Let me start by saying this is the hardest ride I've done to date.
I rode with the pack for the first hour and chatted to Roland, Kaylie and Len. But the pace was unsustainable, so I just let the pack go. I rode alone on to Highway 101 and up to the Hopland Control. Somehow the ride wasn't starting out easy. I felt stale and a bit unprepared. At mile 46 I rolled into an empty control. Okay, so I was thinking I was the last rider. A few moments later Len and Kaylie show up: they earned some 'bonus miles' by missing a turn. I left them at the control.
The next segment of the ride had a nice uphill of 8-10% grades. I'm guessing the hard part of the climb lasted 1-1.5 hours. The climb was steep and I spent a lot of time at LT+. My back muscles hurt a bit near the end of the climb, but that was expected. Made it to the Upper Lake control 2 hours before the cut-off, ate some food, replenished snacks and moved on. The next control was 36 miles away. I was riding around a gargantuan lake and ended up stopping mid-way to the control to get another snack and more water. I was working on keeping a nice 12 mi/hr. pace so I'd have time to sleep at the over-night. Even though the weather was blustery, I was able to ride fast enough to sustain the pace.
After the Clearlake control, the terrain became hillier. The terrain through this section was absolutely gorgeous, but I had to work harder to sustain the pace. My calves began to feel like they would cramp up. Grudgingly, I relaxed the pace and drank more water and ate more Tums. The cramps weren't going away. More Tums, some food, some shot blocks, more water and .... cramping. I had to stop briefly for a debilitating cramp. I read somewhere that a good response to cramping was to start pedaling as soon as possible after the cramp. I tried it. It worked. I was able to continue moving forward. I made it to the Pope Valley control with a 5 hour buffer