Hemet Century And Double Century Ride Report and Pics
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no more nellie
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Hemet Century And Double Century Ride Report and Pics
I'm typing this on my blackberry, so forgive me if someone already started a thread. Would love to hear reports from Shnuddy and RickOCRR. My report will follow sometime today. All I'll say is that I almost quit the ride...but we finished.
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Wow, you, quit? Glad to see you did finish it.
The geek in me is taking over ... how did you post this on your blackberry? Or did you just log in through blackberry's web browser?
The geek in me is taking over ... how did you post this on your blackberry? Or did you just log in through blackberry's web browser?
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Good Job, ME. I almost quit MC several times, as well! I think it was fear of having to post that here that kept me going. Look forward to all the reports... and pics?
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Originally Posted by merider1
I'm typing this on my blackberry, so forgive me if someone already started a thread. Would love to hear reports from Shnuddy and RickOCRR. My report will follow sometime today. All I'll say is that I almost quit the ride...but we finished.
Great job, ME. My report is coming, but as I wrote last night, I know those doing the double were going to have a tough ride. The winds were coming up as we were finishing the first half and by the time we were leaving Hemet they were gusting. I can't wait to read your report.
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I will answer the wind, I will leave with the tide
I'll be out on the road, Every chance I can ride
~Bob Seger~ "Wait For Me"
Visit my blog: Live from La Quinta
I will answer the wind, I will leave with the tide
I'll be out on the road, Every chance I can ride
~Bob Seger~ "Wait For Me"
Visit my blog: Live from La Quinta
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M.E. Congratulations you're a Triple Crowner now. Welcome to the club! Now are you going for the 1,000 mile club? John did a great job on the Alta Sierra Challenge.
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no more nellie
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Thx, guys! Dante, it does feel good to have TC goal accomplished. Give me time to forget the pain of yesterdy before I can answer if I'll go for the 1,000 ml club.
I can't wait to hear about John's ride! I knew he'd do just great.
I can't wait to hear about John's ride! I knew he'd do just great.
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Hi M.E.
Sorry we didn't get to meet, but hope you had a fine ride in spite of the wind. My report will follow too, since Jackie and I just got home and we're both really tired, even though we had a full night's sleep last night. Time for a nap now!
Short version: I started at 3:35 AM and I finished at 7:44 PM. I phoned you from the finish, but it just went to your voice mail!
Best Regs,
Rick / OCRR
Sorry we didn't get to meet, but hope you had a fine ride in spite of the wind. My report will follow too, since Jackie and I just got home and we're both really tired, even though we had a full night's sleep last night. Time for a nap now!
Short version: I started at 3:35 AM and I finished at 7:44 PM. I phoned you from the finish, but it just went to your voice mail!
Best Regs,
Rick / OCRR
#9
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Originally Posted by merider1
I'm typing this on my blackberry, so forgive me if someone already started a thread. Would love to hear reports from Shnuddy and RickOCRR. My report will follow sometime today. All I'll say is that I almost quit the ride...but we finished.
Congratulations on finishing.
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Originally Posted by Grumpy Pig
You almost quit? What happened? Too short of a course?
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If ignorance is bliss, shouldn't you be happy?
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Originally Posted by magicant
I got tired of her taking pics of my butt, so I knocked her off of her bike and left her on the side of the road.
...working on ride report now, and uploading photos.
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already sounds like i missed out in the best way possible.....
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Yeah, I'm glad it's over. Not a ride I would really recommend.
I'd heard that the route was kind of boring, but that wasn't the issue. It was incredibly filled with traffic and busy streets. I was talking to one of the guys who works on it every year and he apologized and said it's gotten terrible out there. After 40 years, they're wondering how much longer they can keep it going. Lots of highways with 60mph traffic and one stretch up Bundy Canyon that comes at mile 180 or so and is uphill, heavy fast traffic and no shoulder. It was worse than riding up Topanga Canyon from the PCH.
I'm sure m.e. will have far more details.
I'd heard that the route was kind of boring, but that wasn't the issue. It was incredibly filled with traffic and busy streets. I was talking to one of the guys who works on it every year and he apologized and said it's gotten terrible out there. After 40 years, they're wondering how much longer they can keep it going. Lots of highways with 60mph traffic and one stretch up Bundy Canyon that comes at mile 180 or so and is uphill, heavy fast traffic and no shoulder. It was worse than riding up Topanga Canyon from the PCH.
I'm sure m.e. will have far more details.
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If ignorance is bliss, shouldn't you be happy?
If ignorance is bliss, shouldn't you be happy?
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Originally Posted by magicant
Yeah, I'm glad it's over. Not a ride I would really recommend.
I'd heard that the route was kind of boring, but that wasn't the issue. It was incredibly filled with traffic and busy streets. I was talking to one of the guys who works on it every year and he apologized and said it's gotten terrible out there. After 40 years, they're wondering how much longer they can keep it going. Lots of highways with 60mph traffic and one stretch up Bundy Canyon that comes at mile 180 or so and is uphill, heavy fast traffic and no shoulder. It was worse than riding up Topanga Canyon from the PCH.
I'm sure m.e. will have far more details.
I'd heard that the route was kind of boring, but that wasn't the issue. It was incredibly filled with traffic and busy streets. I was talking to one of the guys who works on it every year and he apologized and said it's gotten terrible out there. After 40 years, they're wondering how much longer they can keep it going. Lots of highways with 60mph traffic and one stretch up Bundy Canyon that comes at mile 180 or so and is uphill, heavy fast traffic and no shoulder. It was worse than riding up Topanga Canyon from the PCH.
I'm sure m.e. will have far more details.
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Originally Posted by DanteB
Joel, remember what I said at Solvang. It was bad in 2005, potholes, roads torn up, stop signs and lights and traffic.
