200 Quest 2024. (Part 3) #197. The Hemet Double Century

 

Rolling back to the finish at sunset

Next on the agenda was The Hemet Double Century. Last year this ride was pretty brutal. Due to storm damage on the second loop, we had to do the 111-mile, more urban, first loop twice in a row.

I was not planning to do this double this year. As mentioned in my last story, I did not complete the Mulholland Double so I had to make one up.

Like last year, I decided to pre-ride the course and then staff the ride on event day.

I got to Hemet plenty early and got much rest the night before.

I started my ride at around 3 am to try and beat the early morning rush hour traffic through the Marino Valley and Corona areas. It worked out great.

It was cool the whole first lap but the course was not fun due to the amount of stoplights. I did miss all the traffic going through the Moreno Valley and Corona areas.

The section of Highway 74 was really bad. At every concrete section where there was a bus stop, there was a big asphalt berm where the asphalt met the concrete. It felt like hitting a curb and was so bad at some points that you had to jump it, or you would get thrown off the bike. I am glad that the event does not go through that area at night. It could be disastrous for some riders.

There were not really any things to take pictures of on the first loop. Most of it is new development except for Temescal Canyon.

I finished the first loop around 11 am and took a 30-minute break back at the hotel.

The only issue I had was my asthma. Right from the start I could not breathe well. I believe it was the amount of pollen in the air in this large farm area. Once the air warmed up a bit, my breathing improved but I did not feel quite right the whole first lap.

I started the second lap feeling pretty good.

The second lap is another loop that goes immediately to the south and climbs up Sage Road, taking you the back way to Temecula from the east.

Heading up the lower slopes of Sage Road

It doesn't look like you are climbing but the gradient is about 3% at this point. 

I had forgotten how steep and warm this climb could be. The last time I did it was in 2019 with my friend Quynh on my tandem bike.

This year I just took it easy but the heat got to me. Even though it was only in the 70’s in the air, I was reading close to 90 degrees on my computer due to the radiant heat coming off the road.

My heart rate was getting a bit too high which I have to watch now. I just crawled real slow in my lowest gear over the top and was then rewarded with a nice and cool descent to the turn toward Temecula. That helped me recover very nicely.

This section was nice and beautiful. The temps were cool with a nice breeze from the west. There were a few steep kicker climbs into the wine country. I just geared down and spun those easy gears.

Check out that kicker, would ya!!

Some really cool road art heading into Temecula

I made it relatively quickly into Temecula. The traffic was bad but once I got into town, there were pretty good bike lanes on most of the roads.

Once out of Temecula, I started my northwest ride toward the north end of Lake Elsinore. This is where the turnaround is.

This next stretch was not very pleasant and I entered one of those mental doldrums. Sort of brain fog. I had a headwind much of the way on Grand Ave heading into Elsinore.

Once in Elsinore, to make matters worse, the new high school was letting out and it was total gridlock.

It took me 20 minutes to get through the traffic because of construction at the turn into town before the turnaround.

I stopped at the 7-Eleven for a coke and water then attempted to get back on the road in the opposite direction. I could not even make it across the street due to the traffic. Someone finally let me cross. I then had to walk my bike through the construction zone due to the narrow road, construction barriers, and traffic. It was nasty and I think it took me 45 minutes just in that area including my stop for water.

I then had the pleasant surprise of a tailwind all the way southbound on Grand to my next turn, and it helped me recover. I was feeling good again.

On the way back to Hemet via Murrieta Hot Springs and Menifee areas, traffic was heavy in Murrieta in the late afternoon, while driving over Interstate 15. 

I completed the final climb out of the area and headed back towards Hemet on the main Highway after making the turnaround at the last rest stop.

It is really hard riding by yourself when all you have to look at are traffic lights, cars, and houses. It is so boring. 

The main expressway leading back to Hemet was quite nice with a crossing tailwind, but there was a lot of traffic heading back to town.

Heading east towards the finish, the sun sets behind me while the distant snowcapped mountains remain barely visible.

I got in a little after 7 pm. 

