{"id":267,"date":"2009-06-28T16:57:51","date_gmt":"2009-06-29T00:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/?p=267"},"modified":"2009-06-29T12:13:04","modified_gmt":"2009-06-29T20:13:04","slug":"terrible-two-by-tandem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/?p=267","title":{"rendered":"Terrible Two by Tandem 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sheila Stevens<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2007, Russ and I were riding our first organized double century (Davis) on the tandem when we met another tandem couple wearing matching Terrible Two jerseys.\u00c2\u00a0 Russ commented that it would be really cool if we could get matching TT jerseys ourselves.\u00c2\u00a0 It was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard.\u00c2\u00a0 But then again, here we were, trying to do 3 doubles in a year in order to get Triple Crown jerseys after seeing a tandem couple pass us with them on the 2006 Death Ride.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, 200 miles with 16,000 feet of climbing and aggressive time cut-offs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it was just crazy talk.\u00c2\u00a0 Little did I know that 2 years later he would have convinced me to give it a whirl.<\/p>\n

We arrived at the ride start at 4:50 am for the scheduled 5:30 mass start.\u00c2\u00a0 The parking lot was already bustling with activity.\u00c2\u00a0 I went to check in while Russ got the bike off the car.<\/p>\n

We saw other ACTC folks \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Paul Duren, Paul Vlasveld, Ehud Yuhjtman and Ken Holloway, and kept our eyes peeled for other folks we thought were riding from the club.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe it was just me, but the atmosphere of the ride start was an extreme combination of excitement, anticipation and palpable dread of the day in front of us.<\/p>\n

We knew from the website that there were at least four tandems registered for the ride. There is such an instant, unexplainable camaraderie among tandems that were we quickly comparing notes and rigs with the Albers, Taylors, and Seely\/Radtke teams.\u00c2\u00a0 The Seely\/Radtke team is the only tandem attempting the Stage Race this year.\u00c2\u00a0 Guess they threw in Terrible Two just for kicks. Later we would meet the Clark tandem team at the finish.\u00c2\u00a0 Turns out, 4 out of the 5 tandems finished, which is a testament to the favorable conditions in store for us. Temperatures are typically 100+ for much of the ride, but this year temperatures maybe maxed out in the high 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.<\/p>\n

At 5:30 the mass of ~230 riders was led out by a four wheeled moto-pacer.\u00c2\u00a0 Before the ride, I was really nervous about this portion of the ride.\u00c2\u00a0 Based on Russ\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 previous TTs, I knew it was imperative to keep up with the front of the pack so as to not miss any of the lights tripped by the pacer.\u00c2\u00a0 There are 20 stoplights to be navigated going through Santa Rosa, which could eat up a lot of time.\u00c2\u00a0 I am also really uncomfortable in packs, especially when I do not know the riders around me.\u00c2\u00a0 It might have something to do with the fact that as a stoker, I have no ability to steer or brake.\u00c2\u00a0 My pathetic little bell is the only way I can influence the environment around me.<\/p>\n

\"2009-tt-on-the-way-to-geysers\"<\/p>\n

It was a fairly quick pace to and through Santa Rosa.\u00c2\u00a0 I was surprised to see several groups of people along the route (some in bathrobes with large mugs of coffee) ringing bells and cheering us on.\u00c2\u00a0 There was even a life sized Han Solo cut-out in one group.\u00c2\u00a0 The pack spread out such that we ultimately lost sight of the front riders, yet we only got held up by a few of the traffic lights.\u00c2\u00a0 Turns out the pack riding was fine.\u00c2\u00a0 I sound a bit like Rainman, but I must say, Russ is a very good driver, I mean captain.<\/p>\n

