Rick@OCRR

I was quite willing to go to Wrightwood but couldn't talk Linda into it . We'd had three flat tires by the time we got to Grassy Hollow and were out of tubes so I decided to stick with Linda on the ride back to Red Box.

We thought you'd stop by Grassy Hollow to say "Hi!" but no . . . everyone just rolled on by!

No worries though, I thought the ride was quite good as it was and promised myself to make it to Wrightwood next time!

Rick / OCRR

scott967

Did the Honolulu Century yesterday. Weather really sucked (tropical storm south of the islands brought strong wind and rain). The rain wasn't heavy, but off and on all day and I spent my time picking my way around standing water and downed tree branches (much of the route is heavily traveled, and you don't just jump in the lane). The ride starts as 6:15 and I was sitting in the car at 6 asking myself why I pay money to do this.

I guess the plus side is that I couldn't really think about how I felt or how much to go, as I was too busy concentrating on the road and not getting blown over. And the last 25 miles were pretty much tailwind which was greatly appreciated. Because of the wet conditions it wasn't hot as the day went on as is typical on this ride and I didn't really use that much water. Had a front flat (one of those slow leakers) and was getting kind of mushy but I was only a couple miles from the next stop so I nursed it in and it was manned by one of our LBS's who put in a new tube for me so I didn't need my spare.

Got home and spent the next couple hours cleaning and lubing the bike. I suppose in time it will be remembered without the hard spots but rather just getting out with a bunch of cycling enthusiasts.

Should add that I blew out one of my shoes Thursday (sole separated from upper) and made an emergency run to the LBS to pick up a pair of Shimano R-088s. Shoes worked fine though they are a mess now.

scott s.
.

OldTryGuy

Rode the Six Gap Hundred yesterday, 103 miles-11,200' climbing in 7hrs 10min 39sec riding for a 14.4mph moving average. Guess it's not too bad for a 65yo SW Fl flatlander who decided 11 days ago to do the ride, so there was no training other than the normal riding I've been doing during the week with the guys. Did change my rear from the 12-23 to a 12-28 with 39/53. Felt good climbing again and realize just how much fun it used to be.

Must say the the down hills racked my nerves since I haven't done any serious hill riding in over 30 years and as a result I was SLOW going down. Had a guy pop a front tire right in front of me going down Hogpen. The rest stops were GREAT as was all the support help.

Thinking about riding the Horrible Hundred now. Have a month and a half to actually prepare.

Biker395 

I haven't made it all the way down there in quite some time.

Everyone seemed to be eager to move on all day. We didn't stop at Grassy Hollow cuz it was all downhill to Wrightwood, and we didn't need any water. Were you at Newcomb's on the way back down to Red Box? We zoomed past there and kept going too.

Rick@OCRR

Yes, Linda and I stopped at Newcomb's for lunch and an excellent stop it was. All the other cyclists there were motorized!

Still . . . a good lunch gave us power for the miles (and climbs) back to Red Box and up Mt. Wilson after that.

Rick / OCRR

jppe

We were probably on the climbs together at some point. The last time I rode it I finished in under 7 hours with a few stops so the extra weight and lack of training really made a difference, plus several years older. We certainly got lucky with the weather. I wonder if they'll ever get the results to show everyone's times.

The wet roads definitely made me ride the descents more conservatively. There was one yo-yo in front of me that passed a pickup pulling boat going down Unicoi. Just stupid. There was also a young kid riding with his Dad that almost went down on one of the descents. He hit a rough patch of pavement and his wheels got very squirrelly but to his credit he somehow kept the bike upright. I gave him a really wide birth when I got a chance to go around him. The pickle juice kept me from cramping too badly. That stuff they had as a sports drink reminded me of the fluids you drink the night before a colonoscopy and I couldn't even swallow it.........

OldTryGuy

I've noticed that more results are showing up. I'm hoping that next year's weather is sunny and cool, but I'll take sunny and warm over this year's drizzle. On those downhills I waved on riders that I could see approaching in my eyeglass mirror. I know for sure they were happy to get by this slow poke. The climbing bug in me has come out of its 30 year hibernation so I will be changing my style of riding to keep me better prepared for future hills. Got the Horrible Hundred next month and plan to attack it.

Rick@OCRR

My latest century was actually a double, Bass Lake Double Century out of Clovis/Fresno CA. The day started rather cool but heated up quickly, hitting a high of 109 according to my Garmin. 207 miles, 11,460 feet of climbing (almost all of it in the last half of the ride).

https://www.basslakedouble.com/

Great work by the Fresno Cycling Club kept us hydrated all day long! So many ice and water stops plus SAG's on the course. So even though it was brutally hot, the ride was fun!