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Originally Posted by magicant
Lots of highways with 60mph traffic and one stretch up Bundy Canyon that comes at mile 180 or so and is uphill, heavy fast traffic and no shoulder. It was worse than riding up Topanga Canyon from the PCH.
I guess no one ever said the Triple Crown would be all fun and games. Glad you're both ok and congrats!
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man that blows....we'll all do grand tour together...thatll be better....
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Hemet, oh Hemet. Okay, so there are some of you who seem to like my long-ass ride reports and then there are some of you whom I realize that I nauseate. Those in the second group should definitely skip this ride report (not that I assume any of you in the second group even read my reports, but you get the drift). For Hemet was a ride experience unlike any of ANY other ride I’ve ever been on. It is the first ride that I wanted to quit with every fiber of my being but didn’t through sheer force of will – and one other very kind rider (this is becoming a theme for me, the “if not for the help of others” thing). Of course, I’ll tell you that I’m grateful I finished now, since I met my goal quite early on this year of becoming Triple Crown. I’ve always admired those who challenge themselves with any endurance event (be it running, triathlons, cycling, etc.) and I wanted to be like those who push themselves past their comfort zones for their own personal gratification. Some might call “us” crazy, but I don’t mind since I now officially consider myself one of “those.”
So, here goes…
The week before Hemet, I wasn’t feeling motivated or really all that excited about the upcoming weekend. I drank a little vino at two different dinners and didn’t sleep as well as I should have the week before a double (my stupidity – which was another theme on this double). The day before, Friday, I joined Joel on an easy 23 miles through Griffith Park. My legs felt great, but I still wasn’t mentally all that jazzed. I just wanted to “get it over with,” which probably isn’t the best way to face a 200 mile ride. Still, Hemet is rumored to be an “easy” double (oxymoron I decided as there is NO easy double) and relatively flat (um…yeah…no, not true). I got a little cocky thinking, “if I can ride Solvang with a head/chest cold, I’ll fly through Hemet.” Yeah…won’t make that mistake again!
So Friday afternoon, Joel and I head out at 3pm to Hemet and hit awful traffic, of course. We arrive four hours later with me frazzled and being a complete beatch to Joel (the man has the patience of a saint and an ass of a…never mind, just look at my pics when I get them posted ) By the time we get to Hemet, we’ve missed the opportunity to have dinner with Rick and Jackie and I sadly never met them (however, I’m thrilled to hear they finished). We checked in around 7:20pm at the early registration only to discover that route slips would be handed out the following morning. What? No offense to Jim Watrous, but that is NOT a good move. We had no way of knowing that the route was not 192 miles, nor 198 miles – not even 200 miles. Noooo…try 207 miles! I’m sure a few of you will laugh at me and say, “Well, you have no problem when it’s 192, M.E.” Fair enough, but my theory is, if I want to ADD more miles than 200, then I’ll ride around the frickin’ block (which I never do), but don’t surprise me with an additional 7 miles when mentally I’m prepared for 200! So, Joel and I figured we’d just start the ride at 6am and finish by 9pm at the latest. Yeah…won’t make that mistake again either!
Saturday morning, alarm goes off at 4:30am. We are up, dressed, out the door and to the start line. We see Shnuddy and her husband (very nice to meet them!), snap a photo and are off in time to log in a 5:30am start time (but then run to the restroom again…sigh). Off we go. It was chilly for sure, but nothing like Solvang, so I’m pleased. Like a dummy, I had forgotten two critical items for any double I ride: arm warmers and sunglasses with the lenses that automatically change so that I can wear them in the dark and in the sun. So for the first 2.5 hours, I was cold (although I didn’t want to admit it) and had no eye protection (biggest mistake of the day). Joel didn’t either and how he didn’t have eye issues, I don’t know, but I wasn’t so lucky. More on that later…
Although the real winds didn’t pick up until afternoon, there was a dry, cold wind in the morning heading off toward BFE, with rock mountains, cows, turf farms (yup, those exist), more cows, and well…that’d be it. I was thinking to myself, “This is going to be a two paragraph ride report!” It seemed simple enough. The organizers had given us the route slip for LOOP I. You see, the HDC is two loops. The first loop was 107 miles. You sign in at every rest stop (to ensure you get credit) and at the lunch stop you pick up the route slip for LOOP II. I didn’t think anything of it, neither did Joel. So, we hammered away. Or I did, anyway. Prior to riding this, I told Joel that I wanted to pick it up a notch, challenge myself to ride a little faster, take more succinct breaks and push myself since this was an “easy” double. Joel just went a little faster pace, but he could have easily gone even faster. Why he rides with me is still a mystery, and why he doesn’t drop me like a badly micro-waved potato must be his way of making up for past guilt or something…because, he puts up with a lot from me!
As the morning passed by, we stopped to pick up sunglasses for Joel at a drugstore (his glasses had come out of his pocket and fallen without him knowing. All he had left were the lenses!) He and I both now had on goofy drugstore glasses and took off. He even asked me if he looked dorky, but since he can’t look unattractive to me even with dorky drugstore glasses on, I told him no. Finally, I got my eyes covered and out the wind, but it was already too late. Something I get even when wearing sunglasses from time to time and something Jpconrad has gotten as well, is this weird dry eye thing – and in my left eye (his too). It’s bizarre as it manifests as a white film over the eye. By 9:30am, I was already having slight difficulty seeing out of my left eye. Not a good sign, but something I shrugged off.
Anyway, nothing too eventful between our three stops and lunch other than some odd characters we met ON the ride. There were some cool folks out there for sure, but a couple of weirdoes. One in particular was a woman who appeared angry when we wanted to ride our bikes over to the restrooms in lieu of walking in our cleats. She was adamant that it wouldn’t be a good idea, etc. When we shrugged her off (politely might I add), she shot us daggers with her eyes. Turned out, it WAS smarter to just ride over to the restrooms. Go figure. There were also SCARY people out driving, and I am not exaggerating. We had people yelling at us, dogs barking and snarling out of car windows, and the traffic lights were decidedly unfriendly to cyclists. We had to illegally turn several times to avoid sitting for three or so minutes at each light!
