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08-06-08, 11:15 AM
I'll try not to make this overly long, but just so you know the prelude to my wife and I riding the Mt. Shasta Super Summit Century . . .
Day One: We rode the Centennial Trail from Spokane, WA to Cour d Alene, ID and back for 80 miles round trip, mostly flat.
Day Two: Rode from Mead, WA to the top of Mt. Spokane and back, 44 miles, 4,800 feet of climbing.
Day Three through day Nine: Rode the OBR (Oregon Bicycle Ride) Washington Ride, average 75 miles per day and 3,500 ft. climbing ave. per day.
Day Ten: Rest day: drove from Mead, OR to Mt. Shasta, CA = 8 hours in the car.
Day Eleven: My wife rode the Mt. Shasta Metric Century while I rode the Mt. Shasta Super Summit Century. For more details, please see their website at: http://www.shastasummitcentury.com/
We went to early pre-Reg. on Saturday evening and picked up the route sheet and elevation guide:
Reaction: Severe Shock! 135 miles, okay, but . . . 16,500 feet of climbing! Yikes! My prev. record for a day's climbing was 14,500 on the Mt. Tam Double Century. How much worse would this be?
Had a tough time sleeping (yeah, Motel 6) just wondering if I could handle that kind of climbing within their 13 Hour time limit, plus thinking "The next time my wife signs me up for a ride, I should check the fine print!"
Arrived in plenty of time for breakfast and coffee from a local bakery, all good to go at the official start time of 5:30 AM. I started riding with a small group, right out of the park, two women and one man, riding at a moderate tempo, so I just followed along not pushing the pace at all.
The first 10 miles were essentially a warm up (47 deg. F at the start), then a rest stop with great pastry and hot coffee, both very welcome. Back out on the road we quickly started the first of four major climbs for the day. The grade seemed about 5 - 7%, varying enough to keep it interesting, plus absolutely beautiful scenery, lots of pine trees!
I talked with my fellow travelers, women Nancy and Jackie, don't remember the guy's name (maybe Ron?), and rode to their tempo, stopping with them to remove arm warmers and vest approx. 1/2 way to the top. Near the top I ramped up my speed just a bit and pulled away from this group, pretty easily actually.
At the top the ride workers punched a hole in my Mt. Shasta wrist band (star shaped hole) to "prove" that I made to the summit of the first climb. Put arm warmers and vest back on for the descent. Dropped down quickly, tucked a bit when it was safe, and passed a few riders on the way down.
After the first big climb (to 6,850 feet) there was a transitional stage of about 20 miles with a few ups and downs but nothing huge, then another rest/food stop pretty much in the city of Mt. Shasta. The next big climb (Mumbo Summit) was a mild ascent (5-6%) to the third rest/food stop, with a lovely creek/river running alongside the road, more lovely scenery, and friendly folks to talk with as we rode up the climb.
I saw my wife descending as I was riding up (quick "Hi Sweetheart!"), then after the rest/food stop the road surface deteriorated badly, plus it got really steep in the 10-12% range. Yeah, I'm glad I had a 30t Granny and I used it! 30t x 27t on the steep bits, and they seemed to last for a couple of miles sometimes! It was a long hard slog to the summit (at 6,600 feet), but I finally made it, and had my wrist band punched with a rain-drop shaped hole.
Long line at the porta-pottie at the 2nd summit, so I headed back down, but all the bouncing on the rough pavement (at speed) eventually required a stop at the mid-point rest/food stop with (fortunately by that time!) a very short line at the porta-pot.
After the 2nd descent there was no transition, so directly onto the 3rd climb (Castle Lake) with more steep sections, climbing in the hot sun by this time (mid 90's deg.F) but much cooler at the higher elevations, with mid 60's deg.F at the top. My legs were dragging by this time, plus I wasn't sure where I was with the time limit, so having serious doubts.
