Solvang Double Century—March 2004

Solvang, California

Once again we were greeted with superb weather, great riding conditions and excellent hosting at the Solvang Double Century. It amazes me how this part of the country is so perfect for cycling. We started our adventure at the wee hour of 0540 in the morning with a staggered mass start. In groups of 64, the hearty soles were released from the starting gate unaware of the most excellent conditions that would come our way. The only downside to the whole day was the brisk temperature during the first part of our ride. That, too, was abated quickly as the sun rose unopposed in the eastern sky. I must say that the sunrise over the eastern mountains near Santa Barbara was breathtaking. The initial route took us through the Solvang area of rolling hills, horse ranches and farms. I vowed to maintain my planned pace and conserve energy for the long miles ahead.

At about the 15 mile point we encountered a rather long but not impossible climb that gave me the opportunity to tag up with a very cheerful couple on a tandem. Marty, the stoker, and I struck up a great conversation about various topics including Double Century conquests, etc. As we continued to chat, she informed that her Captain had done 41 Doubles and she was working on her 47th. Geez, I thought to my self, I'm a real rookie, informing her that I was proudly working on my first one! To make things even more humbling, we passed two older gentlemen on a tandem and Marty promptly informed me that the Captain of this tandem team was the "King." I asked rather inquisitively, "The King, huh?...King of what?" Marty said, "the captain of that tandem has 87 Doubles to his credit." I thought to myself that I have truly met the Yoda of endurance cycling! As it turned out, I would see them again. More on that later. I lost Marty and her captain someplace on the downhill run towards Foxen canyon. I've always maintained that when you lose a Tandem wheel, you won't get it back. Anyway, by this time the temperature managed to climb out of the 30's and quickly into the pleasant upper 40's. For those not familiar with Foxen canyon road, let me describe it in a few words here. The road is about 20 or so miles from Solvang and winds it's way for miles through some of the most beautiful countryside in California. The road meanders through vineyards, horse farms, and pastures. It is about the closest thing a perfect cycling location you will find anywhere.

As I pressed on down Foxen canyon, the two older fellows on the tandem passed by me and somehow I managed jump on the back. As it turned, I was lucky enough to take advantage of their draft for 20 miles to first rest stop. Along the way, I managed to strike up a conversation with the "King of Doubles" and asked him how he managed to achieve such fame. His answer was short and to the point, "just spend twelve years doing it." If you do the math, that's seven and a quarter doubles a year!

The energy at the first rest stop was pretty high with folks quickly relieving themselves (in true road biker fashion), filling water bottles, and grabbing food. The key at these rest stops is to spend as little time as possible off the bike. As such, I fueled up with some of those great PP&J sandwiches, stoked the water bottles/camelback and pressed on. It appears that leaving quickly had its benefit. A rather large peloton with Tandems in the lead (of course) blasted by me like the Tour de France. As I stood to quicken my pace, one gentleman spouted out the obvious and told me if I wanted to join in, I would have get on the back. As it turned out, this group was composed of the Furnace Creek 508 vets from Bakersfield, or Kern County Wheelmen. For those unfamiliar, the Furnace Creek 508 is a 508 mile race that transits Death Valley; a real popular event for all the endurance fanatics. For the next 50 miles, they joked, whooped and hollered and really made the whole ride quite fun. My planned pace went out the window as we blasted through Santa Maria on our way to San Luis Obispo at well over 20 miles an hour.

This is about the time the temperature started to climb towards the 80s so off came the arm warmers, etc. The funny thing about cruising along in a fast group, is the fact that you don't realize how much you are sweating until you stop. Lesson learned here is: riding fast equals drink a lot! Out of San Luis for the first time we pressed towards Morro Bay along Hwy 101 to see the "Rock" before returning to San Luis Obispo for lunch. Not to my surprise, the "King" and his stoker blasted by me, and once again, I used up some juice to get on their wheel. By this time, we had a really nice tailwind literally shoving us down Los Osos road. We topped 30 mph easily for about 20 miles. What a ride!

