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05-04-09, 02:53 PM
I set out this weekend to repeat back-to-back Wine Country (WCC) and Grizzly Peak (GPC) centuries. I had done it before in 2008 and, feeling stronger this year, wanted to try it again. I did the WCC in six hours last year but knew this year's would be slower since I would be shepherding two friends through it as their very first centuries and neither of them were exceptionally strong. My hope was that the relaxed first century would leave me strong enough to turn in a faster GPC time than my 11 hour slog last year. Funny how plans often collapse once the battle has been engaged.
Funnest Part
Seeing my two buddies and a woman who joined us at mile 50 all finish the WCC as their first century. A nine hour finish of which two hours were off bike was a respectable first century.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3368/3502088314_bbf77a26f7_o.jpg
Daddy duck and two of his ducklings (Me, Marty and Jeffery) at the last rest stop
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3501274493_123285d334_o.jpg
B.C. and me back at the high school for lunch at mile 70
Scariest part
Watching B.C. take a turn too fast at mile 30 on the GPC and go down very hard in the rain. Really bad road rash, mangled fingers, lots of blood and bent pedal but he still got up and suffered through to finish the century. (His wife is going to kill me.)
Best Climb
McEwen Road (15%) on the GPC. In the steepest part of the climb the volunteers have lined the road with witty Burma Shave-style signs.
Worst Climb
Rheem Blvd on GPC just before lunch. Whose sadistic humor routed the course up that!? Hey, only 1.5 miles to lunch and then ... WTF?
Best Descent
Pinehurst on the GPC knowing that two days and 204 miles was all but over.
Worst Descent
Wildcat Canyon on GPC where after 120 miles of grit grinding down my break pads my break levers bottomed out leaving me with a stopping distance of something like 100 yards. I stopped by dragging my feet and took up some slack in the break cables and was fine after that.
Interesting statistic
1000 people registered for the GPC. 560 people started. 440 did not show up that morning. My totally un-official wild-ass guess is that no more than 150 riders left the lunch stop at mile 70 to finish the century. My rationalization for finishing at the very back of the pack at GPC is that we weren't really slower than everyone, we just finished at the tail end of the hard-core riders and the hundreds of riders slower than us decided not to do the south loop :) But 11:45 for a century is still pretty damn slow even if I was following someone dripping blood for 70 miles. :(
Best Learning Experience
Riding in the rain - combined total WCC and GPC - 120 miles. I spent the first hour or two of WCC keeping distance from people, avoiding road spray, trying to keep as dry as possible. Eventually I embraced the wet and was much happier for it. After two hours some sort of equilibrium / saturation point is reached and you stop getting wetter.
Most Sobering Moment
Pausing at Mark Pendleton's ghost bike on the McEwen descent. RIP, Mark.
Nutrition
For each of the rides I did my own maltodextrin / endurolite / salt concoction in four hour bottles for 250 cal / hr. and drank plain water. Then I splurged for rest stop food at the last rest stop each day. It worked fine and I never had any periods of bonkiness or dehydration. I do admit to diverging from the eating schedule to taste the various home-baked goods that GPC volunteers lay on. :thumb:
Nature Observed
Lots of cows, two ostriches, two llamas, one hungry vulture eying my friend's bloody leg and appx 3000 nuts on wheels.
Best Idea
Vieo Sport Bicycle shop set up at the Porta Costa rest area where they were selling tubes, tires and break pads for cash check or IOUs (send us the money when you get home.) Wow!
Best Scenery
Mile 40 to 70 on the WCC passing the wineries. Hop Kiln wins the award for best looking winery in my book.
Pleasant Discovery
Absolutely no butt-trauma. Not even slight tenderness or mild discomfort. I love my Brooks B-17.
Stats for the two days
204 miles ridden, 120 miles ridden in the rain, 11,500 feet of climbing, 3200 calories consumed, 11,000 calories burned, zero flats, zero mechanicals
Oddest Moment
Staring at the screen on a gas pump on the way home after the GPC when it asked for my zip code and being so tired I had to look it up on my drivers license.
After Action Survey
Normal slight tenderness in my quads when I climb stairs and a right knee that occasionally hints that it is there without being too obtrusive. Thanks to Mrs. kjfitz the pilates instructor all of the kinks and other soreness got dealt with shortly after each ride. Waking heart-rate is was ten bpm higher than usual. Blood pressure lower than usual at 108/60.
------
All in all a fun weekend. The results weren't what I had hoped for but I did finish both.
Next up - Davis Double in two weeks.
Kevin
Funnest Part
Seeing my two buddies and a woman who joined us at mile 50 all finish the WCC as their first century. A nine hour finish of which two hours were off bike was a respectable first century.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3368/3502088314_bbf77a26f7_o.jpg
Daddy duck and two of his ducklings (Me, Marty and Jeffery) at the last rest stop
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3501274493_123285d334_o.jpg
B.C. and me back at the high school for lunch at mile 70
Scariest part
Watching B.C. take a turn too fast at mile 30 on the GPC and go down very hard in the rain. Really bad road rash, mangled fingers, lots of blood and bent pedal but he still got up and suffered through to finish the century. (His wife is going to kill me.)
Best Climb
McEwen Road (15%) on the GPC. In the steepest part of the climb the volunteers have lined the road with witty Burma Shave-style signs.
Worst Climb
Rheem Blvd on GPC just before lunch. Whose sadistic humor routed the course up that!? Hey, only 1.5 miles to lunch and then ... WTF?
Best Descent
Pinehurst on the GPC knowing that two days and 204 miles was all but over.
Worst Descent
Wildcat Canyon on GPC where after 120 miles of grit grinding down my break pads my break levers bottomed out leaving me with a stopping distance of something like 100 yards. I stopped by dragging my feet and took up some slack in the break cables and was fine after that.
Interesting statistic
1000 people registered for the GPC. 560 people started. 440 did not show up that morning. My totally un-official wild-ass guess is that no more than 150 riders left the lunch stop at mile 70 to finish the century. My rationalization for finishing at the very back of the pack at GPC is that we weren't really slower than everyone, we just finished at the tail end of the hard-core riders and the hundreds of riders slower than us decided not to do the south loop :) But 11:45 for a century is still pretty damn slow even if I was following someone dripping blood for 70 miles. :(
Best Learning Experience
Riding in the rain - combined total WCC and GPC - 120 miles. I spent the first hour or two of WCC keeping distance from people, avoiding road spray, trying to keep as dry as possible. Eventually I embraced the wet and was much happier for it. After two hours some sort of equilibrium / saturation point is reached and you stop getting wetter.
Most Sobering Moment
Pausing at Mark Pendleton's ghost bike on the McEwen descent. RIP, Mark.
Nutrition
For each of the rides I did my own maltodextrin / endurolite / salt concoction in four hour bottles for 250 cal / hr. and drank plain water. Then I splurged for rest stop food at the last rest stop each day. It worked fine and I never had any periods of bonkiness or dehydration. I do admit to diverging from the eating schedule to taste the various home-baked goods that GPC volunteers lay on. :thumb:
Nature Observed
Lots of cows, two ostriches, two llamas, one hungry vulture eying my friend's bloody leg and appx 3000 nuts on wheels.
Best Idea
Vieo Sport Bicycle shop set up at the Porta Costa rest area where they were selling tubes, tires and break pads for cash check or IOUs (send us the money when you get home.) Wow!
Best Scenery
Mile 40 to 70 on the WCC passing the wineries. Hop Kiln wins the award for best looking winery in my book.
Pleasant Discovery
Absolutely no butt-trauma. Not even slight tenderness or mild discomfort. I love my Brooks B-17.
Stats for the two days
204 miles ridden, 120 miles ridden in the rain, 11,500 feet of climbing, 3200 calories consumed, 11,000 calories burned, zero flats, zero mechanicals
Oddest Moment
Staring at the screen on a gas pump on the way home after the GPC when it asked for my zip code and being so tired I had to look it up on my drivers license.
After Action Survey
Normal slight tenderness in my quads when I climb stairs and a right knee that occasionally hints that it is there without being too obtrusive. Thanks to Mrs. kjfitz the pilates instructor all of the kinks and other soreness got dealt with shortly after each ride. Waking heart-rate is was ten bpm higher than usual. Blood pressure lower than usual at 108/60.
------
All in all a fun weekend. The results weren't what I had hoped for but I did finish both.
Next up - Davis Double in two weeks.
Kevin