Now, many of the people who ride with us have heard about Russ\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 spreadsheets.\u00c2\u00a0 I often make fun of them, but for us they are an invaluable tool.\u00c2\u00a0 He calculates and tracks our power outputs and progress during training and then figures out how long it will take us to finish certain rides.\u00c2\u00a0 They are amazingly geeky, and accurate.\u00c2\u00a0 Over Memorial Day weekend we led the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Not so Terrible Two Days\u00e2\u20ac\u009d rides for ACTC which included back to back centuries that covered the entire course over two days.\u00c2\u00a0 Based on our times, we knew we would need to pick up the pace in order to leave lunch at the 110 mile mark by the 1:45pm cut-off.\u00c2\u00a0 However, a few weeks of training later, our speed and power improved such that Russ was predicting we could leave lunch by 1:35 and finish by 9:15 pm.\u00c2\u00a0 The \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I did it!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d t-shirt given to all who finish before 10pm was within reach!\u00c2\u00a0 An unspoken goal was to finish before dark (~9:00pm).<\/p>\n

Back to the ride.\u00c2\u00a0 After about 25 miles, we started the first climb up Trinity Grade.\u00c2\u00a0 I saw Man-Fai Tam, and a short distance up the hill we saw Laura Hipp.\u00c2\u00a0 Powered by our now traditional chocolate milk filled starting bottles, we reached the top of Trinity about 7 minutes ahead of Russ\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 prediction.\u00c2\u00a0 We breathed a sigh of relief in that it looked like our legs did indeed show up for the ride.\u00c2\u00a0 Shortly after starting the descent, we passed Paul Vlasveld.\u00c2\u00a0 Paul then passed us on the short climb up Oakville Grade, but we hooked up again for the long flat of Silverado Trail.<\/p>\n

We picked up quite a train behind us on Silverado Trail.\u00c2\u00a0 Drafting a tandem for 16 miles is an opportunity not too many single bikes can pass up.\u00c2\u00a0 We made a conscious effort to not \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Silverado Trail\u00e2\u20ac\u009d ourselves. That is an expression Russ uses to describe blowing yourself up by going way too hard, on a road that is just too much fun, doing pacelines way too fast, much\u00c2\u00a0 too early in the ride.\u00c2\u00a0 He kept his heart rate in check and we rolled into the Calistoga rest stop (mile 55) at 8:40 am.<\/p>\n

Another strategy to meet the cut-offs was to keep our rest stops really quick.\u00c2\u00a0 We refilled water, grabbed food and I even got to pee before rolling out a mere 3 minutes later, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.\u00c2\u00a0 We lost most of our paceline buddies at the stop, but we found new folks to chat with along the next stretch. As we approached the entrance to the Old Faithfulgeyser, we were treated to an eruption.\u00c2\u00a0 On we rode toward Geysers Road \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the highest climb of the day.<\/p>\n

\"towing-a-train-to-geysers\"

Towing a Train to Geyser<\/p><\/div>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really remember anything remarkable about the climb itself.\u00c2\u00a0 Long. Hard. Steep. Typical.\u00c2\u00a0 Part way up the climb we passed the Albers tandem parked next to a SAG \u00e2\u20ac\u201c likely some sort of mechanical.\u00c2\u00a0 We got passed by a lot of single bikes on this climb, but nearly every one of them had something incredibly positive to say about us doing this ride on the tandem.\u00c2\u00a0 It was completely different from the Death Ride where I got at least 25 comments of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hey, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not pedaling\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by the time we reached the third pass.\u00c2\u00a0 I guess Terrible Two riders get it.\u00c2\u00a0 This is such a hard ride that if you are out there at all, you have got some serious toughness that deserves respect.\u00c2\u00a0 By the way, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not pedaling\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is never funny.\u00c2\u00a0 Ever.<\/p>\n

We saw the Taylor tandem at the rest stop at the top.\u00c2\u00a0 After a quick four minutes to get water, food and let Russ pee, we took off again.\u00c2\u00a0 The back side of Geysers is not a smooth road and there were several short gravel sections.\u00c2\u00a0 There was a LOT of flat tire carnage, but luckily none for us.<\/p>\n

Before the ride we debated about ways to shave weight off of the bike.\u00c2\u00a0 Gone were the rear rack, trunk, some tools, and the front bag\/rack.\u00c2\u00a0 We kept a smaller tool bag, super tubes in both wheels, spare tire and the kickstand.\u00c2\u00a0 It is so nice to not have to search for a spot to lean or put your bike down at the rest stops.\u00c2\u00a0 We must have gotten 5-6 comments during the day about how unusual it was to have a kickstand on the bike.\u00c2\u00a0 One guy even asked us to pose so he could take a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Look ma, no hands\u00e2\u20ac\u009d picture of it.\u00c2\u00a0 Wow, if only people knew that this kickstand was actually our second.\u00c2\u00a0 The original one failed and broke off after ~17,000 miles.<\/p>\n

We passed the Taylor tandem and lots of single bikes on the descent.\u00c2\u00a0 We saw Ken Holloway fixing a flat a few miles short of the lunch stop.\u00c2\u00a0 We arrived at lunch 12:28pm.\u00c2\u00a0 Our leisurely 12 minute stop allowed the Taylors to sneak out ahead of us, never to be caught again.\u00c2\u00a0 We left the lunch stop 56 minutes ahead of Russ\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 prediction.<\/p>\n

\"Lunch

Lunch Stop<\/p><\/div>\n

Next up was Skaggs Spring Road – a 38 mile jaunt to the coast with 4800 feet of climbing.\u00c2\u00a0 Shortly after we started the first climb, Ken Holloway passed us.\u00c2\u00a0 We leapfrogged a bit as we would pass him on the all too short mini-descents and he would pass us as soon as the road pitched up.\u00c2\u00a0 He ultimately also got out in front never to be seen again.\u00c2\u00a0 We were regularly downing salt packets to keep cramping at bay.<\/p>\n

At mile 116 I felt a sharp smack on my face and yelped as a bee, for the third time in two years, got caught between me and my helmet.\u00c2\u00a0 In response to my noises, Russ asked if I was ok.\u00c2\u00a0 I replied, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah, but a bee got me right on my temporal mandibular joint!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 His response of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Where the hell is that?!?!?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d made me laugh and reminded me that we really do speak different languages sometimes. (BTW, it is the part of your jaw just in front of your ear).<\/p>\n

There were great water stops at both high peaks on Skaggs where I kept getting told \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You are the third woman to arrive\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 We took a quick break at the rest stop at Camp Gualala so Russ could rub his feet before the dreaded \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wall\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

The wall climbs about 900 ft in less than 1.2 miles.\u00c2\u00a0 It is brutal, and not nearly short enough.\u00c2\u00a0 We made it up without stopping which was a major mental victory for me.\u00c2\u00a0 After that it is just one more small bump (that seemed endlessly long) until we descended among the fern covered hills (I bet a lot or riders never noticed the ferns) and emerged onto the coast at Stewart\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Point. We left Stewart\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Point at 4:00pm \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 1 hour and 11 minutes ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n

At the coast we were treated to beautiful clear skies and a strong tailwind.\u00c2\u00a0 The next 16 miles sped by as we let the tailwind do some of the work.\u00c2\u00a0 We were on our own for most of this stretch, but eventually we caught up to a rider who had broken a spoke earlier on Skagg\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and was now riding without front brakes. That did not sound fun given that 16000 feet of climbing also translates to 16000 feet of descending.<\/p>\n

We arrived at the Fort Ross rest stop (mile 163), where luckily the other rider was able to borrow a new front wheel.\u00c2\u00a0 Have I mentioned that the support on this ride is fantastic?\u00c2\u00a0 Han Solo also must have taken a short cut as he was now present next to the large pots of hot soup.<\/p>\n

I was really nervous about the impending Fort Ross climb. Russ assured me it would be ok, and he told me to just plan on taking a break somewhere in the middle of the hill.\u00c2\u00a0 We left the rest stop at 5:00pm.\u00c2\u00a0 At 5:05, I got that break we talked about, but not exactly as planned. We tried to shift into our lowest gear and dropped the chain. Despite immediately clipping out, the chain was royally jammed between the cassette and spokes.\u00c2\u00a0 It somehow worked its way below the cassette pin that prevents that from happening. We couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get the chain back out, remove the wheel or even access the master link.\u00c2\u00a0 We finally broke out the chain tool and got everything back in order. We were rolling again by 5:15.\u00c2\u00a0 Not too bad given that for a few minutes we were really wondering how the heck we were going to fix it.<\/p>\n

Russ predicted the climb would take us 45 minutes.\u00c2\u00a0 We hit the summit at 5:45 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we matched his predict even with a 10 minute mechanical!!\u00c2\u00a0 After the summit, we were descending and knew there was just one more hard climb to come \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the second summit of Fort Ross.\u00c2\u00a0 I was distracting and powering myself up Fort Ross with a 300 calorie King Size Salted Nut Roll I had been packing as my special stash of magic food.\u00c2\u00a0 The climb just kept going and going, but we finally hit the summit.\u00c2\u00a0 At this point it started to dawn on me that we were really going to do this!\u00c2\u00a0 I asked Russ to be cautious on the descent.\u00c2\u00a0 His response was, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Are you crazy, there is no way I am going risk blowing this now!!!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Russ started to cramp again once we were back on the flats, but we were able to salt him up and kept rolling our way to the last rest stop in Monte Rio.<\/p>\n

By the time you reach Monte Rio, you are pretty sure you are going to make it, but you are still pretty darn exhausted.\u00c2\u00a0 Russ and I split up. I decided to put the lights on just for added visibility and refilled the bottles. Russ again needed to give his feet a break.\u00c2\u00a0 I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see any of this, but Russ said he was a total slob trying to rub his feet with one hand while simultaneously inhaling an enormous handful of BBQ potato chips with the other. Russ later told me he was trying NOT to eat the chips with the same hands he was rubbing his feet with, but was not sure he was entirely successful.\u00c2\u00a0 The volunteers commented on how good everyone looked.\u00c2\u00a0 That was another testament to the excellent conditions.\u00c2\u00a0 Normally, everyone looks a bit like death warmed over by the time they reach Monte Rio.<\/p>\n

We left at the rest stop at 7:00pm with just 17 miles to go.\u00c2\u00a0 Some easy math said we could flirt with an 8:00 pm finish if we pushed. We took off and picked up a rider named Jack on our wheel.\u00c2\u00a0 We hauled the entire way and arrived at 7:54pm.\u00c2\u00a0 The finish line had people lined up to cheer every individual finisher.\u00c2\u00a0 The giant digital time clock read 14:24 total. Our computers indicated that we spent 13:26 rolling.\u00c2\u00a0 The weather conditions allowed us to blow Russ\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 conservative predictions out of the water.<\/p>\n

The first order of business was to get that t-shirt and buy a jersey.\u00c2\u00a0 I recognized the volunteer at the jersey table from out on the course.\u00c2\u00a0 She said she started at 4:00am directing cars, was planning to stay until after the last riders finished and would be back to help clean up on Sunday.\u00c2\u00a0 She said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My whole weekend is Terrible Two\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 Or maybe she said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My whole weekend is terrible, too\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

As we collapsed into bed that night at the nearby Good Nite Inn, I asked Russ if he was glad we did it.\u00c2\u00a0 He quickly responded, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes, absolutely\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been married, and riding tandem, long enough to know not to ask the question \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Would you do it again?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d until well after New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sheila Stevens In 2007, Russ and I were riding our first organized double century (Davis) on the tandem when we met another tandem couple wearing matching Terrible Two jerseys.\u00c2\u00a0 Russ commented that it would be really cool if we could get matching TT jerseys ourselves.\u00c2\u00a0 It was the most ridiculous thing I had ever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ride-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=267"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":271,"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267\/revisions\/271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rides.actc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}