Here it is on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/411137458

Rick / OCRR

az_cyclist

My next will the the Fall Solvang Double Century, this Saturday

Solvang Fall Double - A bike ride in Buellton, CA

az_cyclist

great ride, Rick !

Rick@OCRR

Thanks Dwight. I felt good all day, which is good because I usually don't do well in heat. I drank lots of water, Gatorade and Caffe Late Perpetuem and I'm sure that helped. The day must have been easier for your riders from AZ since they're more used to the heat.

Have a fun ride on Fall Solvang Double. I've ridden it once, several years ago and I remember it being a very challenging course. Beautiful scenery though, so that helps!

Rick / OCRR

jppe

Another local solo century. Almost 6000' of climbing. Lots of climbs at 40-60 miles. Perfect weather. Spectacular leaf viewing along with lots of glimpses of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was the first time I'd ridden that loop but I'll definitely try it again in the future.

Biker395 

No pix?

Rick@OCRR

My latest was the Oceanside Double Century. You can see it on Strava here: https://www.strava.com/activities/420174103

Started out a cold 44 Deg.F at 4:30 AM and followed the coast of the Pacific Ocean down to Encinitas where we turned East and headed out to the high desert.

Lots of climbing to get there but a couple of checkpoints later we arrived at the tourist town of Julian, CA (famous for pies). I should note that the organizer (Anny) had apple pie for us at the 2nd Checkpoint, just out of Santa Ysabelle.

From Julian it was a long fast descent (Banner Grade) to Yaqui Pass, then a further drop down into Borrego Springs for lunch. It had been getting progressively warmer all day and by the time we reached Borrego it was something above 100 Deg.F . . . very toasty! After a fine lunch and a couple of Cokes it was time to hit the worst climb of the day: Montezuma Grade.

This puppy is 12 miles long and varies between 4 and 8%. I got 108 Deg.F on my Garmin at the bottom but it got cooler as we climbed, plus we had a nice tail-wind so it sure could have been worse. But yes, I was suffering and had gone through both bottles in the hour and a half that climb took to complete. By the time we hit Ranchita (just past the summit) it was down to 88 Deg.F so feeling relatively comfortable! Refilled both bottles at Ranchita courtesy of one of the SAG car teams.

Lots of downhill after Ranchita but at the next checkpoint (Lake Henshaw) I found I had a flat front tire. Lots of little thorns stuck in it. Thankfully Terri Boykins had tweezers so we were able to pull them all out and install a new tube. Unfortunately . . . I didn't check the back tire. Several miles down the road the rear tire went flat.

As I set about pulling little thorns out of that tire (without Terri's tweezers, unfortunately) a motorcyclist stopped and asked if I needed help. I thought he was with the ride but later discovered that he was just riding along and saw me stop . . . so he stopped to help. Nice guy who "used to" ride a bicycle. Actually he was a good bike stand when I went to re-install the rear tire, so I thanked him and went on my way.

Back on the road (with about 60lb. of pressure in the rear via my mini-pump) I eventually caught up with Terri since she'd had a flat tire too. We rode into the next checkpoint together, meeting up with Peg Miller as well (who had been riding with us pretty much all day). They also had wonderful fruit smoothies at this checkpoint plus a floor pump so I could get the back tire up to 100 psi.

It was getting dark by this time, so full flashers and lights on, we headed up Cole Grade; a painfully steep 8-12%, three mile climb with what seemed like lots of motor traffic.

That done it was a fairly easy up and down route on West Lilac to the final checkpoint . . . which just happened to be by a McDonalds. After checking in we swooped down on Micky D's and consumed burgers, fries, sodas, etc. plus I had a cookie and a smoothie. A fun, relaxing stop just 15 flat miles before the finish.

At the finish they took our photos, then we had a lasagna, salad and bread meal as our post-ride feed. Finish time was 10:10 PM so it did feel as if it had been a long day on the bike.

Kudos to Anny and all her volunteers at the checkpoints and on the road! I finished with 195 miles (anything over 190 counts as a double here) and 14,354 ft. of climbing with a moving time of 15 hours and 14 minutes.

Mountain High Cycling

Rick / OCRR

az_cyclist

This is a week late, but here is a report on the Fall Solvang double.

The temps were mild when we (7 of us) started at 5 am Saturday morning. The course is sort of 3 loops, the first of which was ridden totally in the dark and that part of the route is the same as the spring double. I saw some mist in the air, but no fog. Turns out we would ride in and out of mist and drizzle most of the morning. After the first loop we went west on Santa Rosa rd. By 50 miles in we had split up. 3 of us were in front of the other 4 after a long climb. I decided to wait for the 4; I was glad I did. I felt strong and could have dept up with the other 2, but, I was also able to take the pull more to help out.


The next big climb was up Harris Grade rd. There were some great views as we got close to the top. We had one more climb before lunch. After lunch we had 2 climbs before we turned onto CA 166. There were some great views to go with the long climbs and downhills (the hills were not close enough to be rollers). We turned off that to Tepusquet Rd. At 150 miles in we started a 3-mile, 6% climb. Plenty of switchbacks, and some of the views were great too.


We had a nice 10 mile downhill after that, then several miles later the last major climb of the day.


We finished in 16 hours, 22 minutes, 38 minutes before the cutoff time. 194 miles, 11,000 ft of climbing. It was a great way to qualify for the California Triple Crown gold award.

https://www.strava.com/activities/415920979

jppe

Didn't even think about it until you mentioned it. Do these help? Funny but it was a lot nicer day than what it looks in the pictures. The leaves were really vivid colors when the sun was out.


Went through a historic crossroads beside the Yadkin River called Rockford



This is the dam at Kapps Mill on the Mitchell River-the old Mill is to the right out of this picture



This is Kapps Mill



View of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I started south of the Blue Ridge and headed about 40 miles up towards them riding along the foothills and then back down to the start.



Here I'm riding sideways.......this is the bridge over the Yadkin at Rockford. When I worked in this area this bridge was called Low Water Bridge. The bridge wooden and was literally a foot above the water. We could not get trucks across it to get to the folks in Rockford during times of high water.

Rick@OCRR

Thanks for the report and the Strava link Dwight! Glad you enjoyed Solvang. I passed on it since I had Bass Lake the week before and Oceanside the week after. Probably see you and Jim and other Bull-Shifters out on more doubles next year.

Rick / OCRR

az_cyclist

It has been really great getting to know the California riders, such as you, Biker395, Tiger Beck, and I can go on and on. BTW, we lucked out on the wind... only 10=15 mph headwind when we were riding toward Santa Maria, and with cloud cover most of the day it stayed cool. Darrell Goodwin was volunteering at on of the quick water stops too.

az_cyclist

My next century will be the Heart of Arizona century, which is the ride our club, the Bull Shifters of Phoenix AZ, puts no every year on the first Saturday in November

woodway

I've done several organized centuries this year, but sometimes it's nice to take a day, go out on my own, and just turn the pedals over. If that turns into a century, so much the better.

I live northeast of Seattle and my wife and I own property on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, a hundred miles and a mountain pass away. My wife wanted to go over and do some work on the property which gave me the perfect opportunity to take a day away from the job and feel like a kid again with nothing to do all day but ride my bike.

I rode my work commuter (a drop-bar cross bike) which I fit with some 700x28 gatorskins as this would be a "multi-surface" ride on pavement, gravel and dirt.

Setting out around 8:30 in the morning on suburban roads there is typically a fair amount of morning commute traffic.



After about 15 miles of riding I left most of the traffic behind and rode on quiet country roads.



Soon I could see in the distance the mountains that I was about to cross.



Eventually I jumped onto a gravel rail-trail and rode that for a good long way. Nice trail with a very rideable and smooth surface that I generally had it to myself.



Now it was time for the only really unpleasant part of the ride. I had to ride on I-90 for about 15 miles. It's legal and there really is no alternative to the interstate for the route that I wanted to take. So I sucked it up and rode down the on-ramp onto the freeway.



The shoulder was wide and fairly clear of debris and after a couple of minutes I got (somewhat) used to the traffic flying by at 70MPH+. Not soon enough the I-90 portion of the ride was over and I was able to exit onto a dirt road that was potholed but pleasant to ride. I'd been climbing gently ever since I got onto the gravel rail-trail but now I was well into the west slope of the Cascades and had about 30 miles of steeper climbing ahead of me.



The dirt road eventually became paved and as I ground up to the top of Snoqualmie Pass the views kept getting better.



Once over the top, I had to ride a gravel rail trail for about 10 miles. This one was really rough, but (barely) manageable. The scenery made it worthwhile.



I had one more quick stint on I-90 and then was back onto the gravel rail trail for a bit. After exiting the rail trail I was back onto quiet country roads. It's quite a bit drier on the east side of the Cascades.



After passing through a small town I finally made it to the Teanaway Valley, only a few miles from my final destination.



I pulled into our property 109 miles, 6000 feet and 8.5 hours later where my wife was waiting for me. I was tired but happy!

I've already forgotten the hard parts, am reliving the good parts and plan to make this trip again.

