Combined Race Report Post

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03/01/02 BAKER TO DEATH VALLEY 80 MILE ROAD RACE — FINISHED 30TH

03/02/08 DASH FOR CASH CRITERIUM——————- FINISHED 19TH

03/04/08 EL DORADO TWILIGHT RACE SERIES CRITERIUM– FINISHED 7TH

03/09/08 TOUR DE MURRIETA CIRCUIT RACE————- FINISHED 10TH

03/01/08 SATURDAY BAKER TO DEATH VALLEY Finished 30th

RESULTS

80 MILE ROAD RACE 3,000 FEET OF CLIMBING.

A break went off the front on mile one. We (the peloton) let them go because we thought we would catch them later. Well they stayed away the whole race. I got dropped on the climb around mile 30. The pace was mellow for the first 10-15 miles and then somewhere around mile 20 the field split and I got caught out. I worked real hard to bridge the gap. It took almost 9 miles to get back on. But by then we were approaching the base of the climb. I didn’t have enough time to recover before the climb started and about .5 mile into it I got dropped. I just didn’t have the legs to keep up with the pack.

At the top of the climb, I noticed there was noone in front of me and noone behind me. So I basically did a 40 mile TT. Yes I was alone from the top of the climb to the finish. I finished in 3:23 for an avg of 23.4 Mph. There was a tail/crosswind and I am sure that helped the peloton.

03/02/08 SUNDAY DASH FOR CASH CRITERIUM

RESULTS

The challenge with doing races on consecutive days is recovery. Not only did I do a 80 mile road race on Saturday but I also spent five hours in the car driving back from Death Valley to Huntington Beach. As soon as I was able to change out of my cycling gear I put on my Skins Travel & Recovery tights for the drive home. Once home Brandy gave me a leg massage, a good meal and some rest and relaxation.

On race day I did a decent warm up and lined up thinking “I just want to sit in.” Well the yahoos that were racing prevented me from doing that and soon enough I was in the front 10 riders enjoying clear lanes to take the corners.

But then I between turn 2 and turn 3 (slight uphill) a rider attacked. I happened to be near him and jumped on his wheel. We got a gap from the pack and as we turned on 3 I noticed we had a little more of a gap. As we neared turn 4 he was still pulling and I was tucked in behind him. He lookeed down and saw my shadow and he hit it again rounding turn 4. But now I had the perfect position — he was pulling to the line and it was a slight downhill. I coasted for a couple of seconds caught my breath and then slingshotted around him 30 meters from the line for the prime.

The sprint was anti-climatic I was on such a high from the prime I didn’t really care. I wanted a top ten finish but when we rounded turn 4 on the last lap I was out of gas for the sprint. You think it has something to do with the race the day before? Of course.


03/04/08– EL DORADO TWILIGHT RACE SERIES 60 mins FINISHED 7TH (4 POINTS)

RESULTS

I was feeling really strong and decided I would take chances and see how things worked out. The race is held in a park and it feels safe although there is one turn that takes you right into the sun and it is a tight left handed. There were a couple of attacks and I went with them just to test my fitness. We got neutralized when the pros past us and then it was on for the last lap. But then there was a crash in the Pro 1/2/3 field which caused the IV, V group to be neutralized right in front of our charging pack. I was in 5th wheel and sat up because I didn’t want to sprint into the IV, V field and lost a couple of places as we came across the line. I felt great the whole hour.

03/09/08 TOUR De MURRIETA CIRCUIT RACE 37 MILES — FINISHED 10TH

RESULTS

So I finally got a Top 10 in a race. I had been nipping at it with the previous Crits (11th Roger Millikan, 12th Anger Management the day after a 10:46 Butterfield Double) and this time it worked out. Oh and the lunge across the line meant the difference between top 10 and top 20. (This is what I thought all the way home from the race. The results from the Eldo race had not been posted and I thought this was my first top ten.)

I knew I was going to have a good day on Sunday because my pre-race leg opener on Saturday went well. I did a 30 miler and went up Newport Coast in 7:21 from the base at PCH to Pelican (new PR). On the way home I did 5 sprints all over 900watts. I haven’t hit 900w (150 lbs) on any of my previous Crits. Ok ok so these aren’t big numbers but as an Ultra cyclist I am all slowtwitch now and there just aren’t that many opportunities (read necessity) to SPRINT or climb at or above threshold.

