Northern California - Davis double ride report: Day in Hell

Hell, according to many religious beliefs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_beliefs), is a place of suffering during afterlife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife) where the wicked or unrighteous souls are punished.

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REALITY!
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I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep before the ride. I kept getting phone call emergencies and sneaking off into the bathroom to
answer them so as not to wake up my Bunkbuddie Cutis. At about 11pm I took a sleeping pill that kicked in at 7am! Right
about the time we we’re climbing up Cardiac. As we we’re attacked by the thousands of butterflies and I was feeling so
woozy it all took on some weird trippy unreal altered reality.

The day before I had arrived in Davis and ended up doing to long of a ride. After spacing out and missing a turn. I ended
up wandering on to some “Milagro Bean Field” and conversed in my horrible Spanglish with a farmworker untll he finally
was able to redirect me back to civilization…El Gringo, muy Stupido!. I had stopped and got a Cappuccino to bring
back to the hotel for morning but it tasted so good, that I ended up drinking it while riding and talking on my phone.
Yolo county is so cool that way. Flat and straight. Makes it very easy to multitask while pedaling.
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I was a little worried going into this riding my Klein and not having the climbing gears. I had made some adjustments
during the week and the Bike was feeling absolutely perfect and comfortable, and the Klein is the faster of my bikes.
The one regret I didn’t have. Rode like a charm and my butt was in pretty dam good shape at the end even it the rest
of me wasn’t.
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I was so out of it at the end with the heat and all that at the time my mind was not acknowledging the fact that Redspoke
had finished with us. I just wasn’t connecting very well with my brain. I was complete toast. It was great to meet up
with him at Guinda He had left later than us. We kept running into Constant Rider every other stop. The heat had really
hit him pretty hard towards the end, but he muscled through it all.
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I don’t think I’ve ever pushed myself as hard as I did. It was the toughest ride I’ve ever done. Even worse then my
Winter Tam ride! I was quite sure that I wouldn’t make it on a number of occasions. I pulled every mind trick to get
me that extra mile I needed. I’m really horrible in the heat.
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The support was hands down the best I’ve ever experienced. I think the crews at the stops made everyone feel like
they we’re Lance Armstrong. Lot’s of encouragement and so much help.

At stop 3, I went straight to a picnic bench and fell asleep. I could not believe how drowsey I was. I felt a little better
when I got up and started tandem hunting. There seemed to be a lot less people. The Davis for me is usually all about
pacelining through. Curtis and I pretty much solo’d through most of it. I would get ahead of Curtis or He would get
ahead of me. It wasn’t until after Ressurection that we ended up riding the rest of the way together. From Ressurection
till Guinda was a nightmarish deathride!. Hot burning headwinds no water, no pacelines…Nothing! The only thing that
kept me going was Curtis strange observations of reality, which really made me laugh inside cause I didn’t have a whole
lot of strength to physically even smile.
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Cobb Mountain was beyond torture. I was kicking myself for not bringing the trek. I didn’t stop for fear of not being
able to get on my bike again.. The rest stop was the most welcome stop of the day. It was where I was introduced
to the “Ice Sock”! What an invention. I think the ice sock was responsible for getting me through the ride.

Cutis was using the pacing method and watching his HR while I was using the fastest method to get from point A to
Point B. So I’d kill my self getting to the next stop, but I could sit longer in the wading pools and in the shade. I ate
like a pig. I couldn’t believe the amount of food I was eating, and gallons of water, pepsi, V8. I ate as many chips
as possible to keep my salt levels up.
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Highlights:

The scariest part was going along Cache Creek. I really didn’t think I could do it. My ice sock was dry. Absolutely
bonked, nothing left. I got really overheated with no water and really thought this was it! We found a park that
fortunately had some water. Just enough to get us through to the next stop.

I really was happy to meet my friends on their new white CoMotion Tandem. I met Brian and Janet at the Tierra Bella
and they told me I had inspired them to do their first double on a tandem. That was really cool! Brian was having
some knee problems but they we’re able to do it anyway.
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At the end I ran into my Irish friend (forgot her name) who had come up from behind me last year singing a Gaelic
folk song…( I had worn my Irish Cycle kit). She made it…Go Irish!
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Best potatoes ever!

Ran into the little girl and her father that had attempted the ride last year.It ended up to be to hot for
them this year.

