Tag: double century

Grand Tour Virtual Double Double Century

The latest of the California Triple Crown Double Century events to go virtual in 2020 was the LA Wheelmen’s Grand Tour. They also offered the opportunity to participate in a virtual “double double”, meaning double century rides on back to back days. I’m not sure why I felt compelled to go for the double double so soon after VRAW, but it seemed like a good idea and I went with it. I had to pick my dates several weeks ago when I signed up and had no way of knowing at the time that it would be the hottest weekend of the year so far. Not that it would have mattered, because it was really the only weekend that worked for me in the allotted timeframe. When I saw that triple digit heat was forecast for both Saturday and Sunday, it never even crossed my mind to bail on the rides. I just started strategizing how to deal with it.

I had been playing with the idea of repeating a variation of the big loop I did a couple of months ago before VRAW, and then doing it in the reverse direction for the second ride. I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to spend so much time riding on the coast when it was likely to be crowded, but I also realized it would be a good way to get away from the heat. I finally mapped out a couple of rides that I was satisfied with, and decided to shoot for very early morning rollouts to get in as much riding as possible before the heat.

Saturday

I elected to ride the loop clockwise on Saturday, heading south through Rainbow, Bonsall, San Marcos, Escondido, and Solana Beach before making my way north up the coast and hitting the Santa Ana River Trail (SART) in Newport Beach to make my way back home. Because I had a few climbs early in the ride, and just to have the chance to use a couple of different bikes, I rode my Cannondale Synapse on Saturday. As I mentioned in my VRAW race report, I’ve been tweaking my nutrition and hydration strategy a bit, and this would be my first time taking that out on the road for a longer ride.

I was able to get started at 3:00 am on Saturday morning, so I was all the way to San Marcos before the sun even came up, and heading up the coast before it got too warm. The breeze from the ocean was still cool, so I didn’t really felt the heat unless I was stopped. I didn’t drink a lot of water or take in too many calories earlier in the ride and was feeling pretty good at mile 90 when I finally stopped to use the restroom and get some water at the rest stop off Highway 5 between Oceanside and Las Pulgas. Not too long after that, I started struggling just a bit. Because I started in the dark, I opted to wear my sunglasses with photochromic lenses rather than my dark sunglasses. I generally only wear these glasses for my shorter morning rides, but after wearing them for several hours I started noticing they created some pressure points that started to give me a headache and make my head feel heavy. Making my way up the coast through Orange County, the wind, traffic, and constant stop and go at lights was getting tiring.

As I started making my way inland and back towards home on the SART, the cool breeze disappeared and I started feeling the heat. I stopped at Edna park to fill my Camelbak and nutrition bottles and I think it was around that time that I finally took some medication for my headache. As I continued along the trail that I’m so used to riding on my TT bike, it was very much apparent that I wasn’t flying along with the usual speed or ease and was even starting to feel a little disoriented. It may have been partly due to my bike choice, but I also think I was starting to feel the combined effects of the heat, headache, and lack of nutrition and hydration earlier in the ride. I had been trying to stick to a very low sugar nutrition regimen, but as I approached the Circle K on SART at about mile 150, I decided to stop for a Coke. I just spent a few minutes downing about half of a 16 oz can and hoped the cool drink and the sugar would revive me. It might have helped a bit, but not nearly as much as I’d hoped. As I continued into and through Corona, I watched the temperature on my bike computer climb as high as 115 degrees. I had enough fluid and nutrition, but it was too warm to be refreshing and I wasn’t feeling hungry. My mouth and throat were completely dry, but drinking the hot water was only filling my stomach and not helping alleviate the thirst. I stopped again to get some cold water with about 30 miles to go, determined that it would be my last stop.

The final slog home was brutal and frustrating. Whenever I looked at the temperature it was between 110 and 115 degrees and I felt like I was moving at a snail’s pace. Every time I had to stop at a traffic signal, it was another minute or two of sitting in the heat without any air movement. I counted the miles and minutes that I knew it should take me to get home, but at the same time wondering if I’d be able to convince myself to go through this again the following day.