I followed good wheels all day and stayed in the top 10 of the group and watched every break.

THAT’S ME ON THE RIGHT SPRINTING FOR 10TH

Anger Management Criterium Race Report

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OFFICIAL RESULTS POSTED AT THE RACE SITE

LINING UP AT THE FRONT FOR SAFETY BRIEF

AM I NAPPING DURING THE SAFETY BRIEF??? (I’m in the Sho-Air black/red/white kit)

Bike Setup

Cervelo Soloist (SLC) with Zipp 404’s Tubular with a PowerTap.

Before last week’s Roger Millikan Criterium where I placed 11th, I eased up on my weekly mileage and shortened my commutes to save my legs. In a stark contrast, my preparation for the Anger Management Criterium in Long Beach, CA included commuting the full length only twice (65 miles each way), I did some half commutes (30 miles each way) with the train ride in the middle and then a double century (194 miles with 9,000 feet) the day before the Criterium, bringing my weekly mileage to 460 miles by Saturday. On Sunday, this in-depth study revealed that the extra mileage resulted in losing only one placing in criterium racing and this week’s crit yielded a 12th place finish. 😉

If you’ve read my last post, you know that I finished Butterfield Double Century at 5:01 p.m. on Saturday evening–good enough to be the third best time overall. We made it to bed around 9:30 p.m. and Brandy administered the dreaded “stick” massage. The alarm was going off again at 4:00 a.m. The plan was to be in Long Beach no later than 5:45 a.m. to give myself an hour to warm up on the trainer before the 7:00 a.m. race.

We arrived closer to 6:00 a.m. and by the time I registered and pre-rode the course, I didn’t get much of a warm-up. But heck I did 200 miles less than 12 hours earlier. How much warm-up did I need?

The field was very sketchy, which is indicative of a Cat V field–but I have to do my time. 2 out of 10 races done. I stayed near the front in the top 10-15 places of a 50 man field. As the pace picked up for the final five laps, I felt good enough to maintain my position. On the final turn when the sprint began I had no legs to do a sprint and only eeked out a 812 watt sprint. I ran out of gas 50 meters from the line. I sat back down, spun up the cadence, got as aero as I could and FINISHED 12TH. I wasn’t happy with my result at the time, but now that I have had time to reflect, 12th place in a Criterium after a third place finish in a 200 mile event the day before with a time of 10:46 is pretty darn good.

NEXT UP 400KM (252 MILES)BREVET WITH APPROX 15,000 FEET OF CLIMBING.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG. I WILL BE RACING ALMOST EVERY WEEKEND THIS YEAR.

Butterfield Double Century Ride Report

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ELEVATION PROFILE NOTICE THE GOOD PORTION OF CLIMBING AFTER MILE 150

BRANDY MY GIRLFRIEND WHO FINISHED 8TH OVERALL, SECOND FASTEST WOMAN

CERVELO SOLOIST SL LIGHT, STIFF AND AERO

NITERIDER MINEWT DUAL.X2 LIGHTING SYSTEM, PROFILE DESIGN SONIC CSX AEROBARS (NOTICE HOW LOW THEY SIT ON THE HANDLEBARS)

Thank you to all my sponsors, Cervelo and their fantastic Soloist Carbon SLC-SL, very aero very comfortable and very stiff in a sprint, Niterider lighting systems,Kenda Tires for the C2C’s, Showers Pass for their Protech Jacket that I wore in the morning and again in the afternoon as the temperatures dropped, Nathan Sports for the reflective gear. Sportquest for their amazing CarboPro 1200 nutrition product, Red Star Energy for their quick pick me up energy tablets, and as always my club Team Velosport Team Sho-Air Sonace.