Quick note here, in my Butterfield report I mentioned running into Kermit Ganier, the President of the LA Wheelman club and nicest guy in the whole world. Well, he was out volunteering on this ride too, and was a welcomed site on both Loops as his stop was the last before lunch and the last before the finish. At his stop was also a teenager who said his father was riding the double. I never asked his name but should have as he was a very bright and kind young man who told me he had just finished his first double metric! I told him he’d be riding his first double in no time and his friendly eyes lit right up.
As for my riding company, well, you know I’m going to gush. Joel is always wonderful to ride with (to be around in general). I had been so grumpy to him on the ride to Hemet, and yet, he was his usual upbeat, off the wall self. His “stream of consciousness” picked up around mile 29 and he was cracking jokes left and right. We saw this random white bath towel right out in the middle of the road (brand new without an ounce of dirt on it). Joel began reciting South Park lines in all of the cartoon voices. He kept saying, “Wanna get high? Bring your towel.” If anyone had been near us, I can only imagine what they would have thought. Well, but then again, we were in BFE! The South Park banter continued until we were both singing the Taco Kisses song from one of the most outrageous South Park episodes. Yes, I had entertainment like this all along the route – well, up until the winds and scary, scary roads, when we weren’t able to talk as much (and at times, not at all!).
After around noon, the winds began picking up. I ignored them, and pushed hard. Often I drafted off of Joel, but sometimes I just rode a little to his left. He refused to let me pull. I was fatiguing a little around mile 100 and wasn’t hungry – which I now realized meant my fueling was a little off, but nothing major. I just didn’t have a real appetite yesterday. Still, I felt good and right as we pulled onto Sanderson Street toward Acacia and the hotel for lunch, I hammered hard, sprinting to ensure we signed in by 1:30pm (which Joel had stated he wanted to do to beat our time in Solvang). We signed in at 1:24pm. I was thrilled, but then it hit me, I was already tired and had 93 miles to go. I tried to eat a full plate but couldn’t do it, plus I had heard that the hardest climb of the day was just after lunch, so I knew to eat light. What I didn’t know, and Joel hadn’t discovered yet, is that the second loop wasn’t 93 miles long. It was a full 100! And the steepest climb of the day was 6.7 miles long and brutal at the top (flat ride my ass!). Even though I had eaten lightly, once I hit that climb, I was screwed. I’m the weakest on climbs of any kind, but add some miles to my legs and I fall way back. This, of course, set back our timing, because although Joel flew up the hill (sprinted up it, and no, I ain’t kidding), I crawled in my granny. I felt as if I was going to bonk but couldn’t understand why entirely unless my harder than average double pace was catching up to me. I still didn’t know the last loop was 107 miles as I didn’t look at the route slip very closely and it had flown off my bike just after taking off from lunch. Thank God I didn’t know, because as I crawled up Sage Road, I counted down the miles. For me, if I get to mile 150 on a double and can still pedal, I know I’ll make it. So, I was anticipating that moment! Joel, the sweetheart that he is, waited for me twice on Sage. I had to stop and unclip for a second to get my heart rate down. I was afraid I’d blow up since I was trying to spin to reserve leg strength. When I finally got to the top, he congratulated me and smiled his usual million dollar smile. I know he’s going to wish I hadn't written this, but at that moment, I wanted to just throw my arms around him and lick his face. Of course, I smelled like a rotten tomato and was sticky and grimy, so I’m sure he’s glad I didn’t. But having someone encourage me when I felt as if I was about to bonk meant the world to me. It also helped me gather steam – well, that and the sweet descent we were rewarded with.
But then, that was it for getting lucky. The winds had caught us. Sure, there were some headwinds in the first loop, but not like this. These were gusts, cold gusts and they wouldn’t let up. Our only respite was when we’d turn onto a road for a bit with tailwinds or sidewinds, but just as we were feeling a little better, we’d turn and hit those f-ing headwinds again! Now my eye was really starting to bug me. The white film thing over my left eye had spread. I showed Joel my eye during the ride and he could actually see it cloudy! I was literally losing my ability to see out of it. Oddly enough, when Joel had our one and only flat throughout the ride, my camera developed a film over its lens too. You’ll see in the final pic I post of Joel changing his tube what I mean. That’s how my left eye was for the remainder of the ride!
When we pulled into Rest Stop 5, I was really feeling it, but Joel had given me the “we’ve reached mile 150!” alert seven miles back, and I was elated. I knew I could knock out 43 more miles no matter what. I just knew it, even if I had to limp it in to the finish line. I felt bad for Joel as I was slowing considerably. He never showed any irritation. He’s wonderful that way, as he really only rides for fun and fitness. He has no ego (that I can detect), and although he could have finished the ride in 2-3 hours less time yesterday, he never complained or left me. But, poor thing, he had to be the one to break it to me, gently, and standing a few feet away from me, that we did not have only 43 miles to go. We had 50 (this was when he realized the route slip said 100 more miles on the second loop – and he wasn’t alone, as other riders around us were just realizing that too!). Okay. NOT what I wanted to hear. I had mentally psyched myself out that it was just a measly 43 home. Easy stuff. But 50 meant 7 more miles and those would be in the dark and in cold headwinds as we were fast losing daylight. I was crushed and sat down with a cup of noodles soup and almost started crying. I suddenly realized that I didn’t want to continue. Weird how a mental set back can affect you physically. Everything that was fatigued and hurting was now killing me! But I looked over at Joel who was calmly sitting next to me, and who had hugged me and encouraged me just minutes earlier (when he was sure I wasn’t going to beat him upside the head upon hearing the news) and thought, “M.E., get your sorry ass up. You wanted to ride this double – you signed up for it. You have a riding partner who has stuck with you until now. You cannot quit.” This would be the first of MANY little identical conversations I’d have with myself for the next five hours.