"My riding time was quite slow due to the frequent stops I had to make at the traffic lights. I found it difficult to get into a steady pace. Upon reflecting on my earlier rides on this course, I noticed that my average speed was much faster in the past due to the roads being less crowded."

Strava Link HERE 

At the finish, people were starting to check in for the event on Saturday. The first person I ran into was my friend Tony who was loading the trucks for the event. He told me I was sharing a room with him and he gave me a key.

I hung around a bit and talked, then went to my room for a much-needed shower and attempted to get to sleep.

My engine was still running and I could not start getting sleepy until around 10 pm. Go figure. I was wide awake. I had to get up at 4 am to head to man my rest stop, which was supposed to open at 5am for the early starters. 

My asthma was really bad as soon as I got up in the morning and I needed the inhaler! I have not needed to use it in about 4 months. It was pretty bad.

Once I was on the road and at my rest stop, I was feeling better.

Ariel and I at Checkpoint 1

I worked the rest stop, saw many friends riding the event, and then followed the course driving SAG Support.

 I stopped along the way and visited friends at a couple of other rest stops before heading home.

Jed, Bob, and I at Checkpoint 3

Although I don't enjoy the Hemet course anymore due to the urban expansion that has occurred since the early 90s, I decided to ride it regardless. I considered it good training for future events and wanted to assist with the event, so I thought I might as well pre-ride the course. Thankfully, it turned out to be alright.

On the agenda next is the Grand Tour Double-Double Century scheduled for the end of June. 

Before that, I will be crewing for my friends Robb and Tony who will be participating in The Race Across the West (RAW) on fixed-gear bikes. The journey spans around 960 miles through the southwest region, starting from Oceanside California, and concluding at Durango Colorado. It's going to be an epic adventure!.

 

 

200 Quest 2024 (Part 2)

 Little did I think back in the mid-80s when I did my first double-century, that I would be able to accomplish 200 doubles in my lifetime. After all, I did say "I am never doing this again", after my first one. Go figure....look at me now. 

As I write this, I am already over the 200 mark but they are not all official "California Triple Crown" double centuries. I have completed 197 California Triple Crown Doubles including the one I am writing about here.  

My hope is to finish the final 3 in 2024.

I am not quite sure where my 200th will be at this point but I hope to do it before the Triple Crown Awards Breakfast in September. I want to do it close to home so my family and my friends can be a part of the ride. 

First up for the year, and completed, was The Camino Real Double. My plan to do The Mulholland Double this year fell by the wayside as I only finished the first-century portion of it. I just wasn't feeling it, so I called it quits early. 

                                                                                                    Solvang Double Century 

                                                                                            (John Clare Memorial Spring Edition)

I have done The Solvang Spring Double countless times over the years, from its inception back in the 90's. I lost count of how many I have done. 

The latest route starts in Buellton California and goes east through Solvang at the start in the early morning. It then goes through the area again at the finish while going back to Buellton.

This year we had rain at the start and scattered throughout the day. 

I opted to start at 5am since I am not that fast anymore and didn't want to finish too late in the evening. 

Getting ready to roll in the rain

Buellton to Checkpoint One

It was raining pretty well at the start but was forecasted to stop about an hour after the start. 

My ride did not start out too well! In fact, it started out REALLY BAD!

While I was riding through the dark and rainy road, just a little over a mile from the starting point, I suddenly hit a pothole or some sort of debris on the road. The impact caused me to crash violently. I was thrown into the curb on my right and then was propelled through the air along with my bike, and landed in a deep ravine beside the road. During those few seconds, I was thinking that I might break some bones upon landing.

I believe that I was fortunate to have some guardian angels watching over me. I say this because I had a bit of a hard landing, but thankfully the bushes below helped cushion my fall. Although I was hurt when it happened, I am grateful that the outcome was not worse. I thought my day was ruined before it even began, but it turned out okay in the end.

Someone helped me get my bike back up to the road since it was too steep for me to carry it up to the road myself.

I checked the bike out, fully thinking it was trashed, but it was in good shape. The only thing I lost in the crash was my helmet mirror. It was buried in the bushes somewhere. 