RESULTS FOR BUTTERFIELD DOUBLE CENTURY

Saturday was the first double century of the California Triple Crown Series. I have done the right preparation for the limited time that I have to train. I felt good during the event. I came in with the third fastest time 10:46. I had good energy but lost the power in my legs around Mile 155. I had worked hard all day off the front with one or two other riders and paid I for it. Additionally, I had done 260 miles of commuting during the week before the double century and that was also something I would pay for on the course. However, in the annual plan, this was just a training event with Everest Challenge and Furnace Creek 508 being goal events.

BIKE SETUP

I rode the Cervelo Soloist SL–Sasha. I wanted to ride the SLC-SL because of the long miles that I would ride solo. I expected to be dropped by the lead pack so I also put clip-on aero bars. I used the Profile Design Sonic CSX because they are very low profile. They rest right on top of the handlebars, they are light at 280 grams because of their full carbon construction. I ended up being the lead pack all day and used the aerobars when it was my turn to pull in the paceline and when I got dropped a couple of times and maintained my third place position during the last 50 miles.

LIGHTING SYSTEM

The NITERIDER MINEWT.X2 DUAL LIGHTING SYSTEM is a very lightweight system with a small battery pack and two very bright headlights. The benefit of the dual headlights is you can point them in different directions to make a broader beam pattern, or “stack” them to create a longer beam pattern i.e. one shining close to your front wheel and one overlapping but shining further ahead to allow more time to react to debris on the road. My only gripe with this light is that it appears to use the same battery pack as the MiNewt which is only one headlight hence the burn time is cut in half to 1:45 hours on High and 3:30 hours on low since you have to the draw of two headlights on the MiNewt.X2. ON THE OTHER HAND, you are getting twice the light as the MiNewt which is really nice when you are in rural sections of your double century. I would accept the weight penalty for longer burn times on the MiNewt.X2 Dual if the battery pack was bigger. Currently, the battery pack fits underneath a stem length of 90mm or longer. Very neat and clean installation!!! I strongly recommend the Niterider MiNewt.X2 Dual if you expect to finish within three hours of sunset in your double century efforts. If you need more burn time GET THE MINEWT IT IS LIGHTER, AND THE BURN TIME IS LONGER. The MiNewt is a fantastic light choice for commuting!

The route was very urban, subsequently there were way too many traffic signals and stop signs as we meandered from Irvine (start) to the coast, “inland” and then back to the coast again. We started as a HUGE group and during the first stretch I took the time to coach Brandy on her pack riding skills. The traffic signals kept the pack together as we did the rollers. The ride finally started to move and pick up the pace as we got back on the coast at Crown Valley Pkwy and headed South through Dana Point and San Clemente. By the time we reached the San Onofre Campground we were down to seven riders in the lead pack.

MILE 54.7 I was in and out of the first rest stop in two minutes or less. I went out on my own and got caught by David “Mudcat” Holt about 1.5 miles before getting off the I5 southbound freeway. About 1 mile from the off ramp a paceline of six riders caught me.

MILE 66.2 We took the exit off the I5 freeway and Max tells me someone flatted behind us. I knew there were eight of us in the paceline and now it’s just the two of us, so I figured a few riders had stopped so Max and I rolled on. When I pulled into the lunch stop I find out that Keith Brodsky had crashed. After the event I found out he fractured his clavicle. I wish him a speedy recovery he is nice guy and fierce competitor. I’ll miss chasing him for the next 6 weeks. From the 5 Freeway to lunch it was just Max, another rider and I off the front.

MILE 84.7 Max, another rider and I pulled into the lunch stop together but I didn’t stay long. I checked in, said thank you to Phil Thomas for volunteering, said hello to Jon S. and I was off in two minutes again. I knew Max was stronger than me. I thought if I took-off ahead of him he would chase me and hopefully each time he had to chase me it would wear him down. Remember, I left out of the first CP first and they had to chase and catch me for 12 miles. But Max didn’t stay too long and he was on my wheel half-way up the Circle R Rd. climb. We chatted for a little bit and then he said we needed to keep the tempo up otherwise the tandem would catch us on the second half of the course. And with that, Max accelerated his pace and I couldn’t keep up. I was dropped and he was gone. I WAS NOW RUNNING IN SECOND PLACE.

