Wednesday night...quick training ride

Quick ride out to Sunol and up Kilkare Rd. by sbursley at Garmin Connect - Details

Terrible Two replay...I am pretty sure this ride earned it's name based on the road conditions

Saturday morning, June 19th and it's 3:45 AM and after another short night it would be a long day in the saddle as I'd be on the road in less than two hours on the Terrible Two. Coming off of the AAC 8-Pass Challenge the previous weekend wasn't going to make this ride any easier as my goal was to complete the last of the Stage Race Series and my fourth double century of the season in less than two months.

I arrived at the start of the race about 4:30 AM and while it was still dark signs of daylight were not far off as this was expected to be one of the longest days of the year and little did I know, but the road conditions we'd been warned of would make it seem like that as well. Just after 5:00 AM and all the usual suspects of the Stage Race Series and other Double Centuries start gathering for the mass start that would be led for the first 13 miles out of the city limits by the pace car.

After a relatively short speech by the ride director of the Santa Rosa Cycling Club the start was announced and 250+ riders rolled for the city limits. I was up in the second or third row at the start as we rolled at an average of 20-22 mph. Nearly seeing a couple of crashes in this tightly woven peloton within the first couple of miles, I decided to fade back a bit so as not to become a casualty before even getting out of the city limits. Further back in the pack I met up with another friend Mark Horminghaus whom I would later find out crashed further into the race. Mark's a super strong rider and genuinely nice guy so it was great to catch up with him until he'd inevitably drop me.

As we hit the first relatively small climb the pack started to thin out and coming down the first descent we'd find a rider stopped in the middle of road and the descend. To this day I can only assume that he either had a death wish or was just inexperienced but I'll assume that it was the later. After a few relatively easy climbs we hit the first of the big ones called the Geysers. The Geysers was no only the highest climb of the day but as we'd find with other climbs in this event it had a double summit which is always fun (in some sort of sadistic way I am sure) when you have never done the climb. After reaching the top of the second summit I refueled at the rest stop and then headed for the descent which should have been a reward for the climb but I'd find out quickly that the roads resembled something more of a city that had been bombed vs. the quick beautiful descent that I was expecting.

Further up the road as we climbed out of the canyon large sections of paved road would be missing and replaced with gravel. This went on for a series of miles and when there was road the surface was similar to a back job of applying a chip seal surface which made this section extremely slow. About 112 miles in I hit the lunch stop and while my original plan was to blow through all stops only getting off the bike for re-fuels and mandatory breaks, lunch seemed like a good idea and I also thought I'd call into the team manager (a.k.a. Paula). After what seemed to be a relatively short lunch stop officials noted that anyone not leaving within the next 5 mins would be required to abandon the race and take the shorter route back to the finish. Good enough for me, I slammed the rest of my drink down and took one last bit of that sandwich and it was back on the bike.

It's now 1:45PM and it's warming up and in my opinion we are heading for the toughest climbs on the ride heading for the coast. After 2 hours of climbing over the past 15 miles there's another climb coming just beyond a nice recovery over the descent ahead. Just before the climb I see a series of riders abandoning the race and taking the SAG wagon back. As I make this last climb before a series of rollers to the coast, I am definitely feeling not only the effects of 143 miles I have ridden today but also the 200+ miles and 21,000 feet of climbing from the past weekend on the AAC. As I summit I see that the rest stop is ahead on the right. After a dozen orange slices, a Pepsi, and refilling the water bottles I am off for the coast.

Descending it is now getting cooler and I decide to put the arm wamers back on and zip up the vest for a cool ride down the coast to the last climb which will be Fort Ross. As I am pretty much ready to be done with this ride I am thinking about this climb which I am told is brutal especially considering it's at the end of the event. I make it down the coast at a fairly descent pace with the exception of a couple of stops to make sure that I have not missed the left turn for Fort Ross. Once there I check in with my buddy Jason (who decided to ride the first 150 miles that day to break in a new bike and then volunteer at the Fort Ross check point) and there's no time for stopping as it's after 6 and my goal is to be in before dark.