As usual, Planet Ultra did a great job supporting the lunch stop. I grabbed a turkey sandwich and a can of v-8 juice and munched away. It always amazes me how your stomach doesn't even feel like you put anything into it when you do these types of events. Anyway, fueled up, I popped a couple of e-caps and pressed on my way to my next goal: the rest stop at Guadalupe. I slowed my pace going through Shell Beach and up the climb to the Guadalupe plateau. At 125 miles, I wanted to make sure I would finish this thing. At the top of the Guadalupe Plateau, you are presented with a really nice view back over your shoulder at Shell Beach: vast sand dunes and an awesome picturesque view of the Pacific Ocean. This is the spot that leads into the farmland of the central coast. Tons of acreage growing everything from garden flowers to red cabbage. This is also the spot where the wind is either your friend or your nemesis! Fortunately, the wind gods were in our favor and we enjoyed a nice tailwind and screamer downhill run all the way into Guadalupe.

I must say that Guadalupe is not your average California town. It is small and more reminiscent of central Indiana. Old looking movie houses and architecture from the 30s or 40s. Nonetheless, we were greeted by some awesome volunteers at this rest stop and the topic of conversation amongst riders was the quick pace. Almost to a rider, everyone was well ahead of planned pace and personal timelines. I, too, thought I'm gonna finish this thing before dark. So, what seemed like my 50th PP&J, I pounded down nourishment and pressed on my way. I soloed out of Guadalupe but was quickly caught by some other friendly riders who kindly let me join their wheel. We exchanged pulls for about 15 miles, but the pace seemed a bit fast for me so I dropped off the back to conserve energy. The route from this point is relatively flat until you reach Hwy 135. From here it is a long 3 or 4 mile grind up to the summit that finally leads into the last rest stop at Los Alamos.

About 7 miles out from Los Alamos I tagged up with an elderly gentlemen named Howard. As we rode together, we exchanged pleasantries and stories of rides gone by. He informed me that he was 73 and his doctor and family thought he shouldn't be doing doubles any longer. I asked him how many doubles he does in a year and to my surprise, he said he was trying to cut down from 5 to 3! There again, I felt like such a rookie compared to these seasoned veterans. The story also gave me the motivation I needed to finish this ride!

Los Alamos is a lot like Guadalupe, it is a little out of character, at least in my mind, of what a town in California should look like. The rest stop was nestled up against a house that looked like something out of Mayberry RFD gone bad. Nonetheless, the food and refreshments were a welcome site and I had made it to 170 miles! What got my attention here was the look on some of the riders’ faces. There was this far-off stare amongst a lot of them that looked like they were concentrating on something beyond their immediate vision. I think most of us call it BONK! There were even a few that huddled together while nursing down a well deserved hot bowl of cup-of-soup. I kept thinking to myself that if I stay here too long, I’m going to start looking and feeling like these guys. Apart from the 3 mile climb at 5 percent grade and horrendously bumpy Drum Canyon road, the last 21 miles into Solvang was rewarding and rather uneventful. My total ride time was: 10 hours, 35 minutes and 36 seconds. 12 hours and 14 minutes unofficial total time. As they say, most of a double century is mental and I certainly concur. See you on the road!

Lighthouse Century—September 2004

San Luis Obispo, California

The Green Valley Cyclists in their first off-station ride of the year roared into San Luis Obispo and gave central coast Californians a taste of Nevada style riding. JC, Linda, Perri, Kim, Sherri, Dick, Eddy, Dennis, Julia, Jim, Sandy, Mark, Bobbie and Kent all came away after the ride with a smile that denotes a sense of accomplishment.

The ride was also a resounding success for the SLOBC folks. Greater than 1300 riders took to the roads covering the metric century, the highland century, and the lowland century. Without a doubt this has to be one of the best supported and organized century rides in the country. Everything from food to route marking, to just plain good old hospitality was outstanding. If you do one ride in California next year, I highly recommend this one. The lowland century is a perfect first timer. The route is easy to follow, has just a wee bit of climbing and the rest stops are plentiful for the fledgling centurion. The highland route offers great vistas, climbs through the central coast and finishes up with the lowlanders at or around the 50 mile point. For those not up for the whole 100 miles, the metric is a perfect substitute. The metric route follows the lowlander routing but stops in the quaint town of Cambria that coincides with the awesome lunch stop. Several Green Valley Cyclists opted for this route this past Saturday.