Finally hit the summit at Castle Lake (at 5450 feet) and got a "flower" punch-out on my wrist band, then relaxed in a far-too-comfortable chair, ate some potatoes with lots of salt and drank a couple of Mt.Dews. I also talked with a few riders who had done this event before and they assured me that I had plenty of time left, plus estimated the final climb (Mt. Shasta) at "2-1/2 hours up, 20 minutes down." The rest/food stop was on the shore of the Lake, so another lovely setting!
Okay, back on the bike, a fairly fast descent, back through the town of Mt. Shasta, up Washington Blvd. and into the final climb. A rider I met along there told me "The first five miles are hell, but after that, not so bad!" And you know, he was right. The first miles were pretty much torture, my legs feeling the effort of the previous climbs, riding in my 30t and varying the cassette cogs only occasionally. Again, very hot at the lower altitudes (near 100 by this time), sweating absolute buckets, but drinking iced Mt. Dew out of my Polar bottles.
After much pain and suffering, I did actually get through "Hell" and kept on going! There were two rest/food stops before the one at the summit, the first one staffed by two very funny women who kept the riders laughing (a valuable thing at this point!) saying the Gatorade there was "Specially mixed and made from fruits that only grow at this altitude on Mt. Shasta!" Unfortunately, they didn't have ice for my bottles. They did have chocolate GU, so I ate two of those, filled bottles with "Special" Gatorade, drank a Pepsi and carried on . . . plus, as I was taking off they shouted "Only nine miles to go!"
I was thinking "Yeah, whatever, just let this be over . . . " A bad attitude, I know. The next five miles to the next rest/food stop were ridden at 4, 5, and only occasionally 6 mph. Not too steep here, approx 5-6%, but hey, it had been a long day! I was knackered (as the Brits say), taking a real effort to keep my feet going in little circles. Still, overall, no pain from the seat, no other aches and pains except for the muscles in my legs, so it could have been worse!
Finally made it to the 2nd mid-climb rest/food stop, looked over at it . . . and decided not to stop. Only four more miles now and I just wanted to keep the wheels turning. Passed a woman suffering from cramps, got passed by a rider wearing a "Terrible Two" jersey . . . otherwise just kept slogging along, but very thankfull for the cooler temps at altitude. The last miles were just a matter of grim determination, but on the other hand, I sure wasn't going to quit this close to the summit!
By and by, eventually and at long last I was able to see the summit checkpoint. From there on, the horse was smelling the proverbial barn, some mysterious power poured into my legs, and it was actually easy riding the last half mile :). At the Summit (7720 feet), the Old Ski Bowl on Mt. Shasta I got my final wrist-band punched (diamond shape), relaxed again in a far-too-comfortable chair, talked to whomever was sitting next to me for awhile, and called my wife on the cell phone with the good news ("Yeah, wow, I finally made it to the top of the final climb!").
As much fun as that was, celebrating at the Final Summit, it was so cold I put my arm warmers and vest back on, got back on the bike and charged down the mountain. Even bundled up I was cold at first, but fairly fast and confident on the descent. I caught up to a VW SUV, and I must have been big in his mirrors because he pulled over to let me pass! I was leaning way over into the corners, passing a few riders, enjoying the smooth surface and the incredible speed of the drop. There were no more climbs, and an absolute drop back into the park where we started. My total time, 12 Hours, 16 minutes. 10 hours, 12 minutes on the bike, 12.4 average speed, 48.5 max speed.
My wife kindly directed me to the post ride dinner (excellent B-B-Q chicken, green salad, pasta salad and chocolate cake for desert), then it was an hours drive to the Motel 6 in Redding, CA a much needed shower and far too little sleep before being dropped at the airport at (still way dark!) 4:00 AM for my flight back to Los Angeles. I was more used-up than I knew, really, since I slept five more hours (mid-day) when I finally got home.
So yes, more difficult than Breathless Agony, tougher than The Death Ride and easily the most challenging Double Metric I've ever done. Not sure if I'll be there next year . . .