Off we went into the headwinds, tailwinds, sidewinds, upsidedown winds, allupinthere winds, and I hated life. I was now getting colder yet sweating profusely. I was drinking so much liquid, Joel warned me to cut it out or I’d over hydrate and make myself sick. He kept looking behind him as I’d often either be on his wheel, up alongside him, pulling ahead of him, or several yards back inching along. My energy came in waves. I have never experienced this on a ride before. I’ve almost bonked and have truly bonked, but this was different. I was getting very nervous as my eye was now almost 100% blocked and my focus was waning. We were in the heaviest traffic of the day and it was only about to get significantly worse. I asked Joel if we could stop at Rite Aid for eye drops. I even tried to find clear lenses glasses, but all they had were reading glasses that were too strong to use. So, I popped in some drops (which helped with the pain but not the film over my eye) and downed a Red Bull. Then Joel, who honestly didn’t know, said, “We have 37 more miles to go, and if we don’t get back by 10:00pm, we’ll DNF. I’m not trying to worry you or rush you, but I just want you to be aware.” It was 7:10pm. 37 miles should be easily knocked out in 3 hours – but not with major headwinds and my now depleted body – both mind and spirit (oh, the drama). I was beside myself and frustrated. As we took off again, now into the dark, I said to Joel, “if I have to quit at the next rest stop, leave me, take my HID and finish.” Of course, he refused. He said he couldn’t give a crap if he DNFed or not, he wouldn’t desert me. I remember thinking how much I truly adore him as we hit Bundy Canyon.
Okay, for those of you who’ve never taken a little road trip to lovely, scenic Hemet and surrounding areas, Bundy Canyon is a road with, 1) NO shoulder – none, nada, not even 6 inches over the white line or your riding in deep pockets of debris, sand, etc.; 2) NO streetlights – none, nada, and it’s pitch black in them there parts; and 3) heavily trafficked on a Saturday night at 8:00pm. We literally had trailers, pickups, large automobiles, motorcycles and, yes, a SEMI TRUCK passing us within inches. I have never in my life been so scared. I couldn’t see out of my left eye, I was petrified of going off into the debris on the right, I was worried about Joel, who was ahead of me with a crappy little light (come to find out, he has a very good light, he just had it on low setting so that he’d have a back up light should my HID have gone out…I just don’t know what to do with him!) and I was crawling up that God forsaken hill in my granny completely unable to move any faster than a snail. So, I did what was just the smartest thing to do. I started crying. Yup. I admit it. I cried like a four year old denied candy. Which did me, oh, no good whatsoever. And, in fact, now streams of snot as well as sweat were running down my chin. I remember thinking, “I’m quitting. I don’t care if I DNF. I don’t care if I ever ride a stupid double again. What was I thinking? I could lose my life and for what?” I decided that when we got off of Bundy, I was going to just stop. As we neared the top, Joel slowed so that I could get right up on his wheel and said, “This is a definite on my ‘not to do’ list!” Hearing just the slightest bit of frustration from Joel oddly enough made me feel better. I realized I wasn’t being as much of a baby as I had thought. That road was truly dangerous and I hope no rider was harmed out on it! Joel, ever perceptive, asked me if I was crying. I lied and said no. But I’ll admit, I was spent and the crying, although useless, completely warranted.
As we neared the final stop of the day before the home stretch, Joel kept looking back at me. I know I looked a wreck. My left eye was now swollen and completely red, I was breathing heavier than normal and I was simply beyond fatigued. Bundy Canyon had taken it out of me. He said, “You know, I’m ready to be done at the next rest stop.” Of course, I knew he was doing that for my safety only and not because he couldn’t finish. And honestly, I wanted to take him up on it. I wanted to stop, to get home, shower and fix the eye. I had just about convinced myself that I would quit, when we rolled into the last stop. There stood Kermit, rummaging around in his truck. I was losing my voice a bit from exhaustion but managed to get his attention. I immediately asked if the cut off was 10pm. To my utter relief, he told me there was no cut off and that HDC doesn’t believe in that (God bless ‘em). If a person finishes on a bike, it counts.
Suddenly, that 9th hour, barely breathing gust of a second wind hit me. If all I had to do was finish the damn thing, I would! Joel looked pensive but didn’t try to talk me out of it. We refueled with hot coco and some energy bars and headed back out into the night (I stuffed newspapers in my jacket which helped considerably for heat). I continued my weird, energy-no-energy pace with Joel (front, back, side) through some back roads that were pitch black. I told him that as tired as I was this was my favorite part. It was eerily quiet and just the two of us. I was confident we’d finish and was so excited when we finally hit Domenigoni Pkwy. I was so tired, though, that I told Joel I couldn’t even “Woo-hoo” anymore. I had no woo to hoo with… As we got onto that yet again, highly trafficked (60+ mph cars flying by) road into headwind, I never wanted to be off my bike more. I hated cycling, I hated double centuries, I hated that my butt was on fire…I hated everything! I wanted to be away from scary cars, and yet as hard as I tried, my pace was erratic. I had to ask Joel to pull over just 8 miles from the finish to rest! He just pet me on the back and kept saying that we were almost there. Then…it started to rain. Yes, folks, RAIN! OMG! I thought, “Well, hells-bells, just bring on the damn locusts already.” What Joel didn’t know is that I was finally delirious and actually started laughing to myself. I just couldn’t believe it. It was just a light rain, but nonetheless, NOT what I wanted to encounter. Lucky for us, we turned on Acacia, and it was a short jaunt to Motel 6. I have never been happier to see that dump and never happier to get off my bike. I mustered the energy to high five Joel and then barely walk in to check in. Then it hit me (final stupid mistake). Like a dumbass, I again didn’t fuel on the last 24 miles (I made that mistake on the Grand Tour last year). Fear on those dark roads and pure exhaustion played a part in my misstep, but I now realized how weak I was. I asked Joel to please get my car and drive to pick us up (something he had actually already offered on his own earlier in the ride).