Chili and grilled cheese at the last rest stop was worth the 200 miles.

Dinner was great.

Shirts and patches are really cool looking. Nice color

Seeing Curtis cross the finish line. I was happy that Curtis performed on the ride pretty much exactly as I predicted.
He got through every trial and tribulation and I got him in before dark like I had promised him. I knew he had
nothing to worry about that he would be awesome. He even called his lovely bride at every stop to reassure
her he was ok! We even started time trialing at the end which wasn’t very smart but a lot of fun. I think he
had a lot more in him than he realized. It was an awsome ride of epic proportions. As far as next year…Not
quite sure? Unless a lot of Bf’rs want to do a group ride?

No recovery ride for you?

I decided to start a 5 a.m. with a view to getting as many miles as possible on the clock before the sun came out. I set off pretty Quick and after about 5 miles I got in a little group of 4 riders and we did a nice fast rotating paceline. I was going a bit Quicker than I normally like to ride so early in the day but in the dark you cant see your pulse meter. When dawn broke I realized I was going a bit hard and my pulse was not where it should be so I dropped off the group just before the first rest stop. The next section I rode alone for a while and then got together with another rider and we shared the work hoping to get caught by some big group but no group came. We caught lots of riders in 1’s and 2’s but you got the impression that there really wasn’t that many riders out on the course. It wasn’t until the very strong headwind section on the way up to Monticello Dam that we caught a pair of riders that joined with us up to rest stop number 2 and the first climb of the day.

I lost my riding partner at the Monticello Dam rest stop and set off up Cardiac alone. Fortunately I caught a group containing some of my FFBC team mates so I had so company for the hill. The heat was really starting to turn on at this point (7:20 am) but the climb wasn’t too bad even though you had to dodge thousands of butterflies. On the descent a Tandem blew past us with a sizeable group in tow. I recognized the tandem crew as the nice couple I had ridden with at Solvang and Chico and I knew they were a fantastic wheel to follow so I jumped on the group (spinning out my compact to do so).

The next 31 miles were pretty fast and we blew through rest stop #3 which at the time concerned me a little as I was getting through my bottles pretty Quickly and by the time we got to rest stop 4 at 75 miles I was running on empty. Around this time I seemed to lose my appetite and had to force some food down me. The only thing that seemed to appeal to me was sports beans and melon. On the next section the group was very much smaller but we still kept up a good pace. We filled up bottles at Rest stop 5 (95.4 miles) and then started the big climb of the DD. It was on this climb that the heat really started to be felt and by the time I got to rest stop number 6 (104.5 miles) I had to take an extended rest to cool down. Cups of ice water down your jersey certainly helped. I had some abdominal discomfort and still had no appetite but I was very thirsty.

I set off up the remainder of the nearly 3000 feet climb on my own with two icy bottles but after only 30 minutes the contents were hot and unpalatable. Near the top I began to experience some cramping in my legs and the heat was horrible. Fortunately the tandem couple caught me on the descent and we rode together to the lunch stop where I did manage to eat. After lunch the heat started to become horrible and the next climb at around mile 120 was unbearably hot. Cramp started to rear its ugly head again and I was passed some “Tums” which did seem to help. The next climb (Resurrection) had absolutely no wind or a small tail wind and the heat was intolerable but at the top the helpers were giving out socks filled with ice that really helped cool you down (you wrapped these things round your kneck).

On the descent of resurrection I lost my Tandem buddies (they rode away from me at 50MPH +) and the next 20 miles or so to Guinda were horrible. There was a nasty headwind and the heat was baking me alive. I started to feel most unwell. I didn’t see a single other person until just before the rest stop at 162.8 miles where there were many people trying desperately to cool down. From Guinda to the finish is a blur to me. I was physically and mentally exhausted by the heat, wind and my stomach discomfort. The only thing I thought about was, how long to the next rest stop. I rode the last 40 miles alone and only saw the occasional other rider (mainly at rest stops).
When I finished it was a tremendous relief and I finally stopped at 6:15pm with 206 miles on the Garmin.

I spent a total of 1hour 41 minutes in the rest stops !! I think I was very dehydrated because I drank like a fish last night and when I woke up this morning I was still 6 pounds lighter than when I set off yesterday. I also feel like I have a hangover. That was a horrible double but the ride support was amazing. I cant even face riding a bike today.

