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California Triple Crown Series - Double Century Rides / Training

Old 01-06-14, 02:00 PM
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California Triple Crown Series - Double Century Rides / Training

Well for those of you doing double rides, lets use this thread as a way to communicate, organize and share the rides through the year. I did a similar thread for the KOM and last year for the Triple Crown. This also helps create motivation, I wouldn't have ridden eastern Sierra Double (ESD) last year if Vic didn't convince me, and boy was it worth it. Anyhow I only got 4 doubles in and I missed White Mountain Double (WMD) before my car encounter .
https://www.caltriplecrown.com/

Anyhow I am back on a new bike (carbon this time) and getting back into shape. You got to ride centuries to get ready for double centuries and my first one up is Tour de Palm Springs. The doubles I plan on riding this year are: Joshua Tree, White Mountain, Eastern Sierra, Death Valley if it is available, Grand Tour, and Bass Lake. I want to complete the Thousand Mile Club. Hopefully I can volunteer for Solvang. I may also do Hemet since it is so close and cheap but there are other rides with better scenery at least it would get me into shape.

Anyone else interested? I know it is kind of a crazy undertaking to go from 100 miles to 200 miles but for those new beginners don't be afraid. When I did the King of the Mountain, Mulholland Challenge (120 miles 12,000ft) it took me almost 12 hours. A flat double will be close to the same time. The biggest advantage is new scenery!
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Old 01-06-14, 02:08 PM
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I'd love to try a double this yr. I've been averaging 2-3 centuries per month at a decent clip since July, so might be hard to double the saddle time. But anything is possible
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Old 01-06-14, 11:18 PM
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Originally Posted by jsigone
I'd love to try a double this yr. I've been averaging 2-3 centuries per month at a decent clip since July, so might be hard to double the saddle time. But anything is possible
Great job! 2-3 centuries a month would make a double a cake walk. I never rode more than 100mi before I did my first double, and it was a cinch. 90% of the discomfort shows up by the 5th hour, and from then on you just keep on truckin at nearly the same pain level. Just gotta nail the hydration and calories and you're basically ready to do a double right now.
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Old 01-06-14, 11:41 PM
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Originally Posted by jmX
Great job! 2-3 centuries a month would make a double a cake walk. I never rode more than 100mi before I did my first double, and it was a cinch. 90% of the discomfort shows up by the 5th hour, and from then on you just keep on truckin at nearly the same pain level. Just gotta nail the hydration and calories and you're basically ready to do a double right now.
thanks I think I can do it too!! Most of the flatter (sub 4k ft) centuries are in the 5 to 5 1/2 hr time mark. I've LONG endurance rides so I know the nutrition game, Julian Death march was 7hrs on singlespeed, not much sitting that day with 65miles and 9k ft of vertical. Did the 6man TT, LA Rapha gents race in November. Started in Glendale, up to lil Tujunga canyon then rocky/sandy/dirt/forest road from top of LTC to bridge to Angel's Crest highway...crossing the Pacific Crest Trail a few times on the ridgeline...yah that was epic day. We fell one man short so we took the shorter route back as running out of light, that was still a 94mi/12kft day in 7hr moving time. Views were out of this world good but 6k ft of vertical on that 30mile dirt trail. Full route would have been 104/13.5k vertical. Once on the ridgeline, it was VERY hard to tell we were near the heart of LA

done on my super6 w/ tubeless 25c tires and zero flats...can't say the same for other teams or individuals

G0102351e by jsig1, on Flickr


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Old 01-07-14, 12:07 AM
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Yes you can do it. Go for it.
I did my first Double when someone said that with all the Centuries I was riding I might like a Double. I did one and was hooked. I think you will catch the Double Century bug.
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Old 01-07-14, 12:51 AM
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You will do fine!
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Old 01-07-14, 01:10 AM
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I'm signed up for Mulholland Double. Not sure how or if I'm going to make it, but ... dream big Starting to ramp up the mileage after a break in December, should be back to riding two centuries a month by March. Other than that, no specific plans yet. (Thinking about PS and Solvang Double though.)

Last edited by hamster; 01-07-14 at 01:16 AM.
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Old 01-07-14, 01:18 AM
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Maybe I'll aim for the Solvang one. How is the wind over there?
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Old 01-07-14, 08:53 AM
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Originally Posted by jsigone
Maybe I'll aim for the Solvang one. How is the wind over there?
The wind is totally a matter of how it works out on the day. I've ridden Spring Solvangs with almost no wind, with headwind mornings and tailwind afternoons, or vice versa 2 years ago. That was kind of brutal with a wonderful strong tail wind on the way to Morro Bay and brutal headwinds almost all the way back.

So . . . you pay your money and take your chances. It could go either way wind-wise, plus there has often been rain on Spring Solvang.

All that said, it is a relatively easy double. As noted above (and true of all doubles) be sure to hydrate, get enough nutrition either via Hammer Products or Real Food and watch your route sheet so you don't get lost or add "Bonus Miles." None of the climbing is difficult on this one, esp. since they're taken out Drum Canyon (which I kind of liked, but to each his own!).

My 2014 double plans are not sealed. 2013 was Hemet, Eastern Sierra, Grand Tour, Knoxville and Bass Lake.

I worked Joshua Tree last year so I have a free entry for this year, so Joshua Tree for sure. One I've never tried but might/will this year is Devil Mountain. It sounds very brutal but I've done Mt. Tam twice - how much harder could it be (I ask, rhetorically)?

Hemet again, probably, plus maybe/probably Camino Real, and I can't imagine missing Eastern Sierra or Grand Tour. Plus Knoxville is my favorite double ever, so can't leave that one out. Have to see how it goes though.

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Old 01-07-14, 10:27 AM
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Solvang spring Double is nice but it is so early in the year, I am not a fan of it because you start in the dark and finish in the dark. But then again it was my first. Personally there are better doubles out there then that with smoother roads. But it does have some nice scenery (in the dark). We did have slight head wind all the way out but a nice tail wind on the way back. Oh and it was brutally cold the first 30-45 mins, 32 degrees.

Hasmter MCD huh, that will be tough, I think that is semi supported right?
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Old 01-07-14, 10:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Lesper4
Hasmter MCD huh, that will be tough, I think that is semi supported right?
The description on the site is confused, sounds like they had some kind of conflict with triple crown guys over this, but basically yeah - I'm expecting semi-supported. No SAG and no guaranteed feeding stations beyond mile 125 unless you're very fast.
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Old 01-07-14, 10:51 AM
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If your definition of brutal headwinds is equal to Palm Springs Windmill then I might have to pick another event.

I think only the end of the ride would be in the dark, 7am to 7ish PM, so 2 hrs in the dark isn't bad.
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Old 01-07-14, 11:17 AM
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Originally Posted by jsigone
If your definition of brutal headwinds is equal to Palm Springs Windmill then I might have to pick another event.
I think only the end of the ride would be in the dark, 7am to 7ish PM, so 2 hrs in the dark isn't bad.
Brutal headwinds are by far the exception . . . but they have happened. I've always started Spring Solvang in the dark but I've finished in the light most (but not all) of the time. And I'm a mid-pack rider, so lots are faster than me! Plus, on Solvang, the roads you're riding in the dark, both morning and night, are very lightly traveled by motor traffic.

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Old 01-07-14, 11:28 AM
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I said brutal cold, I have no experience with bad winds on Solvang. The starts times are 5-7am and I preferred the earlier start since it was my first. I also thought that they most scenic roads are at the beginning and end.
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Old 01-07-14, 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Lesper4
I said brutal cold, I have no experience with bad winds on Solvang. The starts times are 5-7am and I preferred the earlier start since it was my first. I also thought that they most scenic roads are at the beginning and end.
Right Lesper4,

The "brutal wind" comment was for jsigone.

I've experienced temperatures down to freezing on Solvang Spring but not below. If that is "brutal" or not is a personal definition. I was dressed for it so no worries but in just shorts and jersey (for example), yes, that would be brutal.

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Old 01-07-14, 03:32 PM
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I would not recommend starting Solvang at 7 unless you're really confident. JmX can start at 7 and get to the finish by sunset, if you're not jmX, play it safe and start at 5.

Last spring I did Tour of Palm Springs in about 6:30 total (5:45 moving), and Solvang Spring Double in 15:10, could have been 14-14:30 if I didn't mess up nutrition. If you ride TdPS this year, you can project the results, those two are pretty similar in terms of climbing. (The biggest difference is that TdPS is totally front-loaded, and Solvang has two major climbs and one of them is at mile 160.)

You need lights before 6:45 AM and after about 7:30 PM.

Bring aero bars.
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Old 01-07-14, 05:33 PM
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have to finish by 10pm right? yah I would not be leaving at 5am for that and even carry a camelbak cuz the stations aren't open yet. Doesn't sound appealing to carry all that weight for that amount of time.

I don't have aero bars....might have to get some mini clip ons or something small.

Cold mornings I can deal with, lately my morning rides have started in the mid 30s then warm up an hour or two into it. Vest, arm warmers and my ninja mask is perfect w/o much to carry later on.
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Old 01-07-14, 06:13 PM
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You _may_ finish by 10 pm, but I'd guesstimate that at least 2/3'rds of all riders are done by 8. If you don't mind riding alone in the dark, then it's not a problem.

It would be pretty hard to get to any stations before they open even if you start at 5, you'd basically have to race in a paceline all the way.
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Old 01-07-14, 08:49 PM
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The one time I did Solvang Spring (in 2011), it rained for something like 130-140 miles. Despite being an easier course, it was the most miserable cycling experience I've ever had. By the end, I was so thoroughly soaked and covered in mud that my chain was slip sliding over the rings like butter in a skillet. People were flatting left and right because they couldn't see road hazards through the sludge. If I remember correctly, 400 started but only 300 finished.

That said, I'm tentatively planning to try it again this year. I'd love to see that course in decent weather.
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Old 01-08-14, 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Curbendo
That said, I'm tentatively planning to try it again this year. I'd love to see that course in decent weather.
Good job there Curbendo! You have the proper joyful glutton for punishment attitude that makes for a successful ultra-distance rider. You will go far!

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Old 01-08-14, 02:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Rick@OCRR
Good job there Curbendo! You have the proper joyful glutton for punishment attitude that makes for a successful ultra-distance rider. You will go far!
Oh yeah, for sure. I did Solvang Fall later that year, and the Grand Tour a bunch of times. I'm slow, but I'm hooked.
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Old 01-30-14, 04:19 PM
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Well just a little bump for all your TC folk. Did my first century two weeks ago, it just happen to be 10,000+ ft, tuff but I survived. Tour de Palm Springs is basically just over a week away. The Camino Real is the week after for those who are doing it, I am going to pass as the area does not look all that fun.
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Old 01-30-14, 10:59 PM
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I got the critical power curve almost back to where it was last summer, now aggressively dieting and getting rid of winter weight. (I always say that I need to lose 20 lbs, and this time I mean it.) Built up good momentum, counting calories and hitting the trainer every evening. I'd like to do Palm Springs, but my longest continuous ride this month was under 30 miles, and it would be tricky to fit a century into the schedule without messing up the diet. I'll probably do 50-60 this weekend and see how that goes.
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Old 01-31-14, 10:50 AM
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They have a 65-68? mile route. definitely need to loose 10-20lbs, 10 would put me back to last years weight
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Old 01-31-14, 12:50 PM
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My exposure to Southern California is limited. From what I can tell, the closest DC is in Solvang (which I have been to). Which DC would everyone suggest that can double as a vacation on the surrounding days? Do a ride on a Saturday, but then hang out eating/drinking/visiting for another 2-4 days. I love music and all things weird.

Wish I could make the Tour of Palm Springs next weekend, but I am not allowed to take vacation time in the next week. Argh!
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