Upon feeling stiffness and soreness in my back and neck, I contemplated riding back to the start to DNF (did not finish).

After some consideration, I made up my mind to take it easy on the course for a while. My plan was to assess how I felt when I arrived at Foxen Canyon Road, where we were supposed to turn right and make our way to Santa Maria. This would be the point where I would make a crucial decision - whether to turn left and head back to the starting point or continue on with the ride.

After facing a few stops and losing some time, I decided to continue on with my journey. While my body was sore, I didn't experience any negative sensations in my limbs. I rode cautiously up the Foxen climb before reaching the first checkpoint, which was about 38 miles away. The rain had ceased, and the sky was clearing up. However, the road was still muddy and wet.

I quickly took some Ibuprofen, filled my water bottles, and hit the road, still feeling a bit stiff.

It seemed that news of my accident had started to spread among the rest stops, as everyone there seemed to already know about it. As I have a lot of acquaintances in the ultra community, word had apparently gotten around. Many people were surprised to see me arrive at the rest stops despite the accident.

Checkpoints One to Two

The next section of the ride was really nice. 

After getting past all the muddy mess in the farm areas, we headed up Bull Canyon to Hwy 166. 

Bull Canyon was a stunning location. Once we reached the top, we enjoyed a smooth descent towards a road that runs parallel to Highway 101, leading towards San Luis Obispo. This stretch of road was equally picturesque, with a few rain showers that only slightly brushed past us.

"I regret not bringing my camera due to the forecast of heavy rain. I managed to take a few pictures with my phone, but it was difficult with my full-fingered gloves on. I had to stop and take off my gloves to capture an image. Unfortunately, something happened that put me in a mental funk, which is unusual for me."

I spent a lot of time riding by myself and passing other people during this stretch. I also got passed by the really fast people who had started at 5;30 and 6 am behind me. Some of them were just flying in big, fast, pace lines. 

I stopped to strip all my rain gear off at this point and was passed by my friend Kevin Walsh. He had heard also of my crash and asked me about it. I have known Kevin since the very early days before the Triple Crown. We used to do the old doubles together back in the 80s and early 90s. Despite some health setbacks, Kevin is still one of the fastest guys out there on the circuit. 

I made a quick stop at the second checkpoint and headed out on the loop around San Luis Obispo.

San Luis Obispo Loop

The loop went out toward Morro Bay on Hwy 1 before turning south at Cuesta College. 

It was an easy climb over the hills to Los Osos and back to the checkpoint, which served as our lunch stop. 

The weather appeared threatening to the east, and I hoped it wasn't raining during lunch.

The hills above Cuesta College

The hills above Cuesta College

The hills above Cuesta College

Checkpoint 2 and the lunch stop were held at Adam Bramwell's house. Chuck Bramwell, Adam's dad, is the head of the California Triple Crown Double Century Series. I have known Chuck and his son Adam for many many years. Chuck and I rode the very first Triple Crown Doubles together back in the early 90's. Chuck's kids used to play with mine at the rest stops in Death Valley while our wives manned the checkpoints. Those were some great days!!

Also manning checkpoint 2 and the lunch stop were my friend Memo and his wife. Thanks so much to ya'all who took such good care of us!!

Lunch stop

Adam Bramwell and I at the lunch stop. He used to fly kites in Death Valley with my daughters when he was little.

During lunch, I spotted the man who assisted me in getting out of the ravine earlier in the day when I crashed. He was amazed to see that I was still riding despite the accident. Unfortunately, I didn't get his name, and I wish I could thank him properly in this story.

I talked to Adam for a bit at lunch, had a sandwich and some more Advil, and rolled after about a 45-minute stop. 

It was now off to the coast at Shell Beach before heading back inland. 

Lunch to Guadalupe

I was all by myself again for about 20 miles after lunch. I had passed many of the early starters as they were still at lunch when I left. I still had some of my friends ahead of me. I was not sure whether I would catch them at the slow pace I was going. I just kept it steady knowing about the nasty climbs coming up after Shell Beach. 

Allow me to share some details regarding the upcoming section.

 The most challenging part of the ride is right after departing from Shell Beach. I remember it vividly from the 2022 event when I participated with my friend Margaret on my tandem bike. It was the first time they had included this segment in the course.

We climb into the Arroyo Grande area through the coast mountains entering the area on Price Canyon. We turned onto Ormonde Road, a beautiful climb that resembles a rainforest with oak trees and mossy areas.

As we turned onto Noyes Road, 🤔 I realized that we were on the same road where we had an unexpected experience while riding the tandem bike back in 2022. The road is approximately 7-tenths of a mile long and has a steep incline of around 12-16% 😰. This climb was extremely challenging for me, as my back was sore from the previous crash, making it difficult to get out of my saddle 🤕. I had to take a break once to stretch and replenish my electrolytes 💦.

 After conquering the steep climb, there is a 10% grade on Hwy 227, which is followed by a pleasant and long descent towards the town. I felt great during the descent and even managed to pass three people who had previously overtaken me while I was stopped during the challenging climb.

After climbing up onto the large mesa, we could see the Oceano and Guadalupe areas below.

There is a rolling road in this section with a few short climbs. Then, it descends into the farmlands and reaches the quaint town of Guadalupe and the checkpoint.

As I was climbing up the steep slope towards the mesa, I caught up with my friend Ron Ng. Ron and I completed my 100th double century together back in 2011 on The Grand Tour Double. He was riding behind me when I had the accident and witnessed it firsthand. Ron was accompanied by his friend David, who also happened to be one of the official photographers for last year's Carmel Valley Double Century.

We all chatted a bit at the Guadalupe rest stop with our friends Shelby and Evan who were running the stop. 

Guadalupe to Los Alamos

Together, we left for the next stop in Los Alamos with a steady tailwind. It wasn't particularly strong, but it was still a tailwind.

I was still in some pain from the crash and pretty stiff at this point. I took some more anti-inflammatories and just rolled easy with Ron on this whole next stretch.

 We just took it easy all the way to Los Alamos. 

On the final stretch to the stop, we had an amazing rainbow right in front of us. This meant some rain ahead.

We experienced a brief rainstorm mixed with hail for about 20 minutes which stopped just as we arrived in Los Alamos.

Ron took this picture of the rainbow rolling toward Los Alamos. Great shot Ron!

This is the stop with the Ramen Soup. Nothing tastes better at this point on a ride than a cup of hot soup with a lot of sodium in it. It just rejuvenates you!

I guzzled one down as fast as I could and filled my water bottles for the final 25 miles or so, and we were off. 

Los Alamos to the finish

Three of us rolled off together for the final climbs and descents to the finish. Ron, David, and I.

 Ron and David are both from the Bay Area up north. This was David's second double century. He is a strong rider, especially on the climbs. 

We cruised up Aliso Canyon as it started to get dark and more clouds came in.

Aliso is a nice climb with a very nice, smooth road. 

After making a right turn back onto Foxen Canyon, we returned to Buellton. The climb up Foxen was steep but thankfully not too long. However, on the descent of the other side, we had to be extra cautious due to the potholes. It was particularly challenging in the darkness, so I took it slow and steady to avoid any accidents. On a positive note, there was no more rain, which was great news.

After the initial climb over Foxen, we had two more bumps to get over on the way to the finish. 

In the middle of the Foxen descent, lies the Foxen Wall. This is a short, steep wall, where Foxen Canyon Road veers left from Zaca Station Road.

I had a tough time climbing up this part of the road with my sore back.  However, I managed to make it over and now I have a nice, easy descent back down to Ballard Road. After that, there will be one more small climb left.

When we got to the summit of Ballard, I was only with David and we stopped for a bit for Ron. It was starting to rain again so we kept rolling cautiously in the dark dodging the potholes. 

Turns out that Ron had stopped to fix something with his lights and was quite a way back. He ended up getting hit with a downpour when he was on Ballard Road. 

We rolled into the finish around 9pm with no rain.

I was so beat that I just went up to my room, took a shower, and went to bed with only one Ensure Plus protein drink for dinner.

I actually slept pretty well after the crash and didn't experience too much pain. Although I was stiff, there was no serious pain in my ribs or intercostal muscles, which was great. I just had a stiff back. After returning home a few days later, the stiffness did get worse, but there was no significant pain. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that I was lucky to have some divine intervention on that day.

The following morning, I had a huge breakfast with my good friend Kevin Walsh at the local Danish Pancake House. It was so delicious!

A big thanks to Deb, Brian, and the crew at Planet Ultra for another great event. The support was great as usual. 

My stats for the ride:

• 192.18 mi
  Distance
 
• 14:07:33
  Moving Time
 
• 8,538 ft
  Elevation
• 
  

Next up...The Hemet Double Century.

200 Quest 2024: Part One

 

Little did I think back in the mid-80s when I did my first double-century, that I would be able to accomplish 200 doubles in my lifetime. After all, I did say "I am never doing this again", after my first one. Go figure....look at me now. 

As I write this, I am already over the 200 mark but they are not official "California Triple Crown" double centuries. I have completed 194 California Triple Crown Doubles.  

My hope is to finish the final 6 in 2024.

First up for the year will be The Camino Real Double. I then hope to do Solvang, Mulholland, Tour of Two Forests or Hemet, and Grand Tour. This is the plan as I write this.

CAMINO REAL DOUBLE CENTURY

Like last year, I supported the event as a SAG driver. This year I worked the lunch stop.

This year's event was a self-supported ride with only a lunch stop at mile 113. This was done because the course has become pretty hard to provide rider support with many areas that are on bike paths plus roads with traffic and no place for a support vehicle to stop if someone is in trouble. 

All that being said, it is a very easy ride to do self-supported with many stores and water stops along the way. You just need to be prepared to carry more with you. 

I did the course a day before the event as a staff ride. 

I again stayed at my sister's house in San Juan Capistrano just about 2 miles from the course. 

The original plan was for my friends Tony and Robb to join me. They are both in training for the Race Across the West in June. They both couldn't make it at the last minute so I was on my own, for a little while anyway.

My friend Ken wanted to do some of it with me like he did last year, so he planned on meeting me for some of it. 

I started at 4am and rode the 3 miles up to the course on Antonio Parkway. It was then a long 10-mile climb to Rancho Santa Margarita. 

The temperature was rather mild at about 53 degrees and I was overdressed. I was prepared for at least the 40s like last year. It was foggy so I think the fog was acting like an insulating blanket.

It was wonderful on the first 35 miles. No traffic at all.

Once I reached the summit in Santa Margarita, I descended into Trabuco Canyon. Here it was pretty chilly at 43 degrees. The climb out of the canyon was tough as usual. When I reached the summit, it was pea soup fog all the way down the descent to Cooks Corner and Santiago Canyon. I took it very slowly in the dark. (I saw one car in Trabuco Canyon. It was great!)

I rolled over Santigo Canyon feeling really good. I met my friend Ken at the turn on Jamboree.

We rode together over the Newport and Laguna Hills before he peeled off in the Dana Point area.

Rolling toward Dana Point on PCH

Dana Point

I was feeling great at this point in the ride at about mile 85.

I headed up the coast to San Clemente, San Onofre, and Oceanside, before heading inland from there for a great loop around the hilly Bonsall area.

The ride up the coast was almost effortless. I stopped for water at the campground in San Onofre before heading to Oceanside through the Camp Pendleton area.

I stopped at the Four Seasons Campground Store for some food and took a 30-minute break. I think I ate a bit too much considering the climb to come. It was pretty warm too. 

The hardest part of the ride for me was the climb up Old Castle Road in Bonsall. It is not that steep of a climb at around a max of 8%, but it's a long slog. I got overheated and felt a slight tinge of cramping hamstrings when I reached the summit. I think the amount of food I ate just prior, contributed to the cramps. 

Old Castle Road grade

About 2/3 of the way up Old Castle.

With more climbing in the area (but luckily not long ones), I was worried. It was not very hot and pretty cool on the descents, so I just took it easy. 

I rolled out of the hills and back onto the main highway for a bit before joining the bike path back to Oceanside. I now had the usual headwind to the coast.

I got to Oceanside before sunset and the wind luckily stopped by the time I got there. 

I just flew up the coast to the Camp Pendleton Bike Path.

It was now dark and I could see that the marines were doing some sort of flight ops on the beach to my left. Not long after this, I notice a couple of large helicopters on my left with only red lights blinking. From the sound, I believe they were Blackhawks. They were going north along the beach on my left in the same direction. They then turned directly in front of me and headed in my direction, very very low. One buzzed right over me, so low that I could feel the prop wash. The second stopped and hovered a bit above me before moving off. 

Blackhawk

I wonder if they were locking in on the moving object down below with flashing red lights and GPS signal...who knows. It was fun though, for this aircraft buff.  

I stopped for water at the campground again then headed into San Clemente. My left leg still felt crampy so I guzzled down a bottle of Tailwind Endurance Fuel which has a lot of sodium in it. 

By the time I started to climb toward my finish, my legs felt better again and really good. 

I was about to summit the final climb on my ride with only about 5 miles to go when I got front and rear flat tires, simultaneously!! I was going to finish before 8:30 pm at this point, even with all my slow stops. I was bummed.

I fixed the front first in a short manner. I felt the rear and it was still just slightly soft so I pumped it up some hoping it would last till I finished since it seemed like a slow leak.

Well....no such luck. It wouldn't hold long so I changed that one too. Luckily, I always carry my good pump with me as well as a couple Co2 cartridges. I used up the Co2 and my 2 tubes. I also carry a patch kit so my next step would be to patch the tubes if I had another flat. It still cost me about half an hour. I should have just fixed both tires at once and I would have cut that time in half. I was tired and cold so I guess I wasn't thinking straight. 

I ended up finishing about 9pm feeling pretty good. Route map below.

After a great pasta dinner and compression boots at my sister's house, it was off to bed for a good night's sleep.

6-12-24 Hour World Time Trial Championships. (2023)

 

Borrego Springs California is the location.

Borrego is an amazing place to visit any time but it’s especially nice in October/November when the event is held.

 This would be my 5th time doing this race. My first time was a solo tandem bike in the 60-69 tandem division, and the second time was 24 hour solo 60-69 division. In 2019 I did the 24 in the 2-mixed standard bike division with my friend Teresa, who was my tandem partner in 2016, and in 2022 I did solo 24-hour in the 70-79 division. It was quite the challenge in my 70s but I was able to surpass my goal of 300  miles and do 325 miles.

The course is an 18-mile circuit with a pit area for support. The pit area is at the start/finish where the tracking device/lap counter is. 
Whether you decide to do the 24, 12, or 6-hour event,  the idea is to get as many laps in as you can in your time period. At about 1.5 hours from the 5 pm finish, they put you on a short 4+ mile loop till finish time. That way racers will be able to be closer to the lap counter and get as many miles as possible and not be stranded out on the long loop, not making it to the finish in time. All racers must be done and through the Shute by 5 p.m.

The 6-12-24 Hour World Time Trial Championships put on by the Race Across America (RAAM) organization is one of the best-run events in the world. Great people, great venue location, and perfect course for a long-time trial.

This year, I decided to go back to the tandem bike and do the 12-hour race with my good friend Margaret who has been riding tandem with me for a few years now. 

I have known Margeret for quite some time. 

She is a corporate healthcare attorney, has a great coach, and I have no idea where she finds the time to train for these events. 

I first got to know her in 2014 when she was on our crew for the Race Across the West. She was brought on as our navigator by my good friend and fixed gear legend Tony Musorafite, who was our crew chief. 

We both crewed for Tony when he did the 1,000-kilometer Race Across Oregon on his fixed gear in 2020.

After our experience at RAW, she went on to race it 3 times as Team Moab/Specialized Moab. I think they won their 4-person mixed division each time and set some course records. They are a fast team!

She also did the Silver State 508 on a 2-person mixed team with my good friend Victor Cooper as well as Solo and team at The Hoodoo 500.

In 2020, she won the standard bike, women's division, of The Natchez Trace 444 in 27 hours 27 minutes. She did the Race Across America in 2022 as part of the 8-person mixed Team Skipper.

Margaret was also part of my 4-mixed "Team White Owl" at the 2022 Silver State 508 along with our friends Ron and Peg. We had a challenging but fun time.

She is a California Triple Crown Hall of Fame inductee with over 50 double centuries ridden.

I

We did not really train very much for this race. We did do several rides with a century ride a few weeks from event day. None of this was what we would call real training for this type of event which should have included some long rides in the desert in the wind on hot days and cold nights. 

The 18-mile loop on the course is very deceiving!

There is under 400 feet of elevation gain on each loop.

We traveled to Borrego Springs on Friday and arrived just in time to check in and get our pit location set up for the race the next morning. 

In hindsight, I think if we were really serious about getting some good miles in during the race, we should have arrived a couple of days early to do some riding in the area and get acclimated. 

All that said, we really did this race to just have fun and enjoy the camaraderie with other ultra friends who come out every year. 

Again this year, our awesome friend, Ron came along to support us as our crew chief. He crewed for me last year and we had a great time. 

The prep time required in the pits to get the pit set up is really draining in the hot desert sun. I felt like a dried-up raisin when we got done, just from being out there exposed in that heat. 

We got our pit area all set up and then went to the pre-race meeting which was held a 4 p.m. for the 24 and 12-hour race. 

The 24-hour race started at 5pm right after the meeting and our race started early in the morning at 5am.

We hung around to watch them start and then left the pit area for our hotel and hopefully, a good night's rest. 

We all went to bed early hoping it would not be too cold in the morning. 

 Race day

We arose at 3:45 a.m. and made it pretty quick to the race start. 

I barely slept as usual which is normal for me before a race. For once I wish I could get a good night's rest like I do at home before a long training ride. I generally feel better on my long training rides than I do on my races. Maybe I should try a sleep aid.

We started in the second wave of 12-hour racers. There were 3 waves in this race. 

The temperature said that it was 50 degrees in town with about 2 hours until sunrise, but we didn't let that fool us. It can drop by 10 degrees out in the low areas on the course, not to mention that the coldest part of the day is right at sunrise. 

We dressed accordingly and figured we would pull into our pit when we needed to strip off layers when it got warmer.  

Just before starting, I took a puff on my asthma inhaler. 

The only time I need it is with cold, dry air that is below 55 degrees. It helped some.

Off we went and right off the bat, I had a hard time breathing. Our first lap was our fastest of the race but I could not breathe most of the way, feeling like I did not have my second wind. I used a buff to cover my mouth which helped a bit. 

My heart rate is another story.

Due to the lack of oxygen, my HR was pretty high at over 140 BPM on the first lap. Even though I could not breathe well, I did not feel like I was pushing all that hard.

You would think the course is really flat but it isn't. You always feel like you are climbing except for one long stretch on the course and the final little descent to town. Neither of these is a true downhill with a tandem bike. (We would have liked to just have a relaxing fast descent to make up some time and rest).

We decided to spin the whole race instead of pushing the big chain ring. We only used the large ring once on the first few laps. 

I believe that part of my issue is the meds I am on for the AFIB incident I had just about 2 years ago. 

My cardiologist has me on a Beta-Blocker which keeps my HR low. I think the lower HR makes it really hard to push at a hard intensity. (You really need to get your HR up if you are going to perform well in a race)

All that said, I don't think it affects me much on the long steady stuff where I go at a steady pace.

Rolling through the pits early on.

It got pretty cold out on the course in the low areas. I think we saw a low temp of 40 degrees on our computers. It felt much colder at times though. The coldest was just as the sun started to come up and then it warmed up very quickly.

I don't think Margaret complained once out there in the cold.

I would say, that I felt the best this year in the first 5 hours of the race even with the breathing issues. Our lap times would reflect that. 

Margaret was incredibly strong as usual and I have no doubt that she was carrying this old guy on much of the race.

     We went 3 laps before coming into the pits shute for a fluid pickup from Ron. We then went one more lap and had to come all the way into our parking spot to strip our warm layers off. It was getting warm fast.

My breathing had come back and I was feeling great at this point. 

We still were just trying to pace ourselves by spinning instead of pushing large gears like I am used to doing on the tandem at times.

As I have said, this course is so deceiving. It just makes you feel like you are fighting the road to get more speed. It feels like you are on a gradual climb most of the time. Others have mentioned the same feelings about the course. 

It was really nice once the sun came up and we had the layers stripped off. We had a nice break when we did that. I wolfed down some food and we got a good rest. Probably more than we should have, but good nonetheless. In hindsight, I think we rested a bit too much but we needed it.

Round and round we went, just marveling at how fast some of these racers on their time trial bikes were going as they passed us. (Maybe next time, I should see about borrowing one of my friends, high-tech carbon fiber tandems. My 50+ pound Cannondale is nice but a bit heavy.)

It was early on, that I started thinking that maybe I had not taken in enough fluid during the early morning hours. 

As it started to warm up, I was getting a very slight tinge of a cramp here and there. 

I was using my usual Tailwind Endurance Fuel mix which has a lot of electrolytes so I figured I was ok. I just could not push all that hard. Still, I kept wondering if it was the meds or just the desert. I could push if we were spinning to spin faster but I did not have the strength to push a bigger gear to make us go really fast like a tandem can do on a flat course.  I hate to say the age thing again but maybe it's as simple as that.

At the first glimmer of light, it was so amazing seeing all the giant sculptures lurking out along the course. 

Rather eerie at times to see the shadows of the sculptures made by the famous Ricardo Breceda.

As it started to warm up, we would stop every lap to get a water and fuel refill from Ron in the pit shute. 

It was great going through there with all the spectators and other racers' crews cheering you on as you came through. 

Rolling past the famous Borrego Dragon sculpted by the amazing artist Ricardo Breceda
Photo: RAAM media

Cranking through one of the flat areas
Photo: RAAM media

As the day wore on, the temperature rose quite a bit. I think I saw a high temperature of around 98 degrees registered on my bike's GPS unit. I would say it was in the 80's but the radient heat coming off the blacktop was in the 90's.

We both started suffering in the desert heat after a while so we needed to come in for a full stop in our pit. 

I started cramping when I clipped out of my pedals! It really worried me so I sat in our shaded area under our tarp, took my shoes off, and stretched a bit. I also took some Advil and guzzled a whole bottle of electrolyte solution. I sucked down another Ensure protein drink and recovered pretty quickly.

The long stop really felt good but it hurt our time. I think it was about a 30-minute rest. 

The clock does not stop when the racer stops, so every minute lost in the pits subtracts from the number of miles you can cover in the allotted race time. 

After that long stop, I believe we had about 2 hours until they put us on the short course. 

We got 2 long (18-mile) laps in after that before we were routed onto the short 4-mile loop.  

We were both feeling pretty good at that point but knew we would not make the 200-mile goal.

We reset our goal to 170 miles and pushed hard to get over that mileage.

Flying down the back stretch on the short lap
Photo: RAAM media

I think we got about 4 of the short laps in. We wanted to get as many as we could in so we pushed hard. 

Making the turn on the back side of the short loop
Photo: RAAM media

  As it grew close to 5pm, we had about 15 minutes left so I was wondering if we could get one more lap in.

We were at 176 miles and one more would get us to 180 miles. 

After calculating in my head that we had taken just over 16 minutes to do a short lap, I realized that we would not quite have enough time in 15 minutes to make it, so we came in and finished.

 

Should we have toughened up and picked up the pace to gain that minute and get that final 4 miles?

I am positive, that if I had asked Margaret to step it up a notch, she would have obliged. 

She is a beast on the back of the tandem and I feel like I have an afterburner on the back when she decides to put the "pedal to the metal" back there. 

That said, I am not sure we had it in us at that point. We were both beat.

It was a great day in the saddle.

A huge thanks to our friend Ron Iseri, who again was a crew extraordinaire. It was great fun to have him with us. 

A big thanks to all our friends who rooted us on at the event and from afar!!!!

Ron, Margaret, and I posing with the Ranchita Yeti.

Thanks for all the great support, Ron!!