We all agreed to meet in the parking lot of Cunega College for the start at 6:45. I could tell that Eddy and Kim where particularly excited seeing as how this was their first century attempt. The fun part of these rides is to witness all the preparation that goes on in the parking lot. Conversations abound, people packing supplies into jerseys, etc. The long lines at the honey huts (porta poties) are particularly interesting. You can always tell who downed that extra cup of coffee before driving over to the start point. One bit of advice when finishing up your business. Don't tuck your jersey into your shorts once you are done. You look kinda like a little kid trying to look like Spiderman, not mentioned giving away what business you were really doing in there.

The temperature at this time of year along the central coast can be a bit nippy. Eddy informed me that the old mercury was hovering around 53 degrees. This kept both of us wondering whether or not we came prepared enough in terms of clothing. I can say from experience, that a little less is usually better. Once you get going, the old body temperature starts to rise and all that extra clothing becomes somewhat of a nuisance.

After grabbing a couple of prestart pictures of the group, we headed out of the parking lot eagerly anticipating the journey ahead of us. Then it happened not more that 100 feet from the start. FLAT! I though to myself, you gotta be kidding me! Turned out that Mark punctured just after rolling out of the parking lot. I was one of the first to roll up and offer assistance. I said, "That's got to be a record!" Mark looked at me and started changing his tire when Dennis rolled up and said "Wow! That's a record" Not be out done, Dick rolled up to offer his help and said, "Man! that's a record!" The look on Mark's face was rather priceless. We all laughed and agreed that we overstated the obvious a few too many times. Kinda like going up to a real pregnant women and saying, "Gee are you pregnant or what?"

The lowland century route takes you back into San Luis for a short bit before venturing out into the countryside. The route up Hwy 1 into San Luis has a few surprises, especially when it is somewhat dark outside. A few riders were a bit unprepared for the hidden ruts in the road on the downhill into the city. One lady wiped out and eventually abandoned the ride. Sandy saw another guy sliding down the hill next to his bike in the middle of the road! Now I know it is not funny to take humor at someone else's misfortune, but the mental thought I had at that moment made me chuckle just a bit. The bottomline here is to let the rabbits all go there way. You will eventually see them again along the way.

As we made our way up Los Osos road and back to Hwy 1, Dennis, Dick, Eddy and myself decided to "pump up the volume" a bit. The pace was reasonable and welcome because we started to warm up given the extra effort. As we entered Hwy 1 North, the sun started to peak over the mountains and the clouds gave way to an awesome sunrise. There is just something really cool about riding along the beach at the break of daylight. The air is cool and the sounds and smell of the sea all seem rather relaxing. The quick pace brought us into Cayucos for out first rest stop of the day. The layout here was awesome! Everything, bagels, fruit, coffee, donuts, you name it. And...plenty of it!

The route from here darts inland for a few miles and meets up with he highland riders at the junction of Hwy 1 and Hwy 46. All riders basically follow the same route from here to Cambria. This kinda cool because the pacelines seem to get bigger as riders join up along the way. The only real climb on the lowland route starts just after the Hwy junction. The climb is not too long and the grade is reasonable, at least for some riders. After the long climb, you are rewarded with a bomber downhill thrust into Cambria. This is the turnaround point for the Metric folks and the lunch stop for all. The sweet thing about the Metric route is that you get first dibs on all the food! The lowland and highland crowd keeps pedaling for another 20 miles or so to the lighthouse turnaround.

Cruising past Hearst Castle is always a pleasure and even displays a few surprises along the way. As we reached San Simeon, we were greeted by a heard of Zebras that are remnants of the Hearst's zoo. It was a very interesting site to see the great American cattle grazing next to Zebras. This was also the point where Mr. Wind and his brother Mr. Gust met us with their not so pleasurable ride offerings. Dennis, Eddy, and myself found a great paceline spearheaded by the crazy Kern County Wheelmen. These guys/gals are stronger than oxen. They took turns pulling the entire group all the way to the lightouse turnaround. Great folks and great fun!
After some minor refueling and relieving, the 3 of us pushed up so we could get to some of that great lunch. If you are a century rider, the lunch stop comes at about the 72 mile point so it is a good idea to take advantage of some of the food at the earlier stops. The scene at the park was amazing. Light breeze, blue sky, temperature in the mid 60s to low 70s and a literal sea of bikes everywhere! I think I saw every make and model of every bike ever manufactured laying of standing in that place. Everything from a 5 speed steel Peugeot to Calfee dotted the landscape.