MILE 100.4 I was alone for the next 15 miles and just as I was about to make the left turn on to Reche Rd off of the 395, I was caught by Dan and Phil. That is where I had my “defining moment”. Their pace was faster than mine and they were working together climbing a roller. I got dropped. I knew that the roller came down to the entrance of Live Oak Park (Fallbrook). If I didn’t get on their wheel now I could possibly lose them and going West on the Oceanside bike path would slow me down even more. I made a huge effort to catch them. They were about 100 meters away. I dug deep and was able to make contact just as I blew up. I recovered on the downhill and since they were larger riders I was able to recover and draft off of them until my turn came to pull. It was a gamble and it paid off because I was able to ride with them until mile 155.5.

MILE 155.5 The left turn onto Antonio Pkwy was where I started falling apart. Dan and Phil dropped me on the “endless climb up Antonio Pkwy.” I was fine as far as nutrition but I had no legs left. I was slowing and slowing and kept looking back but no one was coming. I WAS NOW RUNNING THIRD

MILE 167.5 CP#4 Trabuco Oaks General Store I was caught by a pack of 7-10 riders. I was in and out in about 2 minutes again. Lee was there volunteering and I told him that I was hurting. It was 3:30pm.

I left the rest stop as quickly as possible and didn’t see anyone chasing me except David “Mudcat” Holt. He caught me on one of the rollers exiting Live Oak. My feet were really starting to hurt. I WAS NOW RUNNING FOURTH

MILE 171.7 Right turn Santiago Canyon Rd. My right foot hurt so bad I had to take my shoe off and pedal with my foot on top of the pedal. I hadn’t had “hot foot” this bad since I was training for the 508 back in 2006 and I would go out on 150 training rides. I mean I was so close to pulling over but I didn’t want to get caught and so slow and steady I moved through Santiago Canyon. I pedalled like that for a good 5 miles and finally my foot felt better and I put my shoe back on. When I finished putting my shoe on I looked behind me and saw the tandem of Craig Robertson and Graham Pollack. I knew this was going to be a fast chase because we were on a slight downhill. I timed my acceleration just right and jumped on the tandem’s wheel. I stayed on the tandem for the last 10 miles in to the finish. On the way we picked up David “Mudcat” Holt. I WAS NOW RUNNING THIRD AGAIN. The positioned remained unchanged until the finish.

I finished at 5:01pm

RECOVERY

This was very important because the very next day at 7:00 a.m. I was doing the CBR Anger Management Criterium in Long Beach. I immediately took my Recover Amino capsules from Sportquest and downed a bottle of Endurox. I needed to wait for Brandy to finish before I could go home and get some sleep. As part of my recovery I immediately put on my Skins Travel and Recovery Compression tights which I would later wear to bed. My legs were sore the next morning but I know they felt better than if I didn’t wear the Skins. The Skins truly helped my recovery since I only had 5.5 hours of sleep. After eating a recovery burger at the restaurant next to the hotel, I went to get the truck to double back on the course and see where Brandy was. As I pulled up to the front of the hotel I recognized her bike outside! Well, she really surprised me being there that soon…she finished 8th overall, second fastest women’s time with a 12:18!! I wonder if it was her dedication to training or my superb coaching?!?!?! 😉

On My Commute today….

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I Adopted the southbound I-5 Freeway…allow me to explain.

The Butterfield Double Century will be held on Saturday Feb 16, 2008. Although I don’t have an official route sheet yet I have an idea which roads the route will take. I still don’t understand why Planet Ultra doesn’t provide route sheets prior to the event… seems silly to me. From the Planet Ultra Butterfield website,

“From Dana Point you’ll be on the coast through San Clemente, and along the bike path through San Onofre, all the way to Oceanside.”

I am assuming we are taking the I-5 freeway to get from San Onofre to Oceanside. I commute a couple of times a week from Huntington Beach to Encinitas. On my commute I take the I-5 freeway southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening. This morning I decided to take note of the condition of the shoulder and the debris strewn on the road.

Generally speaking, the shoulder was clear as of 6:30 this morning. There are scattered rocks, no bigger than an average sized plum. Between mile marker 56.5 and 56.0 (bridge) there was a lot of blown tire tread that I moved from the center of the shoulder to the right-most edge.