Because of the early start, I finished a bit earlier than I’ve finished my other virtual doubles, around 4:00 pm for an elapsed time of 13 hours, 5 minutes (12 hours, 20 minutes of moving time). Much like I did between my VRAW sessions, I took a shower, Epsom salt bath, ate a good meal, spent some time in my Air Relax boots, then went to sleep with my alarm set hoping to be rolling by 2:00 am on Sunday.

Sunday

I was able to get started at around 2:15 am Sunday morning, first heading northeast toward Menifee, Perris, Moreno Valley, and Riverside before heading west towards Corona and the SART again. It was a bit of a variation of Saturday’s route and now in a counterclockwise direction. I assumed the winds would be more favorable in this direction, and I rode my aerodynamic Cannondale System Six and hoped I might make better time despite the fatigue from Saturday.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first few hours of riding in the dark on empty roads, and was pleasantly surprised that my legs weren’t too sore or stiff from Saturday’s ride. The sun was just coming up as I climbed out of Riverside to Lake Mathews. I realized as I approached the descent on Cajalco Road into Corona that, although I’d climbed Cajalco many times, I’d never been down the windy descent before. As I bombed down the road with the sun coming up behind me, I was smiling like a little kid, wondering how I’d never managed to find my way to this AWESOME downhill before!

Having struggled so much through the afternoon heat on Saturday, I took advantage of having some mistakes so fresh in my memory and made sure to correct them on Sunday. I can only describe my attitude on Saturday, as with many long-distance rides, by saying that I sometimes try to be some kind of “bike hero” and avoid stopping as much as possible. I conceded that in the more extreme conditions I would need to do whatever it took to stay comfortable, and had to continue reminding myself of this throughout the day. I drank more water earlier in the day. Not an excessive amount, but just made sure to take a sip from my Camelbak when I noticed my mouth getting dry. I also made sure to start taking in calories earlier and more often, which was easy because the calorie deficit from Saturday left me starving and I wasn’t working as hard so it was easy for my gut to process everything. I also opted to use my dark sunglasses that I’m used to wearing all day, but waited to put them on until it was light outside to avoid getting a headache again.

I stopped to use a restroom at a park in Corona, which was a good sign that I’d been hydrating enough. Then I stopped a few miles down the road to fill my Camelbak and nutrition bottles with water AND ice before it started getting hot. I realized how stupid it was to not use ice to keep everything cold on Saturday. I also had to pick up some sunscreen as I realized a few miles from home that in being so careful to apply extra sunscreen to my arms and legs I’d completely forgotten to put anything on my face.

I jumped onto the SART and headed out towards the coast, feeling much more like myself this time on the System Six as I was able to fly down the trail comfortably in my aero bars. I’d planned ahead and updated the route in my bike computer to take me around the construction at the tunnel under I-405, and made the detour without missing a beat. As I got off the trail in Newport Beach to start heading down the coast, I was pulled out of my zone by my friends David, Sam, and Glenn yelling at me to say hello as they were getting onto the trail in the opposite direction.

I’d timed my route down the coast much better on Sunday and made it across all the beach towns before there was too much traffic. I was hoping to make it to Oceanside before stopping again, but my Camelbak was feeling a little light and the water was getting a bit warm by the time I got to San Clemente. “Stop trying to be a bike hero”. I stopped and got more ice and water, and made another restroom stop before heading through the campground and onto the bike trail, then down I-5 into Oceanside, before heading inland and back home.

I enjoyed some of the coastal breeze for at least a little while before the dry heat started to hit me around Bonsall. I made one last stop for ice to cool down my water and nutrition bottles before heading up Highway 395 where I knew the heat would only get worse. I hadn’t been working terribly hard most of the day anyway, but I kept my bike in an easy gear to spin up the last few climbs back through Rainbow and into Temecula.