I must say that if you like to eat on these rides, this is the one for you! Being sort of an endurance kind of guy, I've learned that food can do a few not so good things to you if you are not careful. So, I pick and choose my fuel pretty carefully now. I've had a few of those not-so-good HAZMAT gas-events in the past! The SLOBC folks really out did themselves with this spread. You could choose from three different lunch meats, 3 different types of salad, several types of drinks, and they even served desert. Me, I just had my standard small sandwich loaded with no gas producing extras or condiments. Eddy looked pretty pleased and satisfied with the spread and Dennis stayed with his long time tradition of having a piece of pie as his long awaited ride reward.

The only bad thing about putting the lunch stop at the bottom of a big long hill is that fact that you have climb the big belly back up the hill to get to the other side. I guess that the upside is that you get to go faster on the downhill now because that extra food acts like extra weight. The last 30 miles is basically a repeat of the first part of the ride. Only this time you get Mr. Wind at your back and the roads are full of cars and people. Just after Cayucos, we picked up a pretty fast tandem team for about 6 miles. After that lunch and 80 miles under our legs we decided to let them go and not punish them any longer with our massive single bike strength and stamina.

The nice thing about finishing this ride is that you get to do it downhill! The long downhill takes you straight into the finish line at the college. It was great to see the people standing along the side walk waiting for their friends and relatives to show up after a long day in the saddle. I managed to get a few minutes on Eddy and Dennis and it was a real pleasure to get their pictures as they came in. This was Eddy's first century and Dennis' first century after getting a couple of new bionic hips! Both finished the 102 miles in 5:39! That's almost an 18 mph average! Well done! See you next year in San Luis Obispo for Lighthouse 2005.

Grand Tour Challenge, June 2003

Malibu, California—June 2003

First of all, let me say this right up front. This was one of the best Century events I have ridden, and my hat is off to the LA Wheelemen Bicycle Club for putting on such a well organized and supported event. As most of you know, the ride started and ended in Malibu California, a quaint small and unassuming little town along the California coast...not really. The Grand Tour is comprised of 400 mile, 300 mile, 200 mile, and 123 mile ride options with the 123 mile "Century" known as the "Century Challenge." I'll explain that title as we go along in this ride report, but I think it will be rather obvious why they added the word "Challenge" to the title.

Five Vegas Velo Club members, Bobbie Costin, Kent Costin, Barry Vinik and Shannon Goldsmith (Randy Paar started at 6:15am) pressed out past Pepperdine University cheered on by the line of celebrities and stars lining the streets at 6:30am. The weather was typical California coastal weather at this time of morning: 60 °F with low-overcast skies and no wind. Perfect riding weather! The first four miles North on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway or Highway 1) brought us to the foot of Latigo Canyon; one of many canyons that meander and crisscross through the Malibu local area and surrounding mountains. This little gem of a climb is part of why they call the ride the Century Challenge. The climb starts at roughly sea-level and ends 10.2 miles later at the summit. The challenge is the winding road and ever changing grades along the way. What is really cool about this climb is the view back over your shoulder. The ribbon of road can be seen as foreground to the blue and endless Pacific ocean. A really picturesque site I must say. Equally impressive are the number of REALLY big homes, or mansions, that dot the mountainside. I couldn't help but think: "How did these people build these massive estates up here." Anyway, back to the climb. We tagged up with the Riverside Bike Club crowd and had some great conversation when the grade availed itself to some aerobic climbing. Bobbie and I were on the tandem and we were both grateful for the "granny gear" on this ride. Amazingly, I only saw one other tandem team attempt this portion of the Grand Tour. As for the descents, they were numerous and very tight. Many were 180° switchbacks with blind corners all along the way down. Barry found that out the hard way when he came around a corner and found himself facing a stop sign thirty feet in front of him while barreling downhill at 30+ miles an hour. Fortunately for him, good brakes and skillful bike handling brought him to a safe stop.