OldTryGuy

Been a month since Six Gap Century so I went out yesterday at 0045 to start my first 100 miles. Finished up at 0640 with one 5 second stop to pick up a gel pack that I dropped. Was hoping for a no-touch ride but missed it. Started my second 100 miles at 0740 with a MAJOR stop waiting for the ambulance to take one of our riders to ER after he crashed. Fifteen stitches in face and 2 plates with screws for a tibia.

Two weeks for the Horrible Hundred in central FL. by Florida Freewheelers.

Biker395 

OK, so it wasn't a century, but I thought the pix would be of interest.

A bunch of us did a Halloween ride up to Mt. Baldy last Saturday. Oy was that fun. Because of the high winds, the mountain roads were closed to motor vehicles, but open to cyclists. And since it was kinda an unplanned thing (unlike July 4, when everyone knows the roads will be closed), there weren't a lot of cyclists either.

Being Halloween, we had some people in costumes. Most notably, Tiger ... who showed up in a costume a la "Heart Attack Grill." She was hit by a car several weeks ago, and dislocated her shoulder, but is healing nicely.

What a hoot. It could only have been more entertaining if *I* were wearing the costume.

Here she is ... I had a pix without the glasses too, but I thought this one was best.



Not your every day ordinary sag support. lol



The last 4 miles to the ski lifts is a brutal climb, but most people toughed it out. Here's Molly and I at the top.



There are even a couple of spots with a touch of fall.



And back to the car along the wiggly crest.



Oh and the totals were something like 70 miles and 8200 feet, I believe. Yea, baby.

az_cyclist

Great pics Biker395.

as I said earlier, the Heart of Arizona century (sponsored by the Bull Shifters Bicycle Club of Phoenix) is this Saturday. 200k, 104 miles, and 44 miles are the route options. I will ride the 104 for the 3rd year in a row

jppe

bump.

Nice long ride with two fairly new cyclists. We did 90 miles together with me pulling 88 of those miles. Some unwelcome winds for a lot of the ride. One of the riders had only ridden 62 miles once before so she was really excited to bash that mileage mark.

I made sure we kept a manageable pace with plenty of stops. I was able to get in 100 miles with 4000'+ of climbing by commuting over to the start with added miles around the neighborhood. We averaged about 17.5 mph which given the wind felt respectable. They're excited and want to try some different long routes in the future.

They'd both been hit by a car late last year so they're still working through those anxieties and healing broken bones. A texting driver coming at them went across two lanes to hit them almost head on.

Unfortunately we almost had to hit the ditch today. A young female driver coming at us and texting on a two lane farm road crossed way over the yellow line but saw us just before getting to us. That had my two companions really shook up for a while but we pressed on and got in another nice ride.

Rick@OCRR

Rode the Breathless Agony century yesterday. Just posted this in the SoCal forum but thought it would be appropriate here:

Overall a fun ride even if I wasn't exactly trained up well for it. Was one of the first off at 5:40 AM but was taking it easy knowing all the climbing that was coming.

Jack Rabbit Trail (cyclo-cross-like, broken or no pavement) was wonderful with only one other cyclist in sight. He rode through the puddle, I walked on the left (no baggies for me!). Was the 2nd rider into the Beaumont checkpoint, first climb up Oak Glenn was wet (light rain) and steep of course (more rain on the descent) but I was still feeling good so was the first rider into Ranger Station checkpoint on Hwy 38.

Lots of riders passed me on Damnation Alley and after Forest Falls up to Angelus Oaks, but I held a steady (yeah, slow, but consistent) pace to the Angelus Oaks checkpoint (about the 20th rider there). Temperature was 42 according to my Garmin. Put on balaclava, rain jacked and heavy gloves for the descent and was actually quite comfortable.

Stopped at the Ranger Station (even though I know it was not required) so I could take off "descent clothing" before climbing Oak Glenn from the back side. I really suffered on that one . . . maybe didn't eat enough? Elise Haussler had a SAG car about half way up so stopped to talk to Elise, filled my bottles plus she re-taped my helmet number which was flapping in the breeze on the descent.

After the Oak Glenn summit, the rest of the ride was easy; probably stayed at the 2nd Beaumont checkpoint too long but saw lots of friends there, plus the clock was stopped there so no worries.

Dee took a selfie with me at the final checkpoint. Almost hit her with my eyeglass mirror! Sorry about that Dee!

Caught a fast (well, 20+ mph) pace-line back to Redlands; dropped me just on the outskirts of Redlands, then an easy ride to the finish.

Overall a fun ride and while I missed Onyx, I understand why they did it. Would have been high 30's at Onyx probably.

Here is my Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/568962912

Rick / OCRR