Summer and Fall 2025

 

After getting through my back surgery ordeal and finally doing my 200th double century back in June, I decided to round out the year with a few more events. 

I decided to do the Carmel Valley Double Century again having been invited by the event organizer. 

I also was staffing the Beach City Double again this year so I decided to do an early staff ride the week before the event. 

Then came the most exciting and tiring of the events. The 12 hour time trial in Borrego Springs.

Following that is the Dead of Winter Double Century which I staffed as the ride sweeper.

Following is a short breakdown of each event. My training for events this year was less strenuous with more rest which I require at my age, and not to mention building myself back up after the back surgery a year ago. 

CARMEL VALLEY DOUBLE CENTURY

Carmel by the Sea

I was not ready to take on the Hoodoo 500 again this year which is usually the same weekend, so I decided to do Carmel Valley.

My good friend Dzung Dang, who is the organizer of the event, invited me to come do it. 

The event is started at the fairgrounds in King City, Ca. They have a large room with great bathrooms and area to set up sleeping pads and the like so a hotel is not necessary. They had a great dinner the night before and some awesome food at the finish.  It was great!

I started early with my good friend Terri with the plan of just doing the lowland double century and sticking with her all day. 

The lowland double is as tough as many of the highland courses out there with over 12,000 feet of elevation gain. On top of that the coast has a lot of climbing plus it is really windy on the return northbound.

Like the last time I did this event, my good friend Tom came out to see me at the rest stop in Carmel. He lives in Monterrey so it was a short drive for him.

The check-in staff

Dinner....yum!

My sleeping set-up

Terri hammering up a morning climb

Terri heading toward the coast on Carmel Valley Road

Carmel by the sea

The infamous Bixby Bridge

My buddy Tom

The  final climb on the way back. Just a short one but then it was a bomb down to the final check-point 20 miles from the finish.

Good friend and staffer, Kirsten at the final check-point

With Kirsten and Terri at one of the check-points

We took it easy and the day went great. Perfect weather conditions all the way to the lunch stop and turn around at Big Sur. It was then into the headwinds until we got back to Carmel and the long climb over the coastal mountains to the Salinas Valley and the finish. 

There were some long steady climbs heading back but then we had a great descent into the valley plus a strong tailwind all the way back to King City. 

A great and beautiful day on the bike.

I felt great the whole day although the back bothered me a bit. I just cruised the climbs to ease the back pain. 

We ended up finishing around 9pm.

Beach City Double Century

The Queen Mary in the early morning hours of my ride.

I again this year was staffing the Beach City Double. I decided to do a staff ride the week before, on the spur of the moment. I did it myself but after finishing, I really wished I had done it with someone to keep me company. 

I did not start my ride from the actual event start and finish location. I instead, started from my daughters house in Lomita, CA which is just north of Long Beach and the Queen Mary, which is the routes northern most point. I then joined the course and did it from there. I ended up with more miles than the course. After doing the portion of the course from Long Beach, I opted to do the easier loop first. This is the one without Santiago and Trabuco Canyons. Big mistake! It was really hot doing that section later in the day and those climbs cooked me.

 There were so many stop lights that I could not really make good time so I just took it easy as much as I could. 

The best scenery on the course was along the coast and up in the canyons . The roads are in spectacular shape. Just, like I said, a lot of stopping at traffic signals involved.

My moving time for the course was pretty good for this old guy, but due to all the stops, it took me around 19 hours to do this thing. I almost had 5 hours of stoppage time. 

My good friend and ride organizer, Jim Cook, came out to see me on course. It was a great surprise.

My re-supply place in Trabuco Canyon. What a great store!

I finished the ride late after a long and scary ride down PCH on a Sunday evening. I dont want to do that again. The traffic was insane going through Newport and Laguna Beach on the return. Once I got past that area it was smooth sailing through Huntington Beach to my finish in Lomita. 

Event day the following week was fun. I drove SAG as well as worked the rest stop at the Queen Mary.

I worked it with my good friend and tandem stoker, Teresa. It was a great day.

The next day was the Triple Crown Awards Breakfast. It was a great time with my whole family coming along.

6-12-24 Hour World Time Trial Championships

This year I was going to cruise and take it easy on my back.

It would be one year from my surgery.

I did the 12 hour race with the help of my good friend Teresa who is one of my former tandem partners. We have done the 24 hour race together on the tandem and as a two-person solo team.

She was supposed to do the 12 hour with me on the tandem but she was injured. She helped me as my crew.

I just took it at a steady pace during the race and never had much of a back issue. It was more the heat in the afternoon that slowed me down.

The temp stayed at around 96 degrees from noon till the finish at 5pm. I had to slow way down and take more breaks than usual. 

I still got around 176 miles in for 12 hours so I did ok. My main goal was to do around the same mileage that I did on the tandem that last time I did the 12 hour with my friend Margaret. I did meet my goal.  

All in all, I was satisfied.

A huge thanks' to Teresa for keeping me company and taking care of me. Thanks to my family and friends for all the support. 

Sunrise

My crew chief

Done

Dead of Winter Double 2025

 

This year, I again, worked the ride as the sweep rider. 

The sweep rider comes up the rear and checks on the stragglers, notifying the check point captain as you arrive at each check point. 

 

After starting a little behind the main riders and before the really fast people, I just cruised.

 

I ended up getting to the lunch stop after passing a few that were struggling. I waited at the lunch stop for over 2 hours for the last of them to come in. One was really struggling with cramps and as we started for Ojai, I talked him into riding back to the finish. He was walking up the first hill and in real trouble. He would have never made it to Ojai in that shape. He made it back to the finish which was all down hill with a tailwind. The organizer let him do his missed miles in the flat coastal area so he could get his triple crown. ( He finished with his first triple crown)

 

After I got up and past the turn around in Ojai I waited at the Mob Shop with my friend Tony. We talked to the turn around stop and they said there were a few riders still coming down the hill. 

I didn't wait for them since they were in good shape. I was getting cold so Tony told me to go. 

I just cruised slow over Casitas Pass waiting for the final riders to catch me. They were all riding together. 

They caught me when I was heading down the coast near Sea Cliff. We all rode in together. It was great.

 

We then all caught up with 2 slower rider near the finish and they ended up being the last ones in around 11 pm.

 

A really long day in the saddle but really fun helping out my peeps as much as I could as an old slow guy could. 

 

My friend Ron came out and rode with me for a while

Talking to Tony and freezing

The night sky on Casitas Pass

Moon rise on PCH