Devil Mtn Double – No Trouble with a Double
by Franz Kelsch
I finished the very difficult Devil Mountain Double on Saturday. It is 206 miles with 18,600 feet of climbing. It is probably the most difficult double century in California. My final time was 15 hours, 32 minutes, a big improvement over last year. Gary Franck was way ahead of me, finishing in 14 hours, 2 minutes. Before the start we saw Steve Saeedi, Paul Duren, Brian Canali, Lyresa Pleskovitch, Art Cruz and Russ and Sheila Stevens on a tandem.
I was happy with my time since it was hot again. I got worried coming up Mines Road because of the heat and started to get a bad case of hot foot. There was a breeze this year that helped. I really focused on drinking all day, and took a lot of Endurolyte tablets. I was so worried about cramping again on the backside of Mt. Hamilton that I went up slower than I probably needed to, but I never did cramp anywhere on the ride.
I was also happy to make it to Norris Canyon, the last section, before dark. I don’t like biking on Crow Creek Canyon road in the dark due to all the traffic. I had carried my one pound light the entire day and could have got by with a small Cateye light.
I left the aero bars on the bike which was a good thing. It gave me an alternate position not only for my hands but when I am in the aero bars I get a different position on the saddle, which greatly helped to take some pressure off a tired butt. It was either that part of the body or my right foot that hurt the most.
This year I used my newer bike with only a double crank, but I had no big issue with the higher gearing. I would have preferred to climb up Sierra Road with a triple but the better handling of the newer bike was a benefit on the rest of the ride.
Summary
Here is a detailed comparison with doing the same event last year.
| 2007 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|
| Body Weight | 135 | 139 |
| Bike Gearing | Triple (30/25) | Double (39/27) |
| Total Time (hr: min) | 18:12 | 15:32 |
| Riding Time (hr:min) | 14:51 | 14:31 |
| Avg. Speed (mph moving) | 14.1 | 14.3 |
| Stopping Time (hr:min) | 3:21 | 1:01 |
| Average Heart Rate (bpm) | 136 | 136 |
| Maximum Heart Rate (bpm) | 167 | 169 |
| Average HR Climbing Sierra (bpm) | 142 | 146 |
| Issues to Deal With | Significant Cramping | Significant Hot Foot |
| Weather | Hot No Wind | Hot With Breeze |
Time Comparison
This chart shows my arrival times into the various rest stops. You can see that for the first 115 miles, up to the junction cafe, I did almost the same between both years. Last year my times slowed down considerably due to cramping on the backside of Mt. Hamilton. Click the graph below to enlarge.
Stopping Time Comparison
This shows a comparision between my stopping time between years. Times shown are in minutes. Most of the improvement in the total time was due to a signficant reduction in the amount of stopping time at the rest stops.
| Stop | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| Diablo Summit |
6
|
1
|
| Morgan Territory RS |
5
|
4
|
| Mines Rd RS |
7
|
4
|
| Junction Cafe |
40
|
18
|
| Cramping on Mt. Hamilton |
25
|
0
|
| Crother’s RS |
47
|
9
|
| Pet the Goat RS |
35
|
2
|
| Sunol RS |
16
|
4
|
| Other, stop lights, mini rest stops |
20
|
19
|
| Total Stopping |
201
|
61
|
Last Time
I don’t plan on doing this event again. It is very difficult and takes out of you far too much. Since I had a difficult time last year, I wanted to do it again to see if I could do it right with better training and more of a focus on hydration during the event. Having accomplished that, I don’t feel a need to repeat it.
Apr 28th 2008
Franz,
You are the MAN! The most scientific rider I know. I wish I had your discipline to track the data and actually use it to benefit future rides. I think I keep making the same mistakes over and over but you learn. You’re a great role model, I just need to heed.
See ya’ out there,
Lane
Apr 28th 2008
So you rode a different bike on this ride than last year. I am assuming that the bike you rode this year was the newer Madone. I wonder how many minutes that saved you. Technology is a hard factor to figure I guess but it’s interesting to me since all pros are riding the most technologically advanced bikes and since I have a comfortable but weighty steel bike.
It’s amazing that you can climb Sierra and the backside of Hamilton that late in a ride in that big of gear. The bikes I saw at the Tour of California were fitted with 29 and 30 teeth rear clusters for a ride with much less climbing. I even heard some of the pro racers were using compacts.
Apr 29th 2008
Hi Franz, It was nice to see you. I had major issues this year with leg cramps starting at Mines until Sunol. I tried to stay hydrated and took Endurolytes but I was covered in salt-bad. I was forced to stay in the saddle on the back of Hamilton and on Sierra because of the cramps and that was tough with the 39-27. I saved time at the rest stops like you did this year and came in at 16 hrs 24 minutes. Wish I could have stayed with you. I left the Junction just after you did but the climbs up hamiliton and Sierra were tough on me.
Take care
Brian
May 1st 2008
Wow Franz! congrats! I hope to be able to do DMD one day. Tammy and I rode to the junction and back that day. The back side of Ham was hot! (and you didn’t mention wanting a tripple on that!). I had my 30-34 and was looking for more.