At this point the ride empties out onto the Mulholland highway for some more climbing and descending through some really cool looking rock formations near Thousand Oaks. Entering Lake Sherwood Drive you mingle with the best of the affluent that California has to offer. Lake Sherwood is home to some of the most exclusive residences in the country, and by their size it is rather obvious. In fact, it is so exclusive that Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't been able to acquire a membership to the community for several years. Guess that will change when he becomes governor, eh? Views of Rupert Murdoch’s estate and his surrounding circle of friends' residences seemed to dwarf our presence as we passed by on our humble two-wheeled vehicles. I kept thinking to myself that 'ole Rupert doesn't know what he's missing: a whole day on your bike enjoying all the things that are free! Passing by the lake and onto Potrero Road we were presented with some of the most beautiful horse country around. The road is newly paved and perfect for putting the hammer down, and that we did! After a short climb we arrived at the first and much needed rest stop. The LA wheelmen out did themselves by stocking this respite with plenty of food, water, and supplements. They also offered up a lot of encouragement and camaraderie as well. As I chatted with the one of the gentlemen manning the stop, I found out that this ride started in the 1950's by a woman who wanted to complete 200 miles in one day. It started as a bet between a couple of clubs in the local LA area as to who would finish and who would not. As it turned out she finished the ride along with a few other hearty soles and hence the Grand Tour was born. As we left the rest stop the same gentlemen warned me about Lynn Canyon Road and to be careful especially on a tandem. Well, I soon found out why. This little downhill is steeper than you can imagine and twists back an forth for what seemed like miles. In fact, something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention as I dared to take my eyes off the road in front of me. It was a car, abandoned and upside down, half-way down a ravine just off our right side. Evidently, someone ran off the road and never bothered to retrieve their car. I couldn't imagine how someone could have lived through that. Towards the end of our descent, we learned all about rim heating. The front tire flatted from apparent rim heat generated by my braking on the way down. Luckily we weren't going all that fast so a controlled stop wasn't a problem. This is the spot where I also learned about taking the proper equipment along. If you think you need two tubes, take three! The first spare blew a valve stem so we had to use the last remaining spare as our primary. Anyway, back on the bike we went enjoying the rest of the downhill grade towards Pleasant Valley road and on our way to lunch.

I must say that rides with this type of climbing will leave you quite hungry and ready for every rest stop. At 56 miles into the ride brought us to our lunch stop in the town of Moorpark, a town just outside of Thousand Oaks. Once again, we were pleasantly greeted by the LA wheelmen with a superb spread for lunch. Lesson learned at this stop is that if you are lactose intolerant don't eat the vegetarian sandwich with extra cheese and cucumbers. Somehow I managed to get the wrong sandwich, and believe me your stoker won't appreciate the digestive result soon after dining. What got my attention at this stop was the porta-johns. Only in California does an outside plastic sink, complete with running water, appear along with the facilities!

Leaving Moorpark we started another bout of climbing into the countryside. This is where we learned about reading the ride sheet. Some dude trying to find the Highland Double route came blazing by us asking which way to go. We informed him that we were on the Century option and we could not help him. It appeared that he managed to get lost several times and his mileage was useless when trying to match it up with the ride sheet. Undaunted, he dropped us on the climb and proceed on his way. As we kept close tabs on the mileage, we failed to read the all important instructions that followed, so we too along with several others, ended up on the Highland Double route. It was a nice little detour, but it was all uphill towards Grimes Canyon. We finally realized we had made a wrong turn because at the summit of Grimes Canyon, several other Century riders were gathered scratching their noggins trying to figure out what went wrong. So, we did what every lost person does: we backtracked! Eventually, we found our way back to Broadway Road and once again we were on course and only 3 miles out of our way. The nice thing about being lost with other people is that you generate a kind of kindred spirit with others along the way. About 12 of us formed a real nice pace line all the way into Port Hueneme for what would be our final refueling stop of the day.

Not to be out done by the other LA Wheelmen volunteers, these folks spared no effort to make us feel welcome and appreciated. In fact, one of the volunteer's daughter made homemade chicken soup for all those interested. I'm sure those folks on the Double, Triple, and Quad were happy to take part in that meal. Fortunately for the four of us, we found ourselves paired up the Riverside Bicycle Club folks who stayed with us most of the way back to Malibu. As we proceeded back to Highway 1 on our final 25 miles back to Malibu were greeted by a much appreciated tailwind from the Northwest. If you haven't had the opportunity to ride down the PCH from this point, I highly recommend it. The air is clear, the sky is blue, and the sight and sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline as you ride by is just plain awesome. At this point, Bobbie was just about on empty. She had been a real trooper all day but her butt and knees were just about shot so it was definitely time for the ride to end. After a few painful "rollers" along the PCH we made our final turn into Pepperdine University and onto the finish line. Pulling up, I expected to see Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman or Jennifer Aniston waiting there with the Maillot Jaune, but I was greeted instead by a guy with a pile of flank steak and bake beans on a paper plate. A great post ride meal if I do say so myself.