So, there is the report. Yes, I finished. WOO-HOO (I’ve gotten my woo back). My eye is almost 100% better (repeated eye drops), and I actually don’t feel as lousy as I thought I would. I was going to do a recovery ride, but I’m still on the fence, since it has taken me two hours to write this report! I know, it is soooo long. But really, as much as I talk about riding, I think you all may have picked up on the fact that the experience of each ride is what matters to me most – good or bad, I come out of it having learned so much. Also, alluding back to the theme I mentioned when starting this report, it does amaze me how other riders typically get me through. I told Joel that I would have quit the ride yesterday if he hadn’t been there. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. Having his company, humor, kindness, encouragement and support meant everything and was critical to my state of mind. Without him, I would have been lost (quite possibly literally since the route was not at all marked). I can’t thank him enough even if he’s gagging right now from all this mushy talk. I must have hugged him 50 times yesterday, but he means a tremendous deal to me even in the very short time that I’ve known him. I couldn’t ask for a better friend or riding partner. Thanks, Joel.
As for a critique of the ride, I’ll rate it in the other thread. But I will not slam it. Mainly because Jim and the other organizers did a wonderful job with supporting the riders. SAG vehicles and stops were plentiful, with lots of choices, Cytomax, Advil, Tums, etc. They had chili and soup at the last two stops and yummy BBQ and potato salad at the end. Volunteers were outstanding! My main complaint is just that the route wasn’t marked at all (Jim did mention that due to construction, he had to change the route last minute and this may be why they didn’t mark it). But some of the streets were off, and if you weren’t paying extremely close attention, you could have gotten lost! Also, I will provide him feedback that they should provide both LOOP I and LOOP II route slips at the registration the night before. Joel and I would have started earlier had we known the route was 207 miles long. And as for the roads – I agree with Joel that many sucked and were outright dangerous!
But all in all, it was a great day. Who doesn’t need a little suffering from time to time? Plus, I made my goal of Triple Crown. I don’t know that I ever want to do it again, nor do I know if I want to ride anymore doubles this year (except Grand Tour with Joel, unless he’ll take my suggestion and ride it with some guys to really see how fast he can ride a double. I slow him down!). Of course, I’m tired right now, so perhaps, like child-birth (so I’ve been told), I’ll forget the pain and be willing to do it all over again by the time Eastern Sierra rolls around…
…perhaps.
(pics forthcoming)
So, here goes…
The week before Hemet, I wasn’t feeling motivated or really all that excited about the upcoming weekend. I drank a little vino at two different dinners and didn’t sleep as well as I should have the week before a double (my stupidity – which was another theme on this double). The day before, Friday, I joined Joel on an easy 23 miles through Griffith Park. My legs felt great, but I still wasn’t mentally all that jazzed. I just wanted to “get it over with,” which probably isn’t the best way to face a 200 mile ride. Still, Hemet is rumored to be an “easy” double (oxymoron I decided as there is NO easy double) and relatively flat (um…yeah…no, not true). I got a little cocky thinking, “if I can ride Solvang with a head/chest cold, I’ll fly through Hemet.” Yeah…won’t make that mistake again!
So Friday afternoon, Joel and I head out at 3pm to Hemet and hit awful traffic, of course. We arrive four hours later with me frazzled and being a complete beatch to Joel (the man has the patience of a saint and an ass of a…never mind, just look at my pics when I get them posted ) By the time we get to Hemet, we’ve missed the opportunity to have dinner with Rick and Jackie and I sadly never met them (however, I’m thrilled to hear they finished). We checked in around 7:20pm at the early registration only to discover that route slips would be handed out the following morning. What? No offense to Jim Watrous, but that is NOT a good move. We had no way of knowing that the route was not 192 miles, nor 198 miles – not even 200 miles. Noooo…try 207 miles! I’m sure a few of you will laugh at me and say, “Well, you have no problem when it’s 192, M.E.” Fair enough, but my theory is, if I want to ADD more miles than 200, then I’ll ride around the frickin’ block (which I never do), but don’t surprise me with an additional 7 miles when mentally I’m prepared for 200! So, Joel and I figured we’d just start the ride at 6am and finish by 9pm at the latest. Yeah…won’t make that mistake again either!
Saturday morning, alarm goes off at 4:30am. We are up, dressed, out the door and to the start line. We see Shnuddy and her husband (very nice to meet them!), snap a photo and are off in time to log in a 5:30am start time (but then run to the restroom again…sigh). Off we go. It was chilly for sure, but nothing like Solvang, so I’m pleased. Like a dummy, I had forgotten two critical items for any double I ride: arm warmers and sunglasses with the lenses that automatically change so that I can wear them in the dark and in the sun. So for the first 2.5 hours, I was cold (although I didn’t want to admit it) and had no eye protection (biggest mistake of the day). Joel didn’t either and how he didn’t have eye issues, I don’t know, but I wasn’t so lucky. More on that later…
Although the real winds didn’t pick up until afternoon, there was a dry, cold wind in the morning heading off toward BFE, with rock mountains, cows, turf farms (yup, those exist), more cows, and well…that’d be it. I was thinking to myself, “This is going to be a two paragraph ride report!” It seemed simple enough. The organizers had given us the route slip for LOOP I. You see, the HDC is two loops. The first loop was 107 miles. You sign in at every rest stop (to ensure you get credit) and at the lunch stop you pick up the route slip for LOOP II. I didn’t think anything of it, neither did Joel. So, we hammered away. Or I did, anyway. Prior to riding this, I told Joel that I wanted to pick it up a notch, challenge myself to ride a little faster, take more succinct breaks and push myself since this was an “easy” double. Joel just went a little faster pace, but he could have easily gone even faster. Why he rides with me is still a mystery, and why he doesn’t drop me like a badly micro-waved potato must be his way of making up for past guilt or something…because, he puts up with a lot from me!
