I started the ride with some doubt in my mind about finishing. I felt I wasn't adequatelly prepared for this ride. I'd ridden a few 100 mile rides this year, but nothing with even half the advertised amount of climbing. I wasn't sure I had the legs to complete the ride. Ahhh... these doubts, always these doublts.
I never thought it possible to plan such a long ride through the urban sprawl that is Orange County. I wonder how the character of the ride will change in the next fifty years.
This story begins in on a cold morning in Foothill Ranch. I'm guessing there were approximately 20 riders at the start. Since these were all new faces to me I had no idea about their abilities or what to expect. We rolled out of the Ralph's parking lot at 6:00 AM. First up a short climb to Santiago Canyon. I was already grumbling to myself about not having enough warm-up time and decided to take it really slow and ease myself over the hills. I fell to the very back of the group. The canyon was very cold. The prior week's early morning ride through the canyon prepared me for this, so I came warmly dressed. As I rolled through the canyon, I warmed up and just kept an easy, even pace. The first control was at something like mile 20 or 25. The ride organizer was there to sign the brevet cards, so I hardly had to stop.
The next section was an easy 20 mile downhill to the coast. I rode that with a smaller group and stopped at the next control: a bakery/cofee shop on Pacific Coast Highway. I decided to get controlled and move on. I rode out of there with a bagel in my mouth. So back up north a bit and a left turn up the Santa Ana river to head inland. I decided to increase my pace a bit to high endurance / tempo. About an hour later a couple rode past me saying “...well, we finally caught up with you.” That was kinda' weird because it turned out they were faster riders and I had to work a bit harder to hold their wheels. I knew I couldn't hold that pace indefinitely and decided to hang on to them until the next control. Four hours into the ride I'd maintained a 15 mph pace. I was happy about that.
At the control I spent a bit of time removing layers of clothing and getting organized at. The couple moved on. I never saw them again. The next segment of road was a bit of uphill to get into Corona. I managed to get lost, but it only cost me a couple of miles. I relaxed and rode an endurance pace. A couple of guys ( one on a mountain bike ) passed me but I rolled on. Later, I was passed by a group of three and I decided to tag along. At that point I was beginning to feel fatigued and worried that I'd not finish the ride. Anyhow, I rolled into the next information control with them. And again, everyone was taking their sweet time relaxing and chatting.... I decided to move on and look for some food. A few miles down the road I stopped to get some Gatorade and a salty snack.
Alone again at mile 110, I rolled into the first big climb of the day. It went fine. No big deal. As I was pulling into the next control I saw the group I'd left behind. They were just ahead of me. The control was beautiful, a bunch of vernal pools in the high plains above lake Elsinore. I'd had enough of the urban roads of Orange County and this just lifted my spirits. Did I mention it was beautiful ? It was beautiful,
Okay, the next segment began with a brutal downhill. I rode the brakes the entire way down this super-steep hill. Did I mention it was steep? I was worried I'd overheat the rim and get a blow-out. Then there were about 20 miles of super-steep rollies. These things were brutal. I'd be in the lowest gear and still have to stand and pedal to make any progress. They just plain hurt. On the other hand the scenery was just gorgeous. I was riding through some beautiful avocado and citrus farms. Awesome!!
I made it to the next control on the heels of the group I'd split away from. We all had dinner at a Taco Bell. High calorie greasy Mexican food with coke – yum !!!! So I stayed with this group more or less until the end. The Mountain bike guy was there. Man, I really admired that guy. He was riding on a 30 lb. Hunk-of-junk mountain bike and was doing great !!!!
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. The sun went down and the lights came on. Some people had good lights, some lousy ones. To get around a Marine base, we had to ride on the freeway for a short while (In the dark no less !!!) I'd never done that before. The pace dropped. That bothered me, but I was tired of riding alone and decided to stick with the group. The last stretch was 50 miles or so. We had one more uphill section to get back to the starting point. I convinced the group to stop for food before heading up the hill. It was a welcome rest. I don't know... it somehow made the long haul back up the hill more bearable. The roads were fairly quiet. A light fog was forming. This was my favorite weather to cycle in. A pleasant pleasant chat with Mel just made the time pass quicker. Before I knew it the ride was over.
Some observations:
- I thought the ride would be harder because of the elevation gain ( roughly 11,000 ft.)
- The short hilly sections were tough but do-able.
- I was worried about completing the ride. That worry subsided at mile 110. I knew I'd finish, even before the major climbing.
- The route slip was AWESOME. It outlined the tricky part really well, but I need a better way of reading it at night. Print out a version with larger type for night-time use (?) & maybe brighter light ,better positioning on bike ??? This requires some thought.
- I need to get a cheap odometer thing ( still)
- My pace has picked up. I remember last fall having a hard time with 150W, this time 150W was easy.
- I may need a bigger pack for cold weather clothing. When I stripped down and loaded my bag, it was stuffed. I had a very hard time packing an extra water bottle ( which I'd need if there was a long time between services.) Maybe it's time to investigate a larger rack – or more compact warm clothing. Perhaps a camelback is a good solution. Or... different solutions for different conditions
- More food earlier in the ride. The bagel place in the morning was kinda' lame. I should have stopped at a convenience store and eaten more calories. I'm sure that's what the low point in the middle of the ride was all about.