Great job, rumbutter! ~12 hrs ride time for a DD under those conditions is amazing. Now go drink some more water. :)

Just got back from my recovery ride. World's slowest hour. Legs of jello and mush. My hands and toes are still tingleing.

Tricia and I are headed off to Livermore Cyclery. She won a bike fitting!
I'll post photos and a report maybe tonight. But I think calling it a "Day in Hell" isn't quite right. Hell, as I understand it, Hell isn't quite as hot as this ride.

More Picts
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Was that a vulture in the pic?
Great job guys. That heat would have killed me dead.

Was that a vulture in the pic?
Great job guys. That heat would have killed me dead.

I pretended it was an eagle showing me the way up the mountain...but in reality it might have been a DoDobird or a flying Penguin!:twitchy:

Wow! You all are an impressive (albeit slightly "off") bunch! Your descriptions make me feel as though I was there, and after riding the Monticello century today I can relate to the heat problems. We also heard along our ride about how many people couldn't finish yesterday. Good job, you! :thumb:

I talked to one of the Ham radio operator that worked the DD. He told me some riders had to wait up to 3 hours to get sagged due to the number of riders that could not finish, including many veterans of previous DDs. Very impressive that you did not just finish, but did so before dark, and if the pictures are any indication, while having lots of fun.

The first 95 miles of this ride were really fun. As others have said, there didn't seem to be that many monster pacelines this year, but I managed to hook onto one just after the first rest stop. That lasted for about twenty miles or so before it broke it up as we began to approach Monticello Dam.

The swarm of butterflies was an interesting experience too. For about the first minute, it was kind of magical. There were so many that at first I thought they were leaves swirling in the breeze. After awhile, though, it was like, "Okay, enough with all the butterflies!" At one point, one flew into my mouth. Luckily, we both survived the encounter.

The Cobb Mountain climb, at around mile 95, was pretty grueling, as the day was finally starting to get as hot as promised. Still, I felt pretty good at the end of it, especially knowing that a long, fun descent awaited. When I reached the lunch stop at mile 120, I was still feeling pretty good -- so much so that I didn't even bother to eat much. On my last long ride, I felt like I'd eaten too much at a similar point in the ride -- so instead of treating this lunch stop as "lunch," I treated just like another rest stop -- had some fruit, some chips, but not too much. In retrospect, I think I was probably not taking in enough calories and it was this point that it started to catch up with me.

Also, it was now extremely hot, and there was a really strong headwind. Also, we were riding on Highway 53 at this point in the ride, and Highway 53 sucks. There's a spacious shoulder, but it's filled with gravel, glass, and other debris. There's constant, high-speed traffic, and it's just not a place you'd ever want to ride your bike. Not because it's unsafe -- it's just unpleasant. Noisy, grimy, monotonous.

Anyway, that's where the ride started to fall apart for me. It got worse after the rest stop at Cardiac Hill, where I amazing forgot to fill my Camelbak. To complicate matters, one of my two bottles was filled with water I'd gotten from one of those spigot/hose contraptions at an earlier rest stop -- and when I finally tried drinking it, it tasted so awful I thought maybe it was contaminated or something. (Obviously, I wasn't thinking very clearly at that point.) For awhile, this wasn't too much of a problem, as I had jumped on the wheel of a tandem and was cruising along through the gently declining swerves of Cache Canyon without expending any effort at all. When the road flattened out, though, I realized I was totally cooked. The tandem's pilot told me his cyclometer was 110 degrees! I figured that if his cyclometer treats temperature the way my cyclometer treats speed, it exaggerates a bit -- but I'm sure it was definitely over 100.

The rest of the way to the next rest stop in Guinda -- and the rest of the ride really -- became a death march for me. Were it not for the fact that I figured getting sagged in might involve a lot of waiting around, I would have sagged in. It was ironic that I was thinking this, of course, because "waiting around" was actually the ideal activity for the state I was in. I was too tired to fill my bottles. I didn't want to eat anything. Instead, I just sat on a bench for a long time, putting on more sunscreen, wiping my glasses off, etc.

When I reached the next rest stop at mile 180, I again thought of asking for a sag. On the one hand, there was only 20 flat miles left -- so why not finish? On the other hand, there was only 20 flat miles left -- what was the big deal about doing those 20 miles? Why not sag in?