Rick / OCRR
Day One: We rode the Centennial Trail from Spokane, WA to Cour d Alene, ID and back for 80 miles round trip, mostly flat.
Day Two: Rode from Mead, WA to the top of Mt. Spokane and back, 44 miles, 4,800 feet of climbing.
Day Three through day Nine: Rode the OBR (Oregon Bicycle Ride) Washington Ride, average 75 miles per day and 3,500 ft. climbing ave. per day.
Day Ten: Rest day: drove from Mead, OR to Mt. Shasta, CA = 8 hours in the car.
Day Eleven: My wife rode the Mt. Shasta Metric Century while I rode the Mt. Shasta Super Summit Century. For more details, please see their website at: http://www.shastasummitcentury.com/
We went to early pre-Reg. on Saturday evening and picked up the route sheet and elevation guide:
Reaction: Severe Shock! 135 miles, okay, but . . . 16,500 feet of climbing! Yikes! My prev. record for a day's climbing was 14,500 on the Mt. Tam Double Century. How much worse would this be?
Had a tough time sleeping (yeah, Motel 6) just wondering if I could handle that kind of climbing within their 13 Hour time limit, plus thinking "The next time my wife signs me up for a ride, I should check the fine print!"
Arrived in plenty of time for breakfast and coffee from a local bakery, all good to go at the official start time of 5:30 AM. I started riding with a small group, right out of the park, two women and one man, riding at a moderate tempo, so I just followed along not pushing the pace at all.
The first 10 miles were essentially a warm up (47 deg. F at the start), then a rest stop with great pastry and hot coffee, both very welcome. Back out on the road we quickly started the first of four major climbs for the day. The grade seemed about 5 - 7%, varying enough to keep it interesting, plus absolutely beautiful scenery, lots of pine trees!
I talked with my fellow travelers, women Nancy and Jackie, don't remember the guy's name (maybe Ron?), and rode to their tempo, stopping with them to remove arm warmers and vest approx. 1/2 way to the top. Near the top I ramped up my speed just a bit and pulled away from this group, pretty easily actually.
At the top the ride workers punched a hole in my Mt. Shasta wrist band (star shaped hole) to "prove" that I made to the summit of the first climb. Put arm warmers and vest back on for the descent. Dropped down quickly, tucked a bit when it was safe, and passed a few riders on the way down.
After the first big climb (to 6,850 feet) there was a transitional stage of about 20 miles with a few ups and downs but nothing huge, then another rest/food stop pretty much in the city of Mt. Shasta. The next big climb (Mumbo Summit) was a mild ascent (5-6%) to the third rest/food stop, with a lovely creek/river running alongside the road, more lovely scenery, and friendly folks to talk with as we rode up the climb.
I saw my wife descending as I was riding up (quick "Hi Sweetheart!"), then after the rest/food stop the road surface deteriorated badly, plus it got really steep in the 10-12% range. Yeah, I'm glad I had a 30t Granny and I used it! 30t x 27t on the steep bits, and they seemed to last for a couple of miles sometimes! It was a long hard slog to the summit (at 6,600 feet), but I finally made it, and had my wrist band punched with a rain-drop shaped hole.
Long line at the porta-pottie at the 2nd summit, so I headed back down, but all the bouncing on the rough pavement (at speed) eventually required a stop at the mid-point rest/food stop with (fortunately by that time!) a very short line at the porta-pot.
After the 2nd descent there was no transition, so directly onto the 3rd climb (Castle Lake) with more steep sections, climbing in the hot sun by this time (mid 90's deg.F) but much cooler at the higher elevations, with mid 60's deg.F at the top. My legs were dragging by this time, plus I wasn't sure where I was with the time limit, so having serious doubts.
