Steve's Cycling Blog

  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. Loop one 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

  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.