I'd been running into Curtis and Pete throughout the day, and met up with them again there. Leading up to the ride, Curtis had seemed worried about completing the ride -- but he seemed pretty fresh still at mile 180. And Pete seemed recovered from his delayed-action sleeping pill. I had witnessed its effect at the third rest stop. One second, while I was fiddling with something in my Camelbak, I noticed him approaching. The next, when I turned around to say Hello, he was laid out a bench, deep in slumber!

By the time I reached the end, I wasn't feeling quite as bad as I had in the stretch leading to the Guinda rest stop -- but I still felt pretty awful. Didn't have an appetite. Didn't even want to drink that much, though I forced down a couple glasses of water. The prospect of driving back to San Francisco was pretty daunting -- I would have gladly accepted a sag for that part of the journey. When I hit the Presidio after the bridge, I encountered some of the thickest fog I've experienced in quite some time. I rolled down the windows and let the cold, wet air into my car -- after a day in hell, it felt really, really good.

Just a few of my highlights.
Everything pales compared to Cobb. I thought I would die. Really.
But otherwise I felt pretty good.
Today I can't think straight, and my toes and fingers are tingling. I tried to ride this morning, but had no juice. At home, the stairs are a challenge.

Oh, we were attacked by butterflies
EDIT: Link blew up my bandwidth limits. Here's a low rez YouTube version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73G6U9-cnm8)



EDIT: Photos gone till next month, exceeded my bandwidth limits.

Great morning. As hot as it got, before it was hot is was wonderful.
http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/dd-pete_morning.jpg

There's art everywhere.

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Pete gave me grief about the phone calls to my sweet wife, but who is this? And what is that person doing?

http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/dd-pete-lazy.jpg

At about mile 170 or so Pete was getting a bit tired, and the vultures started sizing him up.

http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/dd-vulture.jpg

But in the end we made it to the finish!
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Wow, some ride. It was hot riding around Big Basin yesterday - I can just imagine what the valley must have been like!

Well done!

JB

Great pics, Pete and Curtis -- especially the hilarious butterfly clip!

Also found this blog entry (http://thefungoreport.blogspot.com/2008/05/double-century.html) from a volunteer. She says the temps reached 106 in Davis. Also, that she was there at the main check-in point from 4AM until after 10PM -- which sounds maybe even more grueling than the ride itself. The volunteer support on this ride really is amazing.

Wow. How'd you find that blog? I'd love to know how many signed up, started, finished, and teh latest time.

By the way, Cobb is just toooooo steep for words, even without the heat. A little 10 or 12 is OK, but this is to much.
http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/too_steep.gif

What can I say - you gents are awesome. :thumb::thumb: Someday, I'd like to think I could manage a, gasp, century....

That video is great. Pete and Curtis both talking away..."I'm having a moment..."

Priceless. Nice job to you guys and all the other riders.

BR

Extended stats and boring commentary on my blog
http://ccorlew.blogspot.com

I am suprised you only got 200.6 miles. I got lost near the end but my Garmin measured 206 and 8241 feet of climbing. I was talking to another rider at the end and they got 206 too.

Taxi777 That Klein of yours is absolutely gorgeous. I remember seeing the bike at one of the rest stops but not the rider.

I was just sat here thinking about how amazing the volunteers were. It was like visiting a 5 star hotel at each rest stop. They even went to your bike to get your bottles, filled them and put them back on again. They say that adversity brings out the true heroes and that was certainly the case for the DD volunteers.

They say that adversity brings out the true heroes and that was certainly the case for the DD volunteers.

+1 ... I think PU should learn a few things from DBC.

Don't know about the mileage, but the climbing depends on how the software you use figures it. I use Ascent on a Mac.

Indeed, the staff IS amazing!



I am suprised you only got 200.6 miles. I got lost near the end but my Garmin measured 206 and 8241 feet of climbing. I was talking to another rider at the end and they got 206 too.

Taxi777 That Klein of yours is absolutely gorgeous. I remember seeing the bike at one of the rest stops but not the rider.

I was just sat here thinking about how amazing the volunteers were. It was like visiting a 5 star hotel at each rest stop. They even went to your bike to get your bottles, filled them and put them back on again. They say that adversity brings out the true heroes and that was certainly the case for the DD volunteers.

for those off you wondering if I finally made it in from the ride...YESSSSSS.

I am no longer contemplating my first double century….I did one!