Finally hit the summit at Castle Lake (at 5450 feet) and got a "flower" punch-out on my wrist band, then relaxed in a far-too-comfortable chair, ate some potatoes with lots of salt and drank a couple of Mt.Dews. I also talked with a few riders who had done this event before and they assured me that I had plenty of time left, plus estimated the final climb (Mt. Shasta) at "2-1/2 hours up, 20 minutes down." The rest/food stop was on the shore of the Lake, so another lovely setting!
Okay, back on the bike, a fairly fast descent, back through the town of Mt. Shasta, up Washington Blvd. and into the final climb. A rider I met along there told me "The first five miles are hell, but after that, not so bad!" And you know, he was right. The first miles were pretty much torture, my legs feeling the effort of the previous climbs, riding in my 30t and varying the cassette cogs only occasionally. Again, very hot at the lower altitudes (near 100 by this time), sweating absolute buckets, but drinking iced Mt. Dew out of my Polar bottles.
After much pain and suffering, I did actually get through "Hell" and kept on going! There were two rest/food stops before the one at the summit, the first one staffed by two very funny women who kept the riders laughing (a valuable thing at this point!) saying the Gatorade there was "Specially mixed and made from fruits that only grow at this altitude on Mt. Shasta!" Unfortunately, they didn't have ice for my bottles. They did have chocolate GU, so I ate two of those, filled bottles with "Special" Gatorade, drank a Pepsi and carried on . . . plus, as I was taking off they shouted "Only nine miles to go!"
I was thinking "Yeah, whatever, just let this be over . . . " A bad attitude, I know. The next five miles to the next rest/food stop were ridden at 4, 5, and only occasionally 6 mph. Not too steep here, approx 5-6%, but hey, it had been a long day! I was knackered (as the Brits say), taking a real effort to keep my feet going in little circles. Still, overall, no pain from the seat, no other aches and pains except for the muscles in my legs, so it could have been worse!
Finally made it to the 2nd mid-climb rest/food stop, looked over at it . . . and decided not to stop. Only four more miles now and I just wanted to keep the wheels turning. Passed a woman suffering from cramps, got passed by a rider wearing a "Terrible Two" jersey . . . otherwise just kept slogging along, but very thankfull for the cooler temps at altitude. The last miles were just a matter of grim determination, but on the other hand, I sure wasn't going to quit this close to the summit!
By and by, eventually and at long last I was able to see the summit checkpoint. From there on, the horse was smelling the proverbial barn, some mysterious power poured into my legs, and it was actually easy riding the last half mile :). At the Summit (7720 feet), the Old Ski Bowl on Mt. Shasta I got my final wrist-band punched (diamond shape), relaxed again in a far-too-comfortable chair, talked to whomever was sitting next to me for awhile, and called my wife on the cell phone with the good news ("Yeah, wow, I finally made it to the top of the final climb!").
As much fun as that was, celebrating at the Final Summit, it was so cold I put my arm warmers and vest back on, got back on the bike and charged down the mountain. Even bundled up I was cold at first, but fairly fast and confident on the descent. I caught up to a VW SUV, and I must have been big in his mirrors because he pulled over to let me pass! I was leaning way over into the corners, passing a few riders, enjoying the smooth surface and the incredible speed of the drop. There were no more climbs, and an absolute drop back into the park where we started. My total time, 12 Hours, 16 minutes. 10 hours, 12 minutes on the bike, 12.4 average speed, 48.5 max speed.
My wife kindly directed me to the post ride dinner (excellent B-B-Q chicken, green salad, pasta salad and chocolate cake for desert), then it was an hours drive to the Motel 6 in Redding, CA a much needed shower and far too little sleep before being dropped at the airport at (still way dark!) 4:00 AM for my flight back to Los Angeles. I was more used-up than I knew, really, since I slept five more hours (mid-day) when I finally got home.
So yes, more difficult than Breathless Agony, tougher than The Death Ride and easily the most challenging Double Metric I've ever done. Not sure if I'll be there next year . . .
Rick / OCRR