Death Valley Double Century Attempt: October 2003

I had a request for a synopsis of the Death Valley Century and Double. There were a few of us from Las Vegas who attended this event. All in all, it appeared that 4 of us attempted the Double and 2 or 3 of us attempted the Century ride. I must say that this was quite a learning experience, especially for those of us going for the California Triple Crown in 2003. Planet Ultra is the main organizer of this event and they put forth a lot of professionalism in their organization. I will focus mainly on the Double since the Century followed basically the same routing.

The event started with a mass start at 0600 for us Double wannabees and 0615 for the Century riders. The weather was superb: Clear skies, no wind, and temperature in the high 40's. As with all rides I've attempted, the atmosphere was energetic and motivating at the start. Mass starts can be fun, but they can also be a bit precarious until the giant peloton thins out. As we pressed South out of Furnace Creek it was fun to see all the "rabbits" take off. I couldn't help but think that it would be difficult for them to keep up that pace for 200 miles, and as it turned out I was right. I saw the vast majority of them again at most of the rest stops along the way.

If you haven't been to Death Valley, I highly suggest a visit. It is the closest experience you will have to being on Mars or the Moon. Cruising along the relatively flat road en route to Badwater, the sun started peaking over the mountains providing us with a great picturesque view of the peaks to the West. Stepheny, Ed and I were lucky enough to tag onto a large peloton with a tandem at the helm. It was great being sucked along at 25 to 30 miles an hour with a heart rate in zone 2! That wasn't to last, however. I've always said that if you loose the Tandem draft, you won't get it back! At least not at a cost. Ed decided to pull over at Badwater so we dropped off the peloton with him only to realize that he then decided not to stop! His decision to continue was more timely than ours, however. Fast Eddy managed to regain the draft, but Step and I lost out and ended watching the train go off in the distance. The experience reminded me of those old Western movies seeing the cowboy sitting on his horse watching the train go off in the distance. The only difference was that we wanted to be on the train and we had to peddle our horses!

Anyway, Steph and I worked together on our way to Ashford Mills, the 2nd rest stop at about 45 miles. Once off the back, I couldn't help notice how quiet the desert was with no one else around. It is almost an eerie feeling, especially after living in noisy Vegas all this time. About 10 miles out of Ashford Mills, the Bullshifters from Phoenix caught us and we hopped on the back of their peloton. (I'd like to digress here abit and discuss teamwork. During this whole experience, I noticed that this club worked together the entire time. There were about 15 of these guys/gals and they all stayed together, sharing the draft and encouraging each other the entire 200 miles. It was quite impressive to see the same jerseys, arm warmers, and obvious teamwork going on here. Watching them really drove home the fact that cycling, especially in these types of endurance events as well as others, is truly a team sport).

Oh well, back to the route. If you haven't seen the middle of no where, I suggest you take a trip to Ashford Mills, especially by bicycle! It fits the definition in its truest form. The largest building I saw out there was the modern day outhouse built by your friendly park rangers. And not to be out done, the tallest bit of vegetation might be the scarce sagebrush scattered randomly across the ground. Nonetheless, we were greeted by cheerful Planet Ultra volunteers dressed up as a "stinger bee" and a "goblin." Given the season, I guess they wanted to get into the spirit of things.

At this point, I remembered my reading from Ed Pavelka's book, "Nutrition for Cyclists." A quick ONE word synopsis of the book is: EAT! So, that is exactly what we did, EAT! What I didn't know was the PB&J sandwich I was eating would be the first of about 10 I would consume throughout the day. Tanked, fueled and still motivated we started the arduous climb up to Jubilee Pass. This is about the point when the peeling of clothes took place. The sun was starting to climb high in the sky and warm the air all around us. I must say that this part of the climb wasn't too bad. The grade was reasonable and the perceived distance did not appear to be too bad either. That was to change, however. One thing about climbing. You don't really pay attention to how bad the road conditions are as you roll slowly over them at 8-10 mph. More on that later during the descent. As with most climbing, riders seem to seek out those with the same ability. I slowly pulled away from Steph and decided to meet her at Jubilee Pass, 10 miles up at about 1400 feet and the Century riders turn around. Again, if you haven't done this ride, I'd take a look at the elevation map: http://www.planetultra.com/deathvalley/dvdcroute.html The map is pretty accurate and will provide a good feeling for the 2nd (and most fun...NOT!) part, of the ride: The grind to Salisbury Pass, as I came to know it. This was a true and seemingly never-ending grind. It made Potosi seem like a speed bump. The thought kept creeping into my cranium that I still had well over 100 miles to go! About 150 to be accurate. Anyway, where there is a road that goes up, there is a road that goes down. Upon arriving at Salisbury, I paused to catch my breath, rehydrate and look for Steph somewhere back over my shoulder. The view from this point is really pretty spectacular. I was amazed at the vastness of this valley and beauty that it oddly bestows. What caught my immediate attention, however, and jerked me back to reality was seeing the endless winding road in front of me. That was it, just road! Where was Shoshone I thought? Surely it has to be down there someplace. I squinted for better vision and scanned the horizon looking for a hint of civilization, but all I could see was what looked like the Great Wall of China heading off towards Tibet someplace. Undaunted however, I pulled up the arm warmers to preserve a little body heat for the long descent and pressed on my way. By this time, Fast Eddy had flown off the front with the speedsters and Steph, unbeknownst to me, was battling a bum knee behind me. So, I was someplace in the middle and all by myself (a bad thing on a Double Century!).

On the long descent, this was about the time you see the serious Double contenders returning from the turn around point at Shoshone. Believe it or not the first of pack was a tandem, a very fast tandem indeed. As it turnout, these folks won the Double in just over 10 hours, if there is such a thing as winning a Double. Anyway, I saw Greg Sciabinca cruising up the hill back towards Salisbury shortly followed by Fast Eddy mashing big gears and conquering Death Valley all by his lonesome. I managed to tag up with a nice tall gentlemen on a vintage Bianchi who graciously pulled me the rest of the way into Shoshone. A realization came over me at this point: Always find out where the lunch stop is! To my grand disappointment, it wasn't at Shoshone. After 2 hours and 20 miles of climbing, you get mighty hungry. So, I downed two more PB&Js, a couple of bananas, followed by a few powerbar pieces. One thing I noticed and thought peculiar was the ever present bottles of Ibuprophen, E-caps, and this and that type pills. I thought, "why would they have all that stuff around." I soon found out why. More on that later.

Getting anxious to start again, I hopped on my steed only to see Steph cruising towards Shoshone. I quickly turned around to join her, because we made a pact in the beginning to finish this thing together. As we talked, she told me she was having knee problems and that I should press on without her. At this point, I was sure she was done and would SAG back. Wrong...as I found out later on both counts. The climb back to Salisbury Pass was a heck of a lot harder than it seemed from Death Valley up. I thought that 1600 feet of climbing would be easier than 3600 ft of climbing but as it turned out I had not ridden 80+ miles earlier. Again, I ended up alone and by myself on this climb. Another bad thing on a Double. On the upside, I had some great conversations with sage bushes who mocked me all the way up; and, I even told God how I felt a few times about his magnificent creations. Although I was feeling pretty good and marveling at my accomplishment thus far, I started to develop a throbbing headache. Not really a bad one, but just that kind of nagging headache that doesn't want to go away. I found out later that it was probably caused by caffeine withdrawal. A good reason not to change your morning habits before an endurance event like a Double if you can avoid it. I decided at this point to just put my head down and grind up the rest of the way while at the same time looking forward to a very long down hill run. A side note: I don't know if it is just me, but do they jack up the grade on purpose just before the summit of these climbs? I don't know, maybe it was just my imagination. Nevertheless, Salisbury Pass conquered for the second time filled me with a great sense of accomplishment. I looked over my shoulder at the "Great Wall" fading away from me and felt very good that I would not be seeing that again anytime soon.

It appears that the Forest Service doesn't spend too much money on their roads in Death Valley. The descent that I thought would be effortless and enjoyable turned out to be somewhat different. I guess the extreme Summer temperatures take their toll on the asphalt in this part of the country. I spent the better part of 30 minutes and 3600 feet of descending dodging pot holes, cracks, and gravel. The relentless bouncing caused by the uneven road did not do much for my headache as well. The road conditions didn't seem to bother some people, however. A tandem with the same tall gentlemen on the Bianchi in tow came wizzing by me at about 50 miles an hour. I did not see them again until the 100 mile mark at Ashford Wells. The same cheerful volunteers in costume met us once again supplying nourishment and providing moral support. It was here that I learned about those E-caps. I saw one guy take literally a handful and choke them down with a large swig from his water bottle. The "killer bee" dude told me that endurance riders take these to replace electrolytes. I also witnessed riders taking handfuls of Ibuprophen and choking them down as well. A SAG vehicle stopped by just before I was getting ready to leave and I was hoping to see that Steph was among the passengers. As the vehicle parked, I saw two guys get out and kind of wonder around in the brush. It looked to me that they had some serious "bonk" on their hands and were definitely done for the day. As I looked at them, I realized that I still had another 100 miles to go and was determined not to look like that...I ate yet another PB&J just to make sure.

Like I said, the forest service doesn't seem to spend much on their roads, especially in and around Ashford Mills. I can't think of a better way to describe the road in this area in any other way other than to say it sucked! Cracks, potholes, gravel, rocks, you name it. After about an hour of this jarring and induced double vision, I realized my cranium ache was not going to go away and I doubted that I would finish the ride. You see, the organizers conveniently made the 150 mark the same as the start point, a very tempting respite indeed.

The sun at this time of day starts working its way down on the other side of the mountains and the temperature starts to drop a bit. I was lucky to cruise up on two guys from the Sacramento Wheelmen, Steve and Bill. I kindly asked if I could get on their wheel and they in turn graciously granted me permission. Our little peloton was just what the doctor ordered. My headache seemed to subside abit and watching the back of someone else's wheel seemed to make the miles flow by faster. Steve and Bill informed me that lunch was at Badwater, about 23 miles down the road. That motivation kept me going as the thought of another PB&J sat heavy on my mind. Steve and Bill were Double veterans. I couldn't help but notice their smooth pedaling and exact pace. These guys road at exactly the same speed for what seemed like hours. I was truly impressed and greatly appreciative of the pull. At this point I did not even care what the mileage readout was. All I wanted was food and a place to take a break. We basically blasted through the Century barrier with barely a notice. About an hour and a half later we turned the corner into Badwater for what was my next final stop of the day. After 123 miles it is amazing how good a turkey and cheese sandwich tastes with a sugar laden cola. Steve and Bill tried to convince me at this point that I should keep going for the whole 200, but I wasn't all that comfortable making the decision at this point. I told them that this was my first attempt and that my headache was going to be the deciding factor.

Leaving Badwater the sun started to drop lower and lower behind the mountains. We donned our clear lenses and mounted our lights. I'll say this for lights. If you have one of those rear ones that flash red, don't turn it to flash with someone riding close behind you. I watched Steve's "two" red lights flash alternately for well over an hour. If you have even the slightest headache, watching those things for an hour will make you want to puke! I felt somewhat guilty about sucking their wheel for so long so I decided to pull my weight for a change and get out front. As it turned out, we captured a group that blew past us earlier and road their wheel for about 5 miles or so. The great thing about a Double is that it brings home the Tortoise and Hare story. The three of us basically caught all of those who blew past us earlier...a great feeling especially after a long day of riding!

For me at least, it was a great thing seeing the lights of Furnace Creek in the distance. As things turned out, I finished 150 miles in 9 hours and 47 minutes of riding time. I took 1 hour worth of breaks to refuel and hydrate, just what I had planned. All in all, it was a great experience and one I will definitely learn from. Here are a few lessons learned.

1. Most importantly, find a riding partner. 200 miles is longer than you think!
2. Eat and drink constantly. I burned 5775 Calories in just 150 miles.
3. Train more than you think you need to, especially on long climbs.
4. Don't cut up your powerbars. They fuse together into one big dog turd in your bag!
5. Carry a camel back until you can store water like a camel. Constant hydration is key!
6. Use Hammer Gel. It really works. Tastes funky but it is good for the long haul.
7. Keep a sense of humor going and don't think about the finish line until your wheel crosses.
8. Say "thank you" to all volunteers. It is the nice thing to do.
9. Eat a steak and have a beer when you are done. They taste great!
10. Always ask to suck a wheel. It is proper etiquette.
11. Don't ride alone at anytime! It sucks.
12. Don't be in a hurry. After all, you have all day!