I began my first attempt at a double century at 5:09am yesterday morning in the parking lot of the Memorial Veterans Hall in Davis
California. I had my trusty Light and Motion Solo Logic light charged and ready to go. It was already warm as the ride began, but nothing likes what
We would experience later in the day. I arrived at rest stop #1 feeling really good and marveling at the couple of super fast pelotons that had passed
Everyone like they were standing still. Rest stop #2 was at Monticello Dam on Lake Berryessa at the 44.7 mile marker. It was after this point that the climbing
Began. In this section, there was a two or three mile stretch where thousands of butterflies were pelting me as I climbed the hill. It was one of the more
Bizarre things I have experienced on a ride. After a few minutes of being annoyed, I managed to just ignore them and keep riding. Through rest stops 3
and 4 the temperatures were still quite tolerable and the climbing was more than manageable. Rest Stop 5 was at Middletown High School around mile
95 and was making excellent time and feeling good! I should point out here that the Davis Bike Club had excellent sag and support. All the rest stops
had everything you could need, including sunscreen!

It was at this point in the ride that the temperatures and the climbing began to take its toll on riders young and old. The next seven miles featured a “little” hill called Cobb Mountain….with about 1500ft of elevation gain. By then temps were hovering in the low triple digits and riders were stopped all along the side of the road taking rest breaks. One nice resident brought a hose out to his shaded yard and let the riders douse themselves. I’m not sure how long it took me to reach the top and rest stop 6, but it was a welcome relief when I got there. Temps were brutal by now and the fluid consumption was continuous. Fortunately, there was only a little more climbing heading out of stop 6….and then some tremendous descents before reaching the lunch stop at Lower Lake High School. This was the point where quite a few riders decided to sag out due to the conditions. Even though I don’t normally eat a lot at stops on rides, I made myself do on this occasion and I am very glad I did. My jersey and shorts were beginning to look like I had been mining for salt!

There was an additional 500 feet of climbing between the lunch stop and rest stop #7 at Colusa County line summit, but it felt like a thousand by the time I reached the stop a mile marker 139.8. I pounded down a couple cokes; more water…doused my head, and put an ice sock around my neck. For most of the day, I had been riding alone, but during the next 23 miles I met and began riding with Linda, a woman from Nevada who I had seen at several of the stops during the day. We kept up a pretty good pace as we passed through some of the prettiest countryside of the day. It was starting to get later in the day and shadows were providing much needed relief from the sun exposure. It right about this time that I avoided running over a brightly striped snake…and was beginning to think I just might be able to finish this ride in good shape. Just then, around mile 150, I had a flat on my rear tire. Linda and I stopped and I quickly made the repair so we could get back on the road. Again, things seemed to be going well, with just a minor glitch on the flat. It was at this point that the low battery warning began to flash on my headlight. After about 15 minutes, it died and Linda moved to the front I began to hug her rear tire and keep my eyes peeled on the road. The ride now became uncomfortable and nerve wracking for the next few miles. I was beginning to really get discouraged and thought I might have to stop and sag out when we spotted the sag wagon up ahead. One of the guys getting a ride in was a coworker with Linda and he loaned me his light for the rest of the trip in! What a nice thing to do. Now, back in business, we headed out on the road again. We finally rolled into rest stop 8 at Guinda Fire Station at mile 162.8 and I was really glad that I had finally decided to use Chamois Butt’r for the first time on a long ride. More on that later. After refueling and hydrating even more, the two of us headed off for the 20 miles to rest stop 9 at Farnham Ranch, which was rest stop 1 earlier in the morning. By now, we were both running our rear blinkies and our headlights and things were going well except for the growing discomfort from sitting all day. At this point we got into harder gears and pedaled standing as much as possible.

At mile 196 we reached the final rest stop and decided to skip it and roll on in to the finish. By then, Linda and I had hooked up with another two riders for the final 7 ½ miles. Along the way, I started to really lose steam and started dropping behind the group. Pretty soon, I lost sight of them and began concentrating on just getting to the finish. As I got closer to the Veterans Memorial Hall, I somehow made a wrong turn and ended up adding another mile to my ride! Ugh! A driver at a stop light pointed me in the right direction and I finally rolled into the parking lot at midnight…final mileage for the day was 208.3. My total ride time was 15:03. The first 95 miles were done in 6:30 before the massive heat and most of the climbing took place.

