpa thumpa coming from one of the wheels. At the rest stop before the major part of the first Ebbetts climb, I had a tech guy look at the front wheel. He found the problem, corrected it, and I was on my way - a 10 minute detour. I fueled up and got climbing. Shortly after that break, I felt a little queazy. I attributed this to the altitude. It would come back a few more times during the day, but never stayed long.
The front side of Ebbetts is the hardest climb (on paper, anyway). It has some 10-12% sections, and many 7-8%. It's more technical, with many switchbacks. This is the type of climb I like - many opportunities to get out of the saddle. Things were going well until about 3 miles from the top when I heard the dreaded pssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Flat. Back wheel. I pulled off, and set to work changing the tube. This took a little longer, as I was winded (thin air up there). Of course, just as I was ready to put the wheel back on, the SAG motorcycle came by. Oh well. They can't be everywhere. After a 15 minute break, I was climbing again. The top of Ebbetts is really steep, but I enjoyed it. At the rest stop there, I had the tech guy empty and refill the back tire, as the CO2 (which I use for flat repair) did not seem to be holding well. After a few minutes and another sticker, I was descending the back side of Ebbetts. This was not a fun descent at all. It's narrow (little or no shoulder), bumpy, and technical. Many of the potholes were marked. Except, of course, for the one which many of us hit. Amazingly, I did not flat. Later, as I passed a slower rider, they hit a pothole which launched one of their water bottles towards my wheel. I dodged it with the front, but caught it with the back! Once again, somehow I managed to keep the bike upright. The good news is that the back side of Ebbetts is short, and the descent was over quickly. Another sticker, then about face for the 5 mile 7% grind back to the top.
About 2 miles into the climb, I was getting a little sore. Shoulders, mostly. Somewhere in the early part of this climb, I exceeded the most climbing I had ever done in one ride (9200') and then crossed 10000' of total elevation gain. That was the high point of the climb. Somehow, I miscalculated the distance of the climb, and it ended up being a mile longer than expected. That was the low point of the climb. At the top of Ebbetts, I had done about 70 miles, just over half of the mileage, but almost 11500' of elevation - more than 3/4.
Lunch was part way down Ebbetts. The line was long, but I needed to eat. It was probably around 2. I got out of there at 2:30. The bottom part of Ebbetts is a nice swoopy descent. Passing through Markleeville, there were many spectators cheering us on, which is always a nice touch. After Ebbetts, I was pretty sore and tired. Here, I started the decision making process - continue for the 5th pass, or quit? There was no issue about making the cutoff time - I had 2 hours to get to Picketts Junction, about 15 miles distant, but the climb to Carson pass is very long. I thought, well, I'm here, I might as well climb it. So off I went.
The big downside of the Carson climb is that it is not closed to car traffic. The shoulder varies in quality and width, so it becomes really tricky to pass. Add to that a nice stiff headwind, and it becomes a grueling affair. We managed to form a few groups on this climb, but they typically got split when we tried to pass slower riders, and the car/bicycle mix was not right. There are a few flat sections, and new groups formed to take advantage of the flats and gain some time. The headwind was tough, but I found one guy who traded the lead with me. We towed 5 or 6 riders about 3 miles from Picketts.
The end of the Carson climb is a real killer, and this is probably where the Death Ride gets its name - more of a Death March, really. For the last mile, you can see the pass (the end), and you can see what you need to traverse to get there. It's not super steep, but with the winds, its a real challenge. All you can see is a long line of bikes struggling to get to the top. We did finally make it, and after 1 more sticker, got rewarded with an ice cream bar. That and a pile of Wheat Thins got me ready to ride. I did not want to stay long because it was getting chilly. So, down 15 miles to Woodfords. I was flying again, in spots, pushing 50mph, but other riders were passing me with ease. But the day was not over yet! Somwhere around Picketts, I realized that the rear tire was flat again! I pulled over by a spectator, who happened to have a pump, for which I was grateful. Using my last good tube, I crossed my fingers that I'd make it 15 miles to the finish.
There is one final climb from Woodfords to the finish. I had managed to save a little for the finish, so this climb was not bad. I pulled into Turtle Rock park at about 6:15 after somewhere between 129 and 132 miles. I spent about 9:35 on the bike, about 2:40 off (those flats and other assorted problems cost a lot of time.) But on that day, it wasn't about time. I spent the night near South Lake Tahoe, where we all told stories about our day on the road.
The ride gets an A+ for scenery. The snow capped mountains were a real sight, and in general, the views were spectacular! The volunteers also get an A+. They would hold bikes as you went for food; they refilled bottles. They were just great. It was a tough ride, and a little crowded at times. But the weather was perfect, and I'm happy that I finished all five passes.
The next big ride is the 2000 PMC!