Unfortunately, I realized during that last stretch that the 202 mile route I’d mapped out on Ride With GPS on Saturday night was going to be about 5 miles short if I followed it straight home. Apparently (according to RWGPS), sometimes it makes more sense that someone would want to make a U-turn in the middle of a bike trail and backtrack a mile or so rather than go from point A to point B in a straight line, so because I didn’t have the time to meticulously review every point I plotted on the route, it added about 5 “mystery miles”. So I found myself 10 miles from home but needing about 13 miles to get to 200 when it was 105 degrees or so and windy. This was the most frustrating part of the day for me, trying to meander my way through town to add extra distance as painlessly (i.e., with as little climbing and headwind) as possible.

I made it back home in an elapsed time of 12 hours, 38 minutes with a ride time of 11 hours, 44 minutes. I was able to ride Sunday’s route faster than Saturday’s route with significantly less effort, which I attributed to being on the more aerodynamic bike combined with a more favorable wind pattern.

Much like my thoughts on VRAW, I am really happy with the overall training experience I had with this solo, self-supported double double. I had a chance to ride in more extreme conditions (dark and heat). I was able to continue working on my nutrition and hydration strategy. And of course there is the ever-important ability required in ultracycling to work through mental and physical fatigue. I’ll more than likely be adding another double double weekend into my schedule in the next month. As I said after VRAW, it is definitely a bummer that Race Across America (RAAM) and so many other events were canceled due to the COVID pandemic, but I’m happy to take advantage of some of the unique training opportunities that have arisen as a result and know that I will be that much more prepared for RAAM when it comes around next year (hopefully).

(Virtual) Race Ready!!!!

It’s kind of a bittersweet time for me right now. If 2020 had gone differently, I would be in the final phases of preparation for RAAM right now. On the one hand, it’s a bit of a bummer to look back at memories from this time last year when I was getting ready for Race Across the West. On the other, it’s also sort of a relief to not be going through all that stress right now and know that I have another year to get ready.

I did decide to participate in Virtual Race Across the West (VRAW) on the FulGaz platform, and that will begin on the original RAAM/RAW start date of June 16. I’m back to work full-time now and will not be taking any time off for VRAW. I figured I would treat VRAW as more of a challenge to put in the miles between my work hours than as a race. It’s only been in the last week that I’ve been able to sit down and put together a schedule that I’m realizing what I’ve got myself into.

This weekend I finished up a four week training block that I am really happy to be done with. Planet Ultra put together some mileage and double century challenges over the last couple of months to stay afloat during the pandemic, as they’ve had to cancel several events. I spent the last four Saturday’s completing solo double century rides as part of these challenges, three of them to earn credit towards my California Triple Crown total, which I believe now stands at 20. Each challenge had a minimum requirement for elevation gain, which forced me to look for hillier routes. Most people know I’m not afraid of climbing, but it would have been easy to choose some flatter routes for the double centuries just to get them done quickly.

It’s been a whole new mental challenge to start doing double centuries solo and unsupported, but I think I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I also learned a lot over the course of the last few long rides about how to balance my nutrition, hydration, and electrolytes. The physical challenge of the fatigue building up week after week has been good as well, as each long ride I’ve had to stay focused to keep pushing through.

I opted to do my last double century on the indoor trainer yesterday as a final preparation for VRAW. I had some concerns about how I would hold up for longer distances on the trainer after struggling through a few big rides a couple of months ago. Physically, I think I held up about as well as I did on my double century rides on the road. The monotony of sitting on the trainer for so long, along with the knowledge that I could just stop at any moment and call it a day, was a mental challenge that I was able to handle pretty well. It was also good to be reminded of some of the things I need for long indoor rides. I must have placed 3-4 Amazon orders over the course of my ride.

All told, in the last four weeks I rode nearly 1500 miles, climbed 82,000 feet, and worked anywhere from 32-40 hours each week. I know it’s a big cliché, but I always love being able to say that “the hay is in the barn” at the end of a training cycle. I anticipate that I will feel like crap for a few days this week as I start to recover from the hard block of training, but I’m ready for it.

My set-up for VRAW is just about dialed in now

COVID Era Virtual Races

It’s been awhile since I posted an update, so I figured it was about time. I’ve stayed busy the last month or so doing virtual run/bike events and more recently, virtual double century rides for California Triple Crown credit. I was also “unfurloughed” to come back to work part-time two weeks ago and will be back to work full-time starting tomorrow. It was actually kind of nice to have a five week break for the first time in over a decade. It was kind of like hitting a reset button, allowing me to recover and reprioritize. Now it’s just a matter of fitting some of the priorities around my work hours.

This weekend and last, I set out on solo, self-supported double century rides from home to complete the virtual events offered by Planet Ultra. Last weekend’s “Virtual Heartbreak Double” was an epic ride from home to Borrego Springs, then a reverse trip on the RAAM route back to Oceanside (as far as the end of the bike trail at Mance Buchanon Park), then back home. I felt great on the ride into Borrego and even did well climbing back up the Glass Elevator in 110 degree heat. I got to the halfway point thinking I’d done most of the climbing and the rest should be a cakewalk. I really need to stop thinking like that. Fatigue set in, I had a flat, had to ride into headwinds most of the trip to the coast, and could have done without the hundreds of loud motorcycles and sports cars flying past me on Highway 76. My less than meticulous nutrition and hydration strategy led to some edema and GI discomfort that fortunately worked itself out once I balanced out my fluid/electrolyte intake. After a final stop in Oceanside, I was feeling better, had a tailwind most of the way home, and managed to finish with just the faintest hint of daylight left.

This weekend’s double century was to complete Planet Ultra’s “Virtual Grand Slam Double”, part of their “Make Mine A Double” Challenge. After putting together several different routes I left home on Saturday morning still not sure where I would end up riding. I was torn between wanting to ride to a fun destination like the Queen Mary in Long Beach and wanting to avoid a lot of traffic and people along the coast. I probably changed my mind 4-5 times in the the first hour or so of riding before finally deciding to ride a variation of my originally plan to ride “the big loop”. North to Corona, west to the coast, down the coast to Oceanside, then back towards home. I figured I’d only have to deal with about 20 miles of stoplights and traffic along the coast before getting to Dana Point where I would be on bike paths and the shoulder of I-5 the rest of the way to Oceanside. I also knew I’d have to improvise an extra 30-40 miles on the way home from Oceanside to get 200 miles, and also had to make sure I ended up with at least 8,000 feet of elevation to complete the virtual double. There was definitely the potential to end up with a lot of extra miles or needing to do a few hill repeats once I got home to get the required elevation.

After fighting a headwind all the way out to the coast on the Santa Ana River Trail, fatigue was setting in by around mile 75, and I was seriously considering cutting the ride short. Fortunately, I started feeling better as I headed down the coast and started plotting my extra miles. I opted to weave around the RAAM course a bit out to Pauma Valley before taking Highway 76 back to Bonsall and heading back home. Lots of climbs to start making up the elevation I needed. And the undulating terrain was helping with the fatigue from riding so many flat miles.

Taking a more disciplined approach to my nutrition and hydration this week paid off big time. I realized I have a tendency to use too many electrolytes and take in too much water, leading to edema and an upset stomach. It wasn’t a terribly hot day, so I cut back on both water and electrolytes, and also avoided my instinct to grab a soda or extra sugar when I stopped to get water. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how much discipline it takes to walk into a mini mart at mile 165, stroll past a plethora of cookies, pastries, sodas, and ice cream, and check out at the register with nothing more than a gallon of water. But it worked, and I feel like I’ve solved another piece of the ultracycling puzzle.

As I got closer to home, I saw that I would easily get the required 8,000 feet of elevation and just needed to make sure I got to 200 miles. I was at about 201 when I pulled into the driveway with plenty of daylight left. First ever daylight start and daylight finish for a double century. One of the best moments, and for some reason these encounters always seem to happen at the end of my rides – I’m about five miles from home, sitting at a stoplight and there are three kids on scooters waiting at the crosswalk and goofing off. They wave at me and ask me how many miles I rode. I look down at my computer.

“One hundred and ninety six.”

There was an awkward pause, then one of them asked “That was all today?”

“Yep.”

“How is that even possible?”

Priceless…