The two most significant issues with the southbound shoulder are:

1. Just as you approach the last roller and see the sign indicating: Harbor Blvd 3/4 miles (I can’t remember the mileage). There appears to be remnents of a car fire. There is glass, and burnt remains of car parts that are raised above the surface and centered in the shoulder. If you are riding solo no problem but beware if you are in a paceline. I removed most of the big pieces of blown tire tread in this section as well.

2. There is a storm drain on the exit ramp. It is closer to the white line on the left side of the shoulder but it does take a good portion of the shoulder. There are orange arrows painted on the ground that should warn you of impending danger. The drain is sunk in about 8″ below the surface of the road. Once again you will see it if you are riding solo but beware if you are in a paceline.

Roger Millikan St. Valentine Crit Race Report and Pictures

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That’s me in the front on the right leading the pack for half a lap.

Jesse and Keith from Team Bear Claw (in the black kits) sprinting for the line. Jesse got 2nd and Keith got 3rd.

Jesse, Keith and I relaxin’ after the race

Jesse, Brandy and I after the race.

Thank you to all my sponsors, Cervelo and their fantastic Soloist Carbon very aero very comfortable and very stiff in a sprint, Kenda Tires for the C2C’s, Sportquest for their amazing CarboPro 1200 nutrition product, Red Star Energy for their quick pick me up energy tablets, and as always my club Team Velosport Team Sho-Air Sonace.

OFFICIAL RESULTS CAN BE FOUND ON THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEVADA CYCLING ASSOCIATION (SCNCA) WEBSITE.

Sunday was my first ever Criterium. I am venturing into other types of racing this year to answer one main question…..”Am I good enough?” I know I am a decent Ultra Cyclist. But how will I do at short intense effort races? So this year I will be doing some Road/Crit/TT races to round out my experiences as a cyclist. I also think that it will help in my Ultras because I will pick up some intensity that I just can’t get in training.

I had a few questions going into the race:

1. As stated before am I good enough?

2. How bad will I get dropped?

3. Will there be a crash and will I be involved in it?

4. Will I posses the bike handling skills required?

5. Can I finish in the pack?

Answers

1. I think I am good enough to hang but winning a race is not in my genes!

2. I didn’t get dropped…this time. I stayed in the top 10-20 wheels the whole race.

3. There was a crash with 4 laps to go right in front of me. “Luckily”, for me I was losing contact with the rider in front of me on the slight uphill. By time he went down there was about 20 feet gap between us. As he tumbled his bike slid into my left chainstay and knocked my rear wheel off it’s line. But I regained control of the bike and continued to hammer up the slight up hill towards Turn 4.

4. I was timid in the first few laps but as the speed increased and the necessity of covering the wheel in front of me meant sitting in or getting dropped I felt more comfortable with cornering at 30 mph. BUT I know it will take many more races even years to really feel like I am good at pack riding at such high speeds.

5. I finished 11th on my first ever Crit. A lot was just luck. Avoiding the crash was huge in finishing the race. I lost about 3 places in the last 50 meters. I was out of gas. The course has a slight uphill from Turn 3 up and around Turn 4 and flattens out about 250 meters from the finish line. My legs were done — “on both sides”. My sprint was a paltry 863 Watts. I remember on the Mullholland Double Century 200 miles and 17,000 feet of climbing (most very steep over 10% grades) and 13 hours into the event I could still hit over 1100 Watts. I paused for a second and then sprinted again and threw my bike across the line. I know you are not supposed to pause on a sprint but I was done. I missed top 10 by a wheel but hey that’s bike racing!!!

Brandy had the unenviable task of watching three out of our four children, taking pictures and trying to get me ready. A huge thank you to her for supporting me in my latest adventure!!

On My Commute today….

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As many of you know I commute to work about three times a week. My commute is 65 miles each way along the beautiful southern California coastline from Huntington Beach to Encinitas. I leave my home in Huntington Beach at 4am to get to work by 8am. I work a full 8hr shift and then commute home to Huntington Beach at 4pm and get home by 8ish pm. The headwinds going North usually add 15-20 mins.