I don’t think I could have made it without Linda from Nevada…and thank God for Chamois Butt’r! Sorry no pictures….but I really felt the need to write it all down before I forgot some of the details. I highly recommend this ride to anyone who hasn’t done it and I plan to do it again next year…hopefully in more moderate temperatures!

Great job everyone. Davis Bike Club definitely rocks! After the fire last year, and having to re-route the course, and this year with the heat, I challenge any ride organizer who can put on a better organized ride.

I haven't been on as many as you Ron, but I wholeheartedly agree!

Wow. How'd you find that blog?

I just did a search for "Davis Double" on Technorati.com.


Meanwhile, interesting to see that the ride only registed 8000 feet or so on your Garmin.

And what really pops out at me is Dauphin's mention that there's only 500 feet of elevation gain in the Resurrection Hill section?! That was a hard 500 feet!

Another stat: I went through 14 Nuun tablets, which equates to 212 ounces of water. (Each 32 oz. bottle gets two tablets.) I also filled my Camelbak with plain water several times, and resorted to plain water in the bottles a few times too, because I realized I'd be out of the tablets too early if I didn't. Throw in one bottle of Gatorade and a couple soft drinks too, and I probably consumed 300 - 400 ounces of fluids. Even so, I lost seven pounds on the ride.

One thing I should have done but didn't do was put ice in my bottles and Camelbak. I saw people doing that, but it never really sank in that that wasn't just to make the relatively cold water at the rest stops a little bit more cold and refreshing, but rather to keep your water from getting unpalatably hot five minutes after leaving the rest stop.

Another lesson: bring more Hammer gel! I figured that since there were so many rest stops on the ride, I wouldn't pack much of my own food. While there was plenty of food at the rest stops and a decent variety, the problem was that I just didn't want to eat anything. I was having no problem eating the Hammer gels I'd brought, but unfortunately, I'd only brought four of them.

EPIC and HEROIC ride!

Congratulations to all of you. Wow!

Glad to hear you all survived. I was a corner marshall early on in the ride and enjoyed the cool. After seeing so many folks ride by, I got an hour ride in around 8:30am. I lost 3 1/2 pounds in one hour! I can't imagine what you all went through.

Was with the boys scouts today rafting Cache Creek. According to a worker at the creek, it topped out at 108 degrees in the canyon yesterday!

Glad to hear you all survived. I was a corner marshall early on in the ride and enjoyed the cool. After seeing so many folks ride by, I got an hour ride in around 8:30am. I lost 3 1/2 pounds in one hour! I can't imagine what you all went through.

Was with the boys scouts today rafting Cache Creek. According to a worker at the creek, it topped out at 108 degrees in the canyon yesterday!

I believe that...I've only felt that hot in one other place...Redding...where they fry eggs on the sidewalk!

Wow, congrats to everyone who rode this, I have much respect for you all!

Great job!!

Some of the things I forgot to mention that happened on the ride:

I had an on going game of tag with a woman on a tandem from the Fresno Cycling club
We kept passing each other and on Cob mountain they pulled over so I swung close and tapped her on the arm, “Tag your it” !
She got me back before she left down Resurrection she tapped me and took off
never to be caught : (

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/Tagyourit.jpg

Curtis fell asleep on his bike from the sleeping sickness that I had earlier:

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/curtissleeps.jpg

I started hallucinating and was able to get it on camera:

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/SunnyDaycopy.jpg

Some small headed cyclist went by but I could only see his shadow:

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/Smallhead.jpg

Another pict of Tandem girl and Dad:
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/TandemKid.jpg
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/TandemKidfriends.jpg

Curtis’s magic Ju Ju bag

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/Thestuff.jpg

Wet T shirt contest that I won!

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/Petespray.jpg

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/TandemKid.jpg

Haha ... they were there last year too. Kid is too cute.

Congratulations to all who finished and those who attempted!!! Thanks to all for documenting your expereience. What an epic ride! As a 15 time participant (who doesn't do well heat), and former DBC DC volunteer, I'm in awe of your success. I almost died last year in the heat on Loch Lomond on the reverse "Fire" course.

I too hate to miss the DC, but maybe I was actually 'saved' by injury and work schedule this year after all. Instead I was a SAG ham radio operator on "Reach the Beach" on Saturday (great event, solid support, 2300 participants $200K raised for American Lung Assn.), and it was "hot for Oregon" (SAGs were busy in the afternoon...). I was thinking all day about how the DC was going and how hot it would get. Smokin' hot!

