Solvang Double Century 2008
by Franz Kelsch – For the version with music and more details go to my personal blog entry.
There were twelve club members who took on the Solvang Double Century challenge this year, including Joe Farinha, Dave Zajac, Jon Kaplan, Gary Franck, Barry Schwartz, Marnel King, Barbara Murphy, Fred O’Leary, Louise McCracken, Steve Sundstrom, Ken Emerson and myself. In addition I knew a couple of others that I ride with that joined the event. This is the account of my experience.
Last week I took a look at my data from last year trying to figure out how I could improve on my time. I wrote about my strategy in a prior personal blog entry.
Just as we did last year, I started with the 7:30 am group, the ones that wanted to be timed. Joining that group was Gary Franck, Joe Farinha and Kley Cordona. This 7:30 start group is made up of mostly fast riders. We had a large gathering, maybe over 40 riders. The pace was brisk but I didn’t feel over taxed. After 20 miles we turned to head up Foxen Canyon. This has two moderate climbs and after the second one there is a longer descent. It was on this second descent that I lost the group last year and never was able to catch back on.
My strategy this year was to stay right near the front of the pack for the second climb so I had a better chance to stay connected. It may be the fact that this year there were no tandems to chase down the hill, or that I had been working on descending down faster, but in any event this time I was able to stay connected to the front pack, something only about half the group were able to do. We lost the other half on either the climb or the descent and I knew that they would never be able to catch back on.
We stretched out to a single pace line. Except for a few wheel suckers at the back, everyone was taking a turn pulling, some longer pulls than other, which was okay. One guy, who was particularly strong, would ramp up the pace every-time he pulled. I found myself right behind him on a couple of rotations which meant I had to drive hard to hang on his wheel, then do a pull and still keep enough left to rotate to the back.
I had already planned to skip the first rest stop and sure enough this group went right by it. We made one wrong turn which costs us an extra 2 miles and some lost time trying to get back on course. There were some rollers right before the 2nd rest stop (our first one) that proved a bit difficult due to the pace. I was glad when we finally stopped with a total of 84.8 miles averaging 22.0 mph.
Some of the group had a very quick stop, just enough to fill water bottles. I needed a bit more time but was was able to get back on the bike in less than 6 minutes. There was only one other fellow from the 7:30 group who started with me by the name of John who was from Nevada. He and I biked together for awhile. We were soon joined by others from the 7:30 group that had taken a little longer at the rest stop. But there was a couple of young guys who were driving the pace too high for me, so I eventually dropped off the back. I slowed down to wait for John who had fallen off earlier. We biked together, taking turns pulling until we hit the check point at Morro Bay. We had to wait 1 minute there to get the dot to prove we had gone to the turn around point.
While riding through Morro Bay I hit a bad bump and came down on the back of my saddle, which tipped up the nose. I couldn’t get it to move back level. Although it was quite awkward to ride like that I decided I could not afford to stop so I rode that way until the lunch stop, which was another 14 miles from Morro Bay.
It took me about a minute to fix my saddle and then another 6 to 7 minutes to get some food. We saw some of the 7:30 riders leaving, so John and I jumped on our bikes and caught them.
We started to form a pace line behind a tandem and rode with that group for awhile but eventually some of us moved out ahead and we never saw the tandem again. Soon it was just John and I again as we pulled into our third rest stop with an average speed of the last section of 19.5 mph. The pace was clearly slower while we kept behind the tandem for those miles.
After a 5 minute stop John and I took off, again just the two of us. I hit another bump and my seat got tipped once again with the nose pointing up. I didn’t want to take the time to fix it again so I decided to just keep riding that way. It made it hard to use the aero bars but I felt maybe I could just wait until the next stop.
We were taking turns pulling but on one uphill grade on Highway 1, where I was pulling, I notice that John had fallen way off the back. I had been doing some calculations in my head and figured at this point I had some slight chance to finish under 10 hours so I made the decision to ride on solo, which I did for the last 50 miles. I had a thought of skipping the last rest stop completely but was down to a half of water bottle so I made a 1 minute stop for water. Fatigue was setting in so I was having a hard time keeping my heart rate up. Fortunately we had a tail wind now. There were several club members at that stop who had started earlier. One told me that Gary was about 10 minutes ahead of me, so I jumped on the bike to chase after him. I noticed at that point I had averaged 20.6 mph rolling from the start.
On the way up Drum Canyon, I heard a popping noise so I stopped to check my bike, only to find I had broken a spoke. That was so unexpected for a light guy like me. I wrapped the broken spoke around another spoke, opened up the brake, then jumped back on the bike and started to climb. I had yet to fix my saddle and wondered if I had time. I decided to stop again and to level the seat. As I started to climb again I kept worrying about breaking another spoke and was not sure how hard I should be torquing the pedals as I climbed. I decided to climb carefully, but steady. I was getting very tired and found it hard to do the math in my head to see if I could still finish under 10 hours. My rolling average speed had now dropped to 20.1. When I made it to the summit, I was wondering how fast I should go down, considering it is a rough road. I decided to ride down fast, just hoping no more spokes broke.
Periodically I would calculate again how much further I had to go and how much time I had left. It seemed to be an impossible task and I was about ready to give up trying to make it under 10 hours. I felt lucky to make all the traffic lights in Beulton, thinking one single stop was more than I could afford. That final uphill as you are entering Solvang was just about enough to kill my chance. I then started to hit the traffic in the town of Solvang so I turned right one block early to take a back street.