On my commute today I met Louis. And who is Louis? Well every morning as I enter Newport Beach, just South of Huntington Beach, I see the trail of the street sweeping machine. Different parts of town are done on different days and I am always “chasing” the street sweeper. I feel so privileged to be the first cyclist to ride on a freshly swept road. I just want to catch the sweeper and say Thank you.

So….today I “caught” the sweeper. I pulled over and motioned to the driver that I wanted to talk to him. I couldn’t believe how noisy the machine was but Louis was kind enough to shut the different systems down. I introduced myself and we chatted for a minute and I thanked him because I’m quite sure no one thanks him. Here he is sweeping the streets for us cyclists (I know, I know it’s not just for us but let me fantasize) and he does it in the middle of the night and we never see him. He’s out there pre-dawn making Newport Beach a clean and road hazard free zone.

Next time you are out on a ride and are suprised you don’t see any road hazards think of Louis…I will!

San Diego Brevet Series 300km

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Results

Pictures sign in as a guest.

Finish Line photos with Kevin McNulty

POWER NUMBERS

Total kjs= 6454
Best 30 min— 220watts— 3.24 Watts/kg
Best 60 min— 213watts— 3.13 Watts/kg
Best 120 min— 189watts— 2.78 Watts/kg
Max Power 704— Avg Power 152— 2.24 Watts/kg

On Ultras it’s all about pacing so power numbers aren’t all that high. In additon, long descents bring the average wattage down significantly.

First of all I would like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsors who are supporting me for the 2008 season. Kenda C2C Tires Sportquest makers of CarboPro, CarboPro 1200 and Interphase, Woolistic makers of the best cycling specific wool clothing, Skins compression garments and as always my club Team Velosport/ TEAM SHO-AIR/SONANCE.

Jan 19, 2008

The route covers some of East San Diego’s more rural roads. The stats are

Distance: 177 miles
Elevation gain: approx 13,000 feet of gain (Polar 720i 12,700)
Highest elevation point: Santa Ysabel 2936 feet
Climbs along the way: Honey Springs Rd, Harbinson Canyon, Hwy 67, Old Julian Hwy, Old Hwy 80, Japatul Valley Rd.

WEATHER

It was a chilly morning in the low 40’s. Clear skies most of the day and the best thing no RAIN.

BIKE SETUP

I chose my Serotta again. I think the fit is dialed in now. I rode my Powertap powermeter which is built on Velocity Deep V rim. They are very sturdy very stiff and very reliable. I have them laced 24H and have never had them go out of true. Tires of course were Kenda C2Cs. For lights I carried two small headlights powered by “AA” batteries and a tail light.

CLOTHING

I wore Assos S2 Bib Shorts, in my opinion the best cycling shorts, with knee warmers. I also wore a wool base layer from Woolistic under my 2XU base layer. I wore my Furnace Creek 508 finisher’s jersey with matching vest. This is one I am very proud to wear since I did the race on a fixed gear bicycle. I had a Descente Velom jacket which is very thin, compacts into a sandwich baggie and provided just the right amount of warmth for the first hour of the ride. I was fortunate to have chosen the perfect layering system and felt great temperature wise all day.

THE RIDE

The 300km attracts mainly brevet riders. You no longer find road racer types or people that “Gee I’d like to try a brevet.” It is just short of a double century but I find it just as hard because you don’t have support every 25-30 miles. The controls were spread out as such:

Control #1 55.1 miles —with 4300 feet of climbing
Control #2 96.1 miles— with 3500 feet of climbing
Control #3 140.1 miles— with 2450 feet of climbing
Finish 176.4 miles— with 2520 feet of climbing

NUTRITION

I estimated I would be on the course 12 hours and needed an avg of 300 calories per hour. 12×300= 3600 calories

1. The night before I mixed VIGOURSLY 1 bottle of CarboPro 1200 (16oz) and 6 scoops of CarboPro in a water bottle. I then split the mixture in two 8oz flasks. 1800 Calories

2. I then made two water bottles of 300 calories each with CarboPro 1200.

3. For the drop bag at mile 96 I sent another bottle of CarboPro 1200. 1200 Calories

So that meant I had 2400 calories I was carrying with me and 1200 calories waiting for me at the turnaround point mile 96 for a total of 3600 calories

Obviously, I expended more calories than 3,600 but I have found that consuming more than 350-400 for too long really causes me GI issues. Using the CarboPro1200 was so easy on my stomach that I strongly recommend that you should try it on your next Ultra. I felt well fueled all day. I went on a liquid diet meaning no solids and felt great

The powermeter said I used 6454 kjs which is pretty close to the number of calories. A heart rate monitor will show many more calories expended.

Start to Control #1 55.1 mile Arrived at 9:33am

6am start and it was cold. I saw Kevin McNulty and thought I should try and ride with him and I would finish with a good time. Well that wasn’t to be. Kevin took off right from the start and I just could not keep up. After seven miles of killing myself I let him go and settled into my own grove. Soon enough about five riders (Bruce Taylor, Chris Kostman, Chris Haddikan and others) caught up to me and we chit-chatted for a little while until the Honey Springs climb and then I did my own thing. Bruce Taylor got ahead of me because I was having issues with my gearing. I couldn’t get the 27T to stay in gear. Not a big deal at this point but definitely necessary on Japatul Valley Rd at mile 145. I eventually caught Bruce on Steele Canyon and we rode for a couple of miles and then I climbed Harbinson Canyon at my own pace.

Control #2 96.1 mile Arrived at 12:44pm

I was feeling a little warm on the Hwy 67 climb. I removed my vest and climbed the rest of the way to Ramona. Once I turned on to Old Julian Hwy the winds started to pick up. I would guess about 20-30 mph. All I kept thinking was “I can’t wait to turnaround and take advantage of this tailwind.” I like Old Julian Hwy. It is a great climb and there is very little traffic on it.

Control #3 Mile 140.1 Unmanned Arrived at 3:30pm left at 3:39pm Carl’s Jr

There was lots of descending from Santa Ysabel with little rollers here and there. I like the climb up Old Highway 80. I used to live in Santee and would climb up to Alpine often. When I got to the unmanned Control at Carls Jr I couldn’t believe how long the line was. It took me almost 10 minutes just to get a reciept. But I had to keep in mind that this is not a race. Although I was frustrated since I had worked really hard on the climb up to Alpine.

To the Finish

I wasn’t looking forward to the Japatul Valley Rd climb. All day I was conserving energy so I would be able to tackle the 10-14% grade ramps found on this climb. I got through it eventhough I hadn’t done that much climbing since Furnace Creek. I made the right turn on Lyons Valley and thought for sure there would be a long descent. I guess I forgot that it isn’t that much of a descent. I was happy to make the left turn onto Honey Springs Rd because I knew that would be the last climb of the day. As I summited the climb, I read a text message from Brandy that said “I’m at the finish”. Oh that felt great. I read that and found new motivation and sped on to the finish.

I had ridden with some riders intermittenly up until mile 30 and then I rode Solo the rest of the way. I felt well fueled and comfortable on the bike. The only thing lacking was good legs. I’m happy with my result and placing second to Kevin McNulty — who holds the two person RAAM, and two person Furnace Creek 508 records and won the California/Nevada State Climbing Championships in the Cat 4/5 isn’t bad at all.

RECOVERY

I downed a bottle of Interphase and Recover Amino Power capsules just as I got off the bike. I then gave in and ate McD’s…I figured I had earned it. I used the restroom of McD’s to get out of my cycling gear and put on my Skins Travel and Recovery tights to begin the passive portion of my recovery and because I had a 1.5 hours drive before getting home.

I’ve been asked if I sleep in them— YES! My legs feel so much better the next morning. Sunday morning I went out for a 22 mile recovery ride and then came home and took a 1.5 hours nap. By Monday, I was commuting to work from Huntington Beach to Encinitas (65 miles).

THANK YOU

I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers!! Mike B. great route and Japatul in the latter stages of the event is a real leg zapper. You all great THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING!!

Kevin McNulty way too strong to keep up with. The guy’s an animal!!



NEXT UP THE 400KM BREVET.