I think next year is another DC "jersey" year - I'll have to think about...

Tailwinds to all!

Thank you for taking video of the butterflies! It was a CGI moment in life. One of those things that was so over the top even Hollywood couldn't recreate it. It reminded me of the space battles in Star Wars or WWII film of dogfights over the Pacific. Swarm after swarm coming at your head but never hitting you, but flying so close you could feel their wings flapping. It went on for what? 2 miles or so. It was a nice diversion to focus on rather than thumping pulse.

I think they were trying to tell us something... "We're not locusts, we're beautiful butterflies. Once you go over this mountain you will rapidly find Armageddon". That place was exiting the parking lot of the Middletown rest stop... :twitchy:

There were 4 places where I really got nailed physically and mentally...

1.Cobb Mountain. Everybody had a hard time there. I actually walked for about 100 yards of it. Even with 30-26 I had to take a t/o and push. There was one driveway in the middle where when I stopped there were 5 people under the tree by the time I left there were 20. :crash:

2. As soon as we turned right onto Highway 20 I took shelter under the chain control sign for a minute or two and asked myself... Should I keep doing this?

3. I stopped under a tree and a guy behind me did too. I was DEAD! We were DEAD! That Subaru wagon sag drove by and he yelled out "It's only a quarter-mile" away!" We both laughed hopped on our bikes and like 100 feet later saw the Colusa stop ahead... Whew!

4. The last one was just after leaving the Guinda stop. It was the last mini hill of the whole ride. As soon as I started up it my whole body literally yelled "Oh ___!". I bonked a bit, not having anything solid since lunch. I stopped and ate two bites of a Clif Bar which was like swallowing dry oats at that point (Yuck), swallowed a huge gulp of Hammer Raspberry and caught my bearings. Joni and Doug from my club rode by (seasoned DC riders) and asked if I was ok. Again, words moved me... :p

I was good all the way home from that point. The guy with the big beard who drives the Foys/B&L red van drove by blasting tunes. That guy has so much positive energy I gave him a huge thumbs up and started crushing the pedals. He SAGged the 200k in March and gave me so many second winds as he drove by... He was a corner marshal in the morning waving the flags yelling "go catch them" to the paceline I had just let go of. He's awesome.

I had a cup o' noodles at the Farm rest stop. Side note: I never eat them because they are so full of bad stuff, but the volunteer was right... It was exactly what I needed. Man that was cool. Passed the fire house rest stop and then ran into Pete and Curtis on the home stretch. I felt great pulling into the Vet Hall with Pete and Curtis. Doug and Joni were racing at the end and passed us at 100 yards to the finish. Me and Pete chuckled a bit.

It was great to finally meet you both. However, I expected more zaniness! :p

Ending... I don't think anyone would have finished this without the A+ support on this ride. I picked this as my second official organized ride (real smart eh) so I don't have anything to go on, but I couldn't have asked for better and every ride from here on out has this to live up to. I will be disappointed often methinks.

Wife and kids were finishing Thai food in downtown Davis. I kicked it on the grass for a few and opened a van door to smiling faces that missed me. It was pretty awesome. My wife is the ultimate SAG. :love:

P.S.S. Ok! The one thing that has been on my mind... Did anyone see the guy on the SS cruiser bike with fat tires? If he finished (?) I give him the title "Ultimate Manimal"!!! OMG!!! I went by him thinking "no no no no" but gave him a big :thumb: for bravery. The guy looked like he was in great shape but that's a lotta bike to push. Anyone? I passed him right afte the butterflies pretty early on.

Oh! One MORE thing... STP will be CAKE!!! :roflmao2:

Wow ... I'm at a loss for words .... :eek:

I'm loving all these stories. Great stuff! I did see a guy on a fixie. I was amazed. Don't know if he finished or not.

I'm realizing tat some of the ride is blur. I can't remember where some things were, or what order they came in. I can't remember what happened after coming off Cobb before the next climb.

The weirdest thing, though, is that I look happy in all the photos of me (Thanks Pete!). Even the ones where I know I was so hot and tired I could hardly breath I look like I'm having fun. Maybe I was.

You guys are freakin' awesome. :love:

I'm realizing tat some of the ride is blur. I can't remember where some things were, or what order they came in. I can't remember what happened after coming off Cobb before the next climb.