I finally made it to the end and clicked the split button on my Polar Heart Rate Monitor just as I came to a stop. I was almost afraid to look down but when I did it read 9 hours, 59 minutes and 51 seconds. Ann was there, a bit surprised I finished so fast. She watched my bike as I ran to check in. I had averaged 20.3 mph for the entire ride and had a total stopping time of less than 23 minutes. Funny thing was that I felt better than I did last year after finishing 43 minutes slower.
For those that think this is a tall tale, check the Planet Ultra website for the 2008 results.
Mar 31st 2008
My First Double Century Ride
By Louise McCracken
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It was a 5:00 am start with John Kaplan, Barbara Murphy and Fred O’Leary. I was nervous as this was going to be the longest ride I have ever set out to accomplish. John had complete faith in me to finish. And to give me a boost in my confidence, had expressed his concerns that his pace would be too slow for me, “You can finish this ride in 12 hours.†Thanks John, I know I need to pace myself so I can have the energy to finish.
Several had started this ride “at the butt-crack of dawn†as a dear friend would tell me. Many ultra bright headlights mounted on bikes and helmets made my lighting in-effective for the first ten miles or so. Those of us who are “new-bee’s†identified the seasoned cyclist instantly when there were turns on the course. I was so thankful I was cycling with John as he clearly expressed the directions. Barbara was very helpful herself yelling at other cyclists if they had turned the wrong way down the road. Talk about “Girl Grit,” yee haw.
My wool jersey was keeping me plenty warm and my jacket was becoming more of an access item than a barrier to the wind. As the sun peaked over the mountains, the fields of poppies, lupine and mustard were glowing creating a breathtaking view. I turned to Fred as we rode on a long stretch of road amongst a single row of red flashing lights, “This is quite the Kodak moment.†I forgot how he replied to me, but the look on his face validated my expression. Nothing beats the coolness of the morning hitting your face, watching the colors glow with the first dawn light, and the sounds of cyclists turning the pedals – priceless.
Tim from San Diego joined us as we continued the ride. At approximately mile 70, my energy hit an all time low. John says that I “hit the wall†as I dropped back from the group before the reaching the 2nd rest stop. Barbara knew right away what happened – “You’re not eat and drinking enough!†Yea, you’re right, I am still learning how to cycle and reach for articles in those back pockets of my jersey. Took advantage of electrolyte pills and inhaled some goodies, most of then salty and topped-off my water bottles. A rider and a SAG crew member complimented me on the wool jersey. Oh yea, they are warm! The group had been waiting for me so I was not going to hold them up any further. I shed my jacket as I felt overheated and as able to keep up with the group refreshed-I was starting the ride all over again.
Winds blowing pretty good to Morrow Bay that took a toll on our group as John and Barbara broke away from Fred, Tim and I until the Main Street turn-off on the highway. I was so happy to have that red “dot†placed on my number as we knew this was the half-way point of the ride. You know what they say, “Strength are in numbers.†And that is especially true when you are riding through towns like Morrow Bay and Pismo Beach. Traveling in packs, a grand presence is created when approaching traffic signals and stop signs. Motorists were gracious and courteous. There was one incident where a small-sized burgundy truck was passing us honking his horn and “flipping the bird.â€
Lunch was a welcoming sight. My camelback was empty and the energy bars and gel shots I stuffed in my sleeves were nearly gone. Time to re-energize and re-group thoughts about the ride; as Gary Franc advised me at Death Valley, strategy is eating and drinking. So very true, and lesson well learned. Tim dropped behind and informed us that he was having knee problems-too bad, we were enjoying his camaraderie. A sandwich and a soda made me feel bloated, but I stuffed my sleeves knowing that sensation would not last for long. Met Barry Schwartz after a group photo; after telling him about my experience hitting the wall, he smiled and said, “That is what Doubles are all about-suffering.†Larry joined us as we continued down the long and straight flatlands enjoying some tail winds and battling crosswinds. I concentrated on keeping pace as I felt guilty of “sucking wheel†more than pulling the group.
The last rest stop was a welcoming sight as we were asked for our numbers to be checked-off a list. Many riders reassured me that I was “almost done†and lots of congratulatory expressions once they learned this was my first double. One last climb and the rest is downhill from there. The cup of noodles went down easy-comfort food that hit the core indeed. Barbara and Fred took off ahead of us because Fred is a slower climber and Barbara had confidence that we would catch-up to them. Of course, another comment the wool jersey before leaving the rest stop, “Women aren’t supposed to wear wool jerseys!†Hmmmm. “Well, they do now!†LOL
Climbing the last hill, I was mentally prepared for a tougher climb. Granted you have cycled more than 160 miles at this point and your legs are getting tired. I guess I was concentrating so much on maneuvering around the patched, chopped-up, and re-patched road up the grade. When John and I reached the cattle guard at the top, he expressed that I had made a better effort than him. The decent was challenging because of the beaten-up road, I was happy we were doing this while it was still day-light. Once we were on better surfaces, it was smooth sailing from there.
One last climb-yea right; a rolling hill into Buellton and a short “climb†into Solvang to complete the ride. To us new-bee’s that was the last amount of suffering to be had on the ride. John was pleased to announce that he did his all-time best ride on the Solvang Double completing the course in 12hr 50min. Many thanks go out to John, Barbara and Fred! I was happy to be a part of the experience for John to achieve his best time, what a ride to remember.
Mar 31st 2008
Great Story Franz. What a finish! Even with all the issues.
Mar 31st 2008
Franz~
Great story, and great ride! You’re getting better, and better!
Being 60 years young hasn’t slowed you down a bit, and I’m sure you were one of the, (if not THE) “most experienced” rider, that started at 7:30AM, and finished under 10hours.
Your riding has inspired me to attempt to do better, if not to compete with you… There’s nothing wrong with a little competition!
At least to keep up with you!
Congratulations,
Joe Farinha