As the morning passed by, we stopped to pick up sunglasses for Joel at a drugstore (his glasses had come out of his pocket and fallen without him knowing. All he had left were the lenses!) He and I both now had on goofy drugstore glasses and took off. He even asked me if he looked dorky, but since he can’t look unattractive to me even with dorky drugstore glasses on, I told him no. Finally, I got my eyes covered and out the wind, but it was already too late. Something I get even when wearing sunglasses from time to time and something Jpconrad has gotten as well, is this weird dry eye thing – and in my left eye (his too). It’s bizarre as it manifests as a white film over the eye. By 9:30am, I was already having slight difficulty seeing out of my left eye. Not a good sign, but something I shrugged off.
Anyway, nothing too eventful between our three stops and lunch other than some odd characters we met ON the ride. There were some cool folks out there for sure, but a couple of weirdoes. One in particular was a woman who appeared angry when we wanted to ride our bikes over to the restrooms in lieu of walking in our cleats. She was adamant that it wouldn’t be a good idea, etc. When we shrugged her off (politely might I add), she shot us daggers with her eyes. Turned out, it WAS smarter to just ride over to the restrooms. Go figure. There were also SCARY people out driving, and I am not exaggerating. We had people yelling at us, dogs barking and snarling out of car windows, and the traffic lights were decidedly unfriendly to cyclists. We had to illegally turn several times to avoid sitting for three or so minutes at each light!
Quick note here, in my Butterfield report I mentioned running into Kermit Ganier, the President of the LA Wheelman club and nicest guy in the whole world. Well, he was out volunteering on this ride too, and was a welcomed site on both Loops as his stop was the last before lunch and the last before the finish. At his stop was also a teenager who said his father was riding the double. I never asked his name but should have as he was a very bright and kind young man who told me he had just finished his first double metric! I told him he’d be riding his first double in no time and his friendly eyes lit right up.
As for my riding company, well, you know I’m going to gush. Joel is always wonderful to ride with (to be around in general). I had been so grumpy to him on the ride to Hemet, and yet, he was his usual upbeat, off the wall self. His “stream of consciousness” picked up around mile 29 and he was cracking jokes left and right. We saw this random white bath towel right out in the middle of the road (brand new without an ounce of dirt on it). Joel began reciting South Park lines in all of the cartoon voices. He kept saying, “Wanna get high? Bring your towel.” If anyone had been near us, I can only imagine what they would have thought. Well, but then again, we were in BFE! The South Park banter continued until we were both singing the Taco Kisses song from one of the most outrageous South Park episodes. Yes, I had entertainment like this all along the route – well, up until the winds and scary, scary roads, when we weren’t able to talk as much (and at times, not at all!).
After around noon, the winds began picking up. I ignored them, and pushed hard. Often I drafted off of Joel, but sometimes I just rode a little to his left. He refused to let me pull. I was fatiguing a little around mile 100 and wasn’t hungry – which I now realized meant my fueling was a little off, but nothing major. I just didn’t have a real appetite yesterday. Still, I felt good and right as we pulled onto Sanderson Street toward Acacia and the hotel for lunch, I hammered hard, sprinting to ensure we signed in by 1:30pm (which Joel had stated he wanted to do to beat our time in Solvang). We signed in at 1:24pm. I was thrilled, but then it hit me, I was already tired and had 93 miles to go. I tried to eat a full plate but couldn’t do it, plus I had heard that the hardest climb of the day was just after lunch, so I knew to eat light. What I didn’t know, and Joel hadn’t discovered yet, is that the second loop wasn’t 93 miles long. It was a full 100! And the steepest climb of the day was 6.7 miles long and brutal at the top (flat ride my ass!). Even though I had eaten lightly, once I hit that climb, I was screwed. I’m the weakest on climbs of any kind, but add some miles to my legs and I fall way back. This, of course, set back our timing, because although Joel flew up the hill (sprinted up it, and no, I ain’t kidding), I crawled in my granny. I felt as if I was going to bonk but couldn’t understand why entirely unless my harder than average double pace was catching up to me. I still didn’t know the last loop was 107 miles as I didn’t look at the route slip very closely and it had flown off my bike just after taking off from lunch. Thank God I didn’t know, because as I crawled up Sage Road, I counted down the miles. For me, if I get to mile 150 on a double and can still pedal, I know I’ll make it. So, I was anticipating that moment! Joel, the sweetheart that he is, waited for me twice on Sage. I had to stop and unclip for a second to get my heart rate down. I was afraid I’d blow up since I was trying to spin to reserve leg strength. When I finally got to the top, he congratulated me and smiled his usual million dollar smile. I know he’s going to wish I hadn't written this, but at that moment, I wanted to just throw my arms around him and lick his face. Of course, I smelled like a rotten tomato and was sticky and grimy, so I’m sure he’s glad I didn’t. But having someone encourage me when I felt as if I was about to bonk meant the world to me. It also helped me gather steam – well, that and the sweet descent we were rewarded with.
But then, that was it for getting lucky. The winds had caught us. Sure, there were some headwinds in the first loop, but not like this. These were gusts, cold gusts and they wouldn’t let up. Our only respite was when we’d turn onto a road for a bit with tailwinds or sidewinds, but just as we were feeling a little better, we’d turn and hit those f-ing headwinds again! Now my eye was really starting to bug me. The white film thing over my left eye had spread. I showed Joel my eye during the ride and he could actually see it cloudy! I was literally losing my ability to see out of it. Oddly enough, when Joel had our one and only flat throughout the ride, my camera developed a film over its lens too. You’ll see in the final pic I post of Joel changing his tube what I mean. That’s how my left eye was for the remainder of the ride!