As I get to the foot of the climb I am ready to nail this last one and stop to get rid of the arm warmers and unzip the vest and jersey. As shot of Hammer Raspberry Gel and gulp of Perpetum and I am ready...let's do it! The climb is at a steady pace and while I wouldn't say that it's easy it is definitely not the most difficult climb of the day. As I reach the top it's now a quick descent down with some rollers and gradual climbs to the next rest stop.

While rolling toward the next rest stop I meet up with one of the riders that I had met at the rest stop just before the coast and we decide to roll the rest of the way in together. After another Pepsi at this last rest stop and refill of the bottles we are headed for Occidental up the Bohemian Highway. As we make the next left into a canopied climb it is dark and I hit the lights even though we have plenty of daylight once we crest this climb.

As we hit a fork in the road ahead it's a quick stop and backtrack to make sure we did not miss an unmarked turn. During this time we pick up another rider who'll ride the remaining few miles with us as his light is out. Rolling in the timer reads 09:30 and we are done. A final check of the Gamin notes just under 201 miles and more than 18,400 feet of climbing as opposed to the 16,000 feet of climbing that is noted for this ride. With a goal of completing the ride in 16:00 my official time is 16:08. With a rolling time of just over 14:56 I was off the bike a total of just under 01:12 - Garmin stats.

After checking in and receiving my official "I did it" t-shirt (given only to finishers that arrive before 10:00 PM) I called Paula and got some fantastic news that we had received a significant donation from a foundation that now put us well over our $5,000 fund-raising goal for the end of June. This was fantastic news and with total donations at more than $7,500 I am confident that we can make the personal goal that I have set of $10,000 for the One Tough Ride Project.

Meeting this goal for June also meant that I needed to make good on the challenge that I set against that $5,000 mark so I have added a 7th event to the One Tough Ride project and entered the Mt Tam Double. This 200 mile event with more than 17,000 feet of climbing will be yet another tough day but I am hoping this will inspire more of you to support this project and make that donation today. With the Death Ride in July, Mt Tam Double in August, and the Furnace Creek 508 in October I would love to not only hit that goal of $10,000 but exceed it. With the Jeffrey Modell Foundation matching all donations raised "WE" can make a real difference in the lives of those with Primary Immunodeficiency diseases with this money going directly to the Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.

The Death Ride is just a couple of weeks away and I am excited to have Paula, Rachel and Nicholas (the One Tough Ride Team) there with me in Markleeville as I ride for all of the children and adults that live with Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases. This will be my 3rd Death Ride in a row and I look forward to seeing a lot of you there as well.
Enjoy the ride...
Steve

Alta Alpina Challenge 8-Pass Ride Report

The Alta Alpina 8-Pass Challenge was clearly the most challenging ride of the season so far and at roughly 75 miles in and three of the seven passes completed, I was thinking that this could very possibly be a repeat DNF of last year but more on that later. I arrived at Turtle Rock Park at about 4:15 PM on Friday for check-in but found out they would not open until 6:00 PM so I headed over to Grover Hot Springs Campground to check in with the TNT Death Ride 2010 squad as I have some friends that are coaching and supporting the team this year. After a short visit I headed back to check in and then headed out to dinner with my friend Mick.

After a nice Italian Dinner (and maybe hoping that a combination of my Italian heritage, new Campy wheelset, and the meal might have me riding like Ivan Basso in this years Giro) we headed back to our hotels for an early morning departure. With the best of intentions of a lights out by 9:30, I ended up "trying" to get to sleep at about 10:30 PM after getting everything ready for the morning which would be a 2:00 AM wake up call...yikes!

1:30 AM after a restless nights "semi sleep" and I am awake and it's not even worth trying to fall back to sleep for another 30 mins so I am up and in the shower and then having breakfast. 2:30 AM I am in the car leaving Minden, NV heading for the start at Turtle Rock Park in Markleeville, CA. Having arrived a bit early, I head into registration to say hi to my friend Susie and then Mick arrives and we're ready to roll.

3:22 AM and we're rolling heading out toward the first climb up Kingsbury Grade. We've got a great pace over the first 20 miles at close to 20 mph which is not bad considering it’s pitch dark. As we start the climb we meet up with a crazy pack of riders that seem to be doing the same set of the toughest Doubles on the schedule for the season. I reach the top of Kingsbury and then head for the descent and am at 28 miles and 2:10 of riding and now off to Luther Pass. It's a chilly descent but the sun is coming up so it should be warming up a bit but it sure doesn't feel like it. As I descend Kingsbury, Mick passes me but shortly thereafter we'd roll for a bit as we'd head for Luther Pass.

I hit the top of Luther Pass and check in and re-fill one of the bottles but also realize I should be drinking a lot more than the two bottles of Perpetum that I have consumed over just under 60 miles so far. It's a quick stop and then I am back out heading for Carson Pass which I know is going to be windy and find out later that the forecast was for gusts of up to 50 mph at the top of the pass. I summit Carson Pass and the wind is so strong that its literally blowing back off the side of the mountain and having the effect of a tail wind for the last bit of the climb over the summit. As I see Mick pass me descending it is clear that it will be a very dangerous descent and probably my slowest ever down Carson Pass. After a short stop, I am turned around and ready to descent and it's not even 11:00 AM but as I round the turn the crosswind hits me and nearly moves me across into the lane of traffic. As I descend Carson I am thinking that the wind is only likely to pick up as we get into the afternoon and it's one of those moments where you are seriously thinking about abandoning the event.

Roughly 86 miles in I am at the end of the road on the Blue Lakes climb as snow (yes it is June in CA) has limited this leg to the 3rd gate which is roughly 7 miles in but the event organizers have added a few miles just before the lunch stop at Turtle Rock Park. After descending the rest of Carson I make a right on 89 and am heading for another 800 ft climb that they have added and then it a quick stop for lunch and a chance to double check the bike as I am hearing a strange noise. As I roll into Turtle Rock Park I now have roughly 112 miles behind me and it's 12:30 PM so I have been out on the road for roughly 9 hours and while I have more than half the miles behind me, I have only tackled half of the climbing. I set a goal that I am eating, refueling, checking the bike, and back out on the road in no more than 20 mins which I am thinking at the time will leave me with 9 hours to get this one done.

12:50 PM and I am off and heading for Ebbetts Pass and wondering what the wind will be like but thinking that most of the front side should be somewhat protected. I decide that if it's too dangerous I'll go as far as I feel is safe and then bail and head back to the start. It’s a pretty good stretch from Turtle Rock out to the start of the climb and often windy along the river but I have a great pace and am passing others along the way. I hit Ebbetts and start the climb and quickly remember why I find this one of the toughest climbs on the Death Ride. I also realize though that I should be able to get some relief on the climb up the backside...relatively speaking that is.

It’s now about 3:30 PM and I have climbed the front of Ebbetts and descended the backside (probably my favorite descent in the area). My goal is now to summit Ebbetts by 4:15 and be climbing Monitor no later than 5:00 PM. 4:57 PM and I am at the bottom of Monitor and refill the bottles for the climb. No Perpetum so I top off the bottles with water and start the climb.

Climbing Monitor it is hot with the sun on my back and what is generally a moderate climb for me is a pure struggle with 156+ miles behind me. I can generally climb the front side of Monitor with a fresh set of legs in about 45 minutes but at this point I am questioning whether I’ll make the 7:00 PM cut-off. 6:30 PM and I am at the summit checkpoint and while I should have plenty of time I am whipped and thinking about descending Monitor in the dark which is not going to be fun. I am ready to abandon the event and ask the rest stop crew what the cut-off time is at the finish and am told that it’s 11:00 PM. I have come this far and reflect on how tough it is for those who I am riding for are and I know I can’t quit now.

6:44 PM and I am out of there and heading for the descent down the backside of Monitor. The sun is setting on the eastern side of Monitor and it is starting to get cold. About ¾ of the way down the descent I decide to pull off and take a pair of the latex gloves out of my tool bag and use them as liners for my gloves. I get to the bottom and sticker number 8 is added to my bib and I am out of there for the last climb and this is gonna hurt. I summit just as it is going from dusk to dark and pull over to suit up for the cold and dark descent. As I was just about at the Monitor Monument I see two of the riders that arrived at the bottom just after me being SAG’d up to the top of Monitor (bikes on the back of the SAG vehicle). Now I knew these two were taking a break at the bottom and as I looked behind me on the climb they were nowhere to be found and now they’d be SAG’d to the top and ultimately claim that they completed the entire event.

After suiting up I cross the plateau of Monitor and start the descent. It is dark and as I descend I see a deer cross right in front of me and then other animals that I cannot necessarily make out but certainly ones that would do some serious damage if I were to run into them (not that I would want to by the way). With the brakes on all the way down Monitor it’s not fun and taking forever and it’s extremely cold...I am ready for this day to be over.

As I roll through Markleeville and then finally into Turtle Rock Park it just seems like everything is moving in slow motion. I roll in and park the bike on the rack and check in and 10:34 PM is the finish time. I have been out on the course for 19:07 and I am cooked. This was one tough ride and it’s not just the mileage and climbing but also the altitude and unpredictability of the weather with snow last year on Ebbetts and heavy winds this year. I am glad that I finished and this event in particular truly represented the theme of the onetoughride project and all of those that I am riding and fund raising for this season.

I want to thank all of you who have contributed and encourage those of you who have not to DONATE NOW! Every dollar helps and is doubled as the Jeffrey Modell Foundation is matching all contributions. This weekend I will be riding the last of the CTC Stage Race Series and completing my 4^th Double Century of the season (yes I got my Triple Crown for this year this past weekend). Currently in 38^th place I am hoping to move up in the rankings and looking to move up to finish in the top 35.

I’ll post an update from the Terrible Two next week as I complete the second of a back-to-back series of two of the toughest double century rides on this season’s calendar.

Enjoy the ride…

Steve

The first of the Double Double...and I am not talking about In-N-Out Burger

After another busy week I did manage to sneak in a couple of training rides on Friday evening and Saturday morning to wrap up the week with about 74 miles and just over 4,000 feet of climbing. I am happy to report that the onetoughride project is off to a great start as far as fund raising but I am hoping that we can really drive some donations over the next couple of weeks as I shoot to complete my 3rd Double Century of the season this weekend. On Saturday, I ride the Alta Alpina 8-Pass Challenge and will follow this up the next weekend (6/19) with the last of the CTC Stage Race Series, the Terrible Two! Thanks so much to all of you that have made a donation and to those who haven't yet, I wanted to remind everyone that all donations are being matched by the Jeffrey Modell Foundation!

Just to keep things interesting, "if" we can raise a total of $5,000 or more for the onetoughride project by the end of June I will add a "5th" Double Century to the schedule with the Mt Tam Double . If the registration is closed and I cannot get a ticket ,I'll commit to an alternate Double Century or a significant epic ride of 200 miles in one day (with an open invitation to anyone that would like to join me..Mike, Jason, Jim, Alan, and Dave I know you are all in). Go ahead and put another one on the calendar, I challenge you...

The profile on the top right (of this post) is the beast to tame for this Saturday. I also hope to catch up with my friends on the TNT Death Ride '10 Team that will be tackling the same climbs at Altitude Camp this weekend. Enjoy the weekend, ride safe, and look for a ride update on next weeks post.
Enjoy the ride...
Steve

PS: For full details on the onetoughride project, please check out the latest slide deck with all of the details!