+200 :p

A coworker I never talk to overheard me and said her Dad headed the rest stop at a Winery about 65 miles into it... Pope Valley and Middletown I remember... Was there a stop at a Winery? :twitchy:

P.S.S. Ok! The one thing that has been on my mind... Did anyone see the guy on the SS cruiser bike with fat tires?

I saw him at check-in around 5AM. Based on the conversation he was having, it sounded like he'd ridden previous Davis Doubles on a fixed gear. I never saw him out on the course.

I'm realizing tat some of the ride is blur. I can't remember where some things were, or what order they came in. I can't remember what happened after coming off Cobb before the next climb.

The weirdest thing, though, is that I look happy in all the photos of me (Thanks Pete!). Even the ones where I know I was so hot and tired I could hardly breath I look like I'm having fun. Maybe I was.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE JU JU BAG???? do the math dude...the butterflies really never happened...
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/Thestuff.jpg

What did that single speed cruiser bike look like? Seems like I saw one at the lunch stop.

What did that single speed cruiser bike look like? Seems like I saw one at the lunch stop.

It was powder black and you couldn't have missed it unless you were always ahead of it. The guy looked tall ( 6'4" maybe?). People were talking about it at the Monticello Dam and I passed him a couple of miles after that stop. It was the exact opposite of the "Where's Waldo?" trying to find people that day. Definitely one of those "Things that make you go hmm" moments.

Wow.

It was powder black and you couldn't have missed it unless you were always ahead of it. The guy looked tall ( 6'4" maybe?). People were talking about it at the Monticello Dam and I passed him a couple of miles after that stop. It was the exact opposite of the "Where's Waldo?" trying to find people that day. Definitely one of those "Things that make you go hmm" moments.

Sometimes I think we were doing a different ride and or I really was asleep at the wheel. I missed a lot of stuff that you guys saw but saw things I don't think any one else did. It didn't even click that it was you at the end with us! Until I saw the picts! Really weird...:trainwreck: it was chris right?.....??

Pete, I said this in my diatribe above...

It was great to finally meet you both. However, I expected more zaniness!

You guys were speaking in tongues by the time I caught up with you (i.e. Beezlebub, et al. etc. yada dada yada ping pong kazooie)

I look forward to a moderately crazy ride (not OMFG nuts!!!) with you guys soon. We can actually have coherency (is that a word?) in our interactions. Woo!

+200 :p

A coworker I never talk to overheard me and said her Dad headed the rest stop at a Winery about 65 miles into it... Pope Valley and Middletown I remember... Was there a stop at a Winery? :twitchy:

Nichelini Winery. It's where you turn off Highway 128 and head towards Pope Valley. The stop is a slanting open field, with the winery around the corner on 128 out of sight. I worked it two years ago...

http://www.nicheliniwinery.com/

Nichelini Winery. It's where you turn off Highway 128 and head towards Pope Valley. The stop is a slanting open field, with the winery around the corner on 128 out of sight. I worked it two years ago...

http://www.nicheliniwinery.com/

Wow. I have no memory of this at all. And I have radar for wineries.
i think I wa son the ride...There are photos.
But I guess it was really hotter than I thought. Way to much is now just a blur.

Maybe next year I will take that tiny audio recorder....

Sounds like more than a few brain cells were cooked in the heat.

Oh well, they'll grow back. maybe

Nichelini Winery. It's where you turn off Highway 128 and head towards Pope Valley. The stop is a slanting open field, with the winery around the corner on 128 out of sight. I worked it two years ago...

http://www.nicheliniwinery.com/

Ok. Now it comes back to me. That rest stop at the T intersection of Silverado and Pope. I didn't realize that was a winery. That was the only time I felt like an idiot all day. I followed a guy about 100 yards the wrong way (went left after that rest stop like a lemming when I KNEW I should have gone right. Took the same route 2 months prior. Doie!). This group of 4 Olavita (sp?)/Sutter Home guys said in tandem "Are you coming with us?". Did a duh U-turn with the other guy and I followed them for about 10 miles, passed them and never saw them again. The day was a trip to say the least.

Oh! I also stopped and asked a guy if he liked Rush and he looked at me and said "they're allright." So I take that back. I felt like an idiot twice that day. :p I FORGOT WHAT INTERSECTION YOU WERE AT??? Sorry! Thanks for helping out nonetheless. :thumb: