Southern California - Solvang Double - who is doing it?

I just signed up on a whim. Anyone else going?

I'll be there, should be a fun double. I've ridden it several times before but this year there's a different finish, so that should be fun (more climbing too!).

Chance of rain jumps around as I look at different weather sites, but overall it's looking less like rain as the week goes on.

Rick / OCRR

Doing the Foxen Canyon descent twice? Sounds like a rich flavor of hell to me. Bring your sturdy wheels and 25c tires--that stretch after Fess Parker's is a buttcrusher!

I'm in. It's only my second double so I'm a little apprehensive about the 17 hour time limit, but my first was the Highland Grand Tour, which I did in a shade under 17 last year, so I THINK I'll be okay.

What do you think of PlanetUltra's support?

I'll be there, should be a fun double. I've ridden it several times before but this year there's a different finish, so that should be fun (more climbing too!).

Chance of rain jumps around as I look at different weather sites, but overall it's looking less like rain as the week goes on.

Rick / OCRR

Hey Rick, isn't this number 50 for you?

Hey Rick, isn't this number 50 for you?

Yes Dante, This will be number 50 and I must admit that when I started riding doubles, I never thought I'd keep at it until I got to 50. See you there!

Regarding the new finish (Calamariechris), what is the new route? Guadalupe is still the 2nd to last checkpoint (and light pick-up), and Los Alamos is the last checkpoint, but what climb (other than Drum) is out of Los Alamos? I guess it's Alisos Canyon from looking at the profile, but I'm not familiar with that one (I do know Ballard Canyon).

At this point, I'm still thinking it's better to be climbing and descending than doing all that boring flat stuff at the end.

Regarding Planet Ultra support, Curbendo, I would say it's quite adequate and fairly good, but not "over the top" like The Quacks (my favorite) or the Davis club. Since your first experience was Grand Tour (Los Angeles Wheelmen), look for support not quite as good as that, maybe, but certainly good enough.

Regarding the weather; looking wet again, back up to 40% chance as of Thur.

Rick / OCRR

Yes Dante, This will be number 50 and I must admit that when I started riding doubles, I never thought I'd keep at it until I got to 50. See you there!

Rick / OCRR

Are you going to wear your 50 jersey? I am honored to be riding on your 50th ... see you there.

Are you going to wear your 50 jersey? I am honored to be riding on your 50th ... see you there.

No, sorry Ron,

My 50+ jersey isn't full-zip and since I'm wearing my Giordana bibs (v.comforable on doubles!) had to go with my full zip jersey, either CTC Gold 1,000 Mile or Planet Ultra Grand Slam.

See you there!

Rick / OCRR

ugh looks like its supposed to rain now
i may not go

ugh looks like its supposed to rain now I may not go

No worries Ben, Rain will not hurt you. I tested this theory during Butterflood in '06 and after all that rain, I was fine. Get a rain jacket, wear wool, you will be fine.

Actually, the Solvang Spring after Butterflood had some heavy rain too, all the way to Morrow Bay. Then it stopped and we had sun and a tail-wind all the way back to Solvang. You just never know what will happen; that's part of the fun and the adventure.

Rick / OCRR

After Butterflood Revisited (aka Camino Real), I think I'll be able to handle Solvang in the rain. I guess we can consider Camino Real a training ride for Solvang!

This was supposed to be a "training ride" but I don't have any interest in doing it in heavy rain. I'll make a game time decision.

Yeah I'm not sure about 200 miles in steady rain. I'd be struggling to finish on a dry day. But soaked through? For 200 miles? That sounds bad in soooo many ways.

My wife & I will be providing support at the SAG stop at CP #4 - Guadalupe. Be sure to say hi. Rick, congrats on #50!!!

Yes Dante, This will be number 50 and I must admit that when I started riding doubles, I never thought I'd keep at it until I got to 50. See you there!

Regarding the new finish (Calamariechris), what is the new route? Guadalupe is still the 2nd to last checkpoint (and light pick-up), and Los Alamos is the last checkpoint, but what climb (other than Drum) is out of Los Alamos? I guess it's Alisos Canyon from looking at the profile, but I'm not familiar with that one (I do know Ballard Canyon).

At this point, I'm still thinking it's better to be climbing and descending than doing all that boring flat stuff at the end.

Regarding Planet Ultra support, Curbendo, I would say it's quite adequate and fairly good, but not "over the top" like The Quacks (my favorite) or the Davis club. Since your first experience was Grand Tour (Los Angeles Wheelmen), look for support not quite as good as that, maybe, but certainly good enough.

Regarding the weather; looking wet again, back up to 40% chance as of Thur.

Rick / OCRR

From Los Alamos you'll head east and climb Alisos Canyon then drop down to Foxen Canyon. Remember the nice downhill you have on Foxen in the morning, well you get to climb back up that downhill. As you're coming down Foxen you take Zaca Station Rd. to Hwy 154, then to Foxen, then Ballard Canyon and take it back to Hwy 246 on the east end of Buellton. The morning section has some changes also. You go through Solvang and take Alamo Pintado Rd, then Grand to Hwy 154 and then Foxen. When you get to Morro Bay you take South Bay Blvd, at the bottom of the climb up to Morro Bay, to Los Osos Valley Rd.

I hope anyone that is using Motel 6 in Buellton for this ride gets their room. When I went to check-in they told me I had no reservation, I had made them Oct 26, 2010. I gave them the reservation number and they said it was for May 6-8. I know the motels in town are full and Motel 6 said there was a couple of room at the San Marcos Motel. I got there got a room, cheaper than Motel 6, if that tells you anything. I then checked my reservation online and found it had the right dates, call Motel guest relations anf found out the front desk at Motel 6 in Buellton had changed my reservations at 9am this morning for no reason. Motel 6 corporate was on the phone with the local Motel 6 when I got back to the Motel 6. The manager who had changed my reservations was on the phone with them and when he was finish tried to leave, he didn't make it. I just asked him "you low life slimball why did you change my reservations?" He wouldn't answer me. So then I turned around to the many people standing in the lobby, most of them riders, and told them what this little slimball had done. It looks like Motel 6 is going to reimburse me for the motel I'm staying in and fine the local Motel 6 for breaking corporate policy.

Can we get some reports?

Can we get some reports?

As usual, I made a few wrong turns in the dark (am I the only one who makes wrong turns in the darK?) Had to go straight on Hwy 246 but wound up on Hwy 152. Got about 1/2 mile before I realized no one behind me, and no one ahead of me. Had to take out my Google Maps, and found out I'm on the wrong highway. Then, when I finally get on the right route, I almost missed another turn, but luckily there was a couple parked at that intersection, telling me I'm missing the turn.

Climbed up Foxen, then joined a fast paceline en route to the first CP. What am I nuts? I won't be able to sustain this for 200 miles.

It started to rain around noon, and it continued to rain throughout the rest of the ride, non-stop. Everyone scurried to put on their rain pants, goretex, everything .. one guy was vowing to stay dry. Well, since I endured Camino Real, I figured I should be able to handle this.

The rains were as torrential as in Camino Real, but it was a constant rain, and very annoying. Even with all this, I still felt okay. Maybe it's because I had more training under my belt, and that I had ridden a double in the rain a month before.

A lot of people were used to last year's route, and missed the Los Osos exit, and proceeded to go towards Morro Bay rock. I almost did the same thing, but realized Los Osos Pkwy is behind me. U-turn back, and I'm back on the route. Every passing me left and right, but as long as I held my line, I should be okay.

Got to the last CP, and at least there was still Cup O' Noodles there for me. That felt really good ... anything to warm me inside ... the last 30 miles were changed from previous years. No Drum Canyon this year, so instead, Alisos Canyon, Foxen Canyon, then back. However, I made the assumption we would be going the same route as the Solvang Century, then realized, no one ahead, and no one back of me. WTF ... we're not supposed to be climbing the wall. We got 3/4 up the wall before finding out we're supposed to go on Zaca Road, to 154, then Ballard Canyon. Luckily, we weren't too far behind. We caught up with a big group, and a big bunch heading back on Ballard.

Finished with time to spare before the cutoff. There were a bunch of DNF's, and it's good to know I completed it, where others could not. And more importantly ... I wasn't DFL.

Here's a full report ... http://sevencyclist.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/solvang-another-brutal-double-2/

Thanks, Ron. Sounds like an adventure for you.

Thanks, Ron. Sounds like an adventure for you.

It was an adventure for all of us, but it was also a lot of fun. I also saw a note that they extended the time limit of the ride by one hour. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about that.

It was an adventure for me, but I DNF'd at mile 170 due to severe back pain; the old pinched nerve thing again. Thought I was over that, guess not.

The wind, the rain, the cold, no problem, had all that covered. But my back pain got me, so Spring Solvang was not my 50th. Hope to recover in time to ride Hemet . . . if not Hemet I'll go for Davis.

Rick / OCRR

It was an adventure for me, but I DNF'd at mile 170 due to severe back pain; the old pinched nerve thing again. Thought I was over that, guess not.

The wind, the rain, the cold, no problem, had all that covered. But my back pain got me, so Spring Solvang was not my 50th. Hope to recover in time to ride Hemet . . . if not Hemet I'll go for Davis.

Rick / OCRR

Sorry to hear about your back. It was a tough day with the rain and wind. I ended up riding 120 miles in the rain. The new course at the end would have been more fun if it wasn't raining, you couldn't see the potholes, they were filled with water. I must have seen 50-60 flats for the day, some people 2-3 times.

Sorry to hear about your back. It was a tough day with the rain and wind. I ended up riding 120 miles in the rain.

Yes Dante,

I never got to see the last bit, but I would not have liked a flat tire at that point (in the dark, in the rain). Actually I had no flats or mechanicals of any kind all day . . . just lucky I guess. Going to see Saralie this afternoon so she can adjust my back.

Maybe see you in Hemet!

Rick / OCRR

I bet it's a beautiful course when you can actually see it.

I had mud on my helmet.

For me, the first 50 were awesome, but then it rained for about 120 of the next 150. The rain really wiped me out, and I'm slow anyway, particularly climbing, so I was getting concerned about making the 10pm cutoff. I was familiar with the last 25 miles and knew I was going to cut it very, very close, but at least I sort of had a plan. I was one of the lucky few who never flatted, but mud gummed up my chain so much that it kept slipping off in those last miles when I was already stressing and pushing to make it in time. I was counting down the miles and minutes in my head, elation growing in that exaggerated-by-exhaustion sort of way as I realized I was on pace to get in about 2 minutes under the cutoff. And then when I turned from Ballard onto the 246 less than a mile from the finish, I realized it wasn't Ballard. I had missed a turn a few miles earlier, and I was actually on Atterdag three miles from the finish. My heart sank. All that work and one stupid mistake was going to cost me a DNF. I rolled in at 10:05, totally depressed, and found out they extended the deadline for the weather. I thought I was going to cry.

And now, three days later, my fingertips are still numb. I know it's not from the weather because the same thing happened after the Grand Tour last June with beautiful weather. My fingertips went numb for at least a week. Weird.

Curbendo, the turn to continue on Ballard was very hard to see in the dark and wet. I've ridden that part of the course many times and I still had a hard time seeing it, almost missed it. Congratulations on finishing even with the extra miles.

Rick, I'll be at Hemet. I didn't have any flats, but I did have a little trouble shifting the front derailleur a couple of times until I washed it out along the route.

It was an adventure for me, but I DNF'd at mile 170 due to severe back pain; the old pinched nerve thing again. Thought I was over that, guess not.

The wind, the rain, the cold, no problem, had all that covered. But my back pain got me, so Spring Solvang was not my 50th. Hope to recover in time to ride Hemet . . . if not Hemet I'll go for Davis.

Rick / OCRR
Hey Rick,
Bummer bro, hope you feel better. I guess you should cut down on your biking. :p
Did you see all the bítchíng on Planet Ultra's web site about the DNFs? Is it dedicated to you too? :D I'm quite surprised that lady still gets people participating in her events.

The new course at the end would have been more fun if it wasn't raining, you couldn't see the potholes, they were filled with water.

Were the potholes in that last stretch of Ballard after the right turn I missed, or were they earlier and I was just lucky to avoid them?

Hey Rick,
Bummer bro, hope you feel better. I guess you should cut down on your biking. :p
Did you see all the bítchíng on Planet Ultra's web site about the DNFs? Is it dedicated to you too? :D I'm quite surprised that lady still gets people participating in her events.

Yes Jimmy, I saw it, but it didn't apply to me. I had the wind, rain and cold all covered. I was warm and cozy and would have finished if not for this horrible pinched nerve problem.

Plus, I should have been riding more, but was off the bike for ten days in Feb. (in the U.K. and New Jersey) and a week in March (Taipei, Taiwan for the Bike Show). It was all for work, so I really didn't have a choice, but still, it really cut into my cycling training time.

No worries though, I'll try again on the Hemet double in 3 weeks. I've been to Saralie once (yesterday) and have another appointment scheduled in a week. She did an excellent adjustment on my back, plus gave me "homework" to do: stretches, icing my back, rolling on my foam cylinder, etc.

So, I am hopeful and somewhat confident that it will all be good by Hemet!

Rick / OCRR

Sounds like a rough deal all around, Rick...You still inspire me! :)

Sounds like a rough deal all around, Rick...You still inspire me! :)

Thanks Alice,

The "rough deal" was from about mile 150 (Guadalupe checkpoint) to mile 170 (Los Alanos checkpoint) where I officially DNF'd. I kept telling myself "I can ride through this pain!" Eventually, though, it just got to be too much; plus my body's alignment problem kept the bike pulling toward the right side ditch, so I was fighting to keep the bike straight too.

So yes, that bit really sucked. However, big picture, I had a pretty fun 150 mi. My wool baselayer / balaclava / socks (plus full shoe-covers) kept me warm, my rain jacket kept (most of) the rain off, plus I had knee warmers on under my leg warmers, comfy bib-shorts, so I was a happy camper until the pinched nerve thing bit me.

Saralie is a wonderful chiropractor and she helped me a lot yesterday, so as long as I do the "homework" she's assigned, I should be all good to go by Hemet! Saralie's office is in Santa Monica and I totally recommend her if you need any chiropractic work done!

Rick / OCRR

Were the potholes in that last stretch of Ballard after the right turn I missed, or were they earlier and I was just lucky to avoid them?

Most of the roughest road was coming off of Foxen. There was a few on Ballard, but I was able to miss them.