When we pulled into Rest Stop 5, I was really feeling it, but Joel had given me the “we’ve reached mile 150!” alert seven miles back, and I was elated. I knew I could knock out 43 more miles no matter what. I just knew it, even if I had to limp it in to the finish line. I felt bad for Joel as I was slowing considerably. He never showed any irritation. He’s wonderful that way, as he really only rides for fun and fitness. He has no ego (that I can detect), and although he could have finished the ride in 2-3 hours less time yesterday, he never complained or left me. But, poor thing, he had to be the one to break it to me, gently, and standing a few feet away from me, that we did not have only 43 miles to go. We had 50 (this was when he realized the route slip said 100 more miles on the second loop – and he wasn’t alone, as other riders around us were just realizing that too!). Okay. NOT what I wanted to hear. I had mentally psyched myself out that it was just a measly 43 home. Easy stuff. But 50 meant 7 more miles and those would be in the dark and in cold headwinds as we were fast losing daylight. I was crushed and sat down with a cup of noodles soup and almost started crying. I suddenly realized that I didn’t want to continue. Weird how a mental set back can affect you physically. Everything that was fatigued and hurting was now killing me! But I looked over at Joel who was calmly sitting next to me, and who had hugged me and encouraged me just minutes earlier (when he was sure I wasn’t going to beat him upside the head upon hearing the news) and thought, “M.E., get your sorry ass up. You wanted to ride this double – you signed up for it. You have a riding partner who has stuck with you until now. You cannot quit.” This would be the first of MANY little identical conversations I’d have with myself for the next five hours.
Off we went into the headwinds, tailwinds, sidewinds, upsidedown winds, allupinthere winds, and I hated life. I was now getting colder yet sweating profusely. I was drinking so much liquid, Joel warned me to cut it out or I’d over hydrate and make myself sick. He kept looking behind him as I’d often either be on his wheel, up alongside him, pulling ahead of him, or several yards back inching along. My energy came in waves. I have never experienced this on a ride before. I’ve almost bonked and have truly bonked, but this was different. I was getting very nervous as my eye was now almost 100% blocked and my focus was waning. We were in the heaviest traffic of the day and it was only about to get significantly worse. I asked Joel if we could stop at Rite Aid for eye drops. I even tried to find clear lenses glasses, but all they had were reading glasses that were too strong to use. So, I popped in some drops (which helped with the pain but not the film over my eye) and downed a Red Bull. Then Joel, who honestly didn’t know, said, “We have 37 more miles to go, and if we don’t get back by 10:00pm, we’ll DNF. I’m not trying to worry you or rush you, but I just want you to be aware.” It was 7:10pm. 37 miles should be easily knocked out in 3 hours – but not with major headwinds and my now depleted body – both mind and spirit (oh, the drama). I was beside myself and frustrated. As we took off again, now into the dark, I said to Joel, “if I have to quit at the next rest stop, leave me, take my HID and finish.” Of course, he refused. He said he couldn’t give a crap if he DNFed or not, he wouldn’t desert me. I remember thinking how much I truly adore him as we hit Bundy Canyon.
Okay, for those of you who’ve never taken a little road trip to lovely, scenic Hemet and surrounding areas, Bundy Canyon is a road with, 1) NO shoulder – none, nada, not even 6 inches over the white line or your riding in deep pockets of debris, sand, etc.; 2) NO streetlights – none, nada, and it’s pitch black in them there parts; and 3) heavily trafficked on a Saturday night at 8:00pm. We literally had trailers, pickups, large automobiles, motorcycles and, yes, a SEMI TRUCK passing us within inches. I have never in my life been so scared. I couldn’t see out of my left eye, I was petrified of going off into the debris on the right, I was worried about Joel, who was ahead of me with a crappy little light (come to find out, he has a very good light, he just had it on low setting so that he’d have a back up light should my HID have gone out…I just don’t know what to do with him!) and I was crawling up that God forsaken hill in my granny completely unable to move any faster than a snail. So, I did what was just the smartest thing to do. I started crying. Yup. I admit it. I cried like a four year old denied candy. Which did me, oh, no good whatsoever. And, in fact, now streams of snot as well as sweat were running down my chin. I remember thinking, “I’m quitting. I don’t care if I DNF. I don’t care if I ever ride a stupid double again. What was I thinking? I could lose my life and for what?” I decided that when we got off of Bundy, I was going to just stop. As we neared the top, Joel slowed so that I could get right up on his wheel and said, “This is a definite on my ‘not to do’ list!” Hearing just the slightest bit of frustration from Joel oddly enough made me feel better. I realized I wasn’t being as much of a baby as I had thought. That road was truly dangerous and I hope no rider was harmed out on it! Joel, ever perceptive, asked me if I was crying. I lied and said no. But I’ll admit, I was spent and the crying, although useless, completely warranted.
As we neared the final stop of the day before the home stretch, Joel kept looking back at me. I know I looked a wreck. My left eye was now swollen and completely red, I was breathing heavier than normal and I was simply beyond fatigued. Bundy Canyon had taken it out of me. He said, “You know, I’m ready to be done at the next rest stop.” Of course, I knew he was doing that for my safety only and not because he couldn’t finish. And honestly, I wanted to take him up on it. I wanted to stop, to get home, shower and fix the eye. I had just about convinced myself that I would quit, when we rolled into the last stop. There stood Kermit, rummaging around in his truck. I was losing my voice a bit from exhaustion but managed to get his attention. I immediately asked if the cut off was 10pm. To my utter relief, he told me there was no cut off and that HDC doesn’t believe in that (God bless ‘em). If a person finishes on a bike, it counts.
Suddenly, that 9th hour, barely breathing gust of a second wind hit me. If all I had to do was finish the damn thing, I would! Joel looked pensive but didn’t try to talk me out of it. We refueled with hot coco and some energy bars and headed back out into the night (I stuffed newspapers in my jacket which helped considerably for heat). I continued my weird, energy-no-energy pace with Joel (front, back, side) through some back roads that were pitch black. I told him that as tired as I was this was my favorite part. It was eerily quiet and just the two of us. I was confident we’d finish and was so excited when we finally hit Domenigoni Pkwy. I was so tired, though, that I told Joel I couldn’t even “Woo-hoo” anymore. I had no woo to hoo with… As we got onto that yet again, highly trafficked (60+ mph cars flying by) road into headwind, I never wanted to be off my bike more. I hated cycling, I hated double centuries, I hated that my butt was on fire…I hated everything! I wanted to be away from scary cars, and yet as hard as I tried, my pace was erratic. I had to ask Joel to pull over just 8 miles from the finish to rest! He just pet me on the back and kept saying that we were almost there. Then…it started to rain. Yes, folks, RAIN! OMG! I thought, “Well, hells-bells, just bring on the damn locusts already.” What Joel didn’t know is that I was finally delirious and actually started laughing to myself. I just couldn’t believe it. It was just a light rain, but nonetheless, NOT what I wanted to encounter. Lucky for us, we turned on Acacia, and it was a short jaunt to Motel 6. I have never been happier to see that dump and never happier to get off my bike. I mustered the energy to high five Joel and then barely walk in to check in. Then it hit me (final stupid mistake). Like a dumbass, I again didn’t fuel on the last 24 miles (I made that mistake on the Grand Tour last year). Fear on those dark roads and pure exhaustion played a part in my misstep, but I now realized how weak I was. I asked Joel to please get my car and drive to pick us up (something he had actually already offered on his own earlier in the ride).
So, there is the report. Yes, I finished. WOO-HOO (I’ve gotten my woo back). My eye is almost 100% better (repeated eye drops), and I actually don’t feel as lousy as I thought I would. I was going to do a recovery ride, but I’m still on the fence, since it has taken me two hours to write this report! I know, it is soooo long. But really, as much as I talk about riding, I think you all may have picked up on the fact that the experience of each ride is what matters to me most – good or bad, I come out of it having learned so much. Also, alluding back to the theme I mentioned when starting this report, it does amaze me how other riders typically get me through. I told Joel that I would have quit the ride yesterday if he hadn’t been there. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. Having his company, humor, kindness, encouragement and support meant everything and was critical to my state of mind. Without him, I would have been lost (quite possibly literally since the route was not at all marked). I can’t thank him enough even if he’s gagging right now from all this mushy talk. I must have hugged him 50 times yesterday, but he means a tremendous deal to me even in the very short time that I’ve known him. I couldn’t ask for a better friend or riding partner. Thanks, Joel.
As for a critique of the ride, I’ll rate it in the other thread. But I will not slam it. Mainly because Jim and the other organizers did a wonderful job with supporting the riders. SAG vehicles and stops were plentiful, with lots of choices, Cytomax, Advil, Tums, etc. They had chili and soup at the last two stops and yummy BBQ and potato salad at the end. Volunteers were outstanding! My main complaint is just that the route wasn’t marked at all (Jim did mention that due to construction, he had to change the route last minute and this may be why they didn’t mark it). But some of the streets were off, and if you weren’t paying extremely close attention, you could have gotten lost! Also, I will provide him feedback that they should provide both LOOP I and LOOP II route slips at the registration the night before. Joel and I would have started earlier had we known the route was 207 miles long. And as for the roads – I agree with Joel that many sucked and were outright dangerous!
But all in all, it was a great day. Who doesn’t need a little suffering from time to time? Plus, I made my goal of Triple Crown. I don’t know that I ever want to do it again, nor do I know if I want to ride anymore doubles this year (except Grand Tour with Joel, unless he’ll take my suggestion and ride it with some guys to really see how fast he can ride a double. I slow him down!). Of course, I’m tired right now, so perhaps, like child-birth (so I’ve been told), I’ll forget the pain and be willing to do it all over again by the time Eastern Sierra rolls around…
…perhaps.
(pics forthcoming)
Last edited by merider1; 04-16-07 at 12:42 PM.
#19
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Oh c'mon Mary! I have a short attention span!
Good job people! Double centuries? You guys are crazy but in a good way!
Good job people! Double centuries? You guys are crazy but in a good way!
#20
no more nellie
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Shnuddy and Husband (I won't say their real names unless she is okay with it. Very sweet couple):
Ready to roll:
Hemet landscape:
A view I'd see for most of the day:
Ready to roll:
Hemet landscape:
A view I'd see for most of the day:
#21
Banned.
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OK, I'm done reading it now, I'm a slow reader.
Nice detailed report Mary. Way to hang tough! Congrats on the TC! Man, I can't imagine going thru all that suffering and hurdles but still pulling it out. You're verylucky to have a friend like Joel to encourage you thru the rough stuff. Hats off to Joel and if I ever struggle, Ihope that he'll hug me too!
If you ever do lick his face, we will need pix!
Good job Mary, great job Joel!..Did Joel complete the TC also?
Nice detailed report Mary. Way to hang tough! Congrats on the TC! Man, I can't imagine going thru all that suffering and hurdles but still pulling it out. You're verylucky to have a friend like Joel to encourage you thru the rough stuff. Hats off to Joel and if I ever struggle, Ihope that he'll hug me too!
If you ever do lick his face, we will need pix!
Good job Mary, great job Joel!..Did Joel complete the TC also?
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ME youre one crazy woman! You portray your emotions so well in your ride report, as always, I was feeling you while reading and exhausted. Get some well deserved rest.
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Originally Posted by merider1
You too can have your own turf!
They sell it here!
They sell it here!
__________________
If ignorance is bliss, shouldn't you be happy?
If ignorance is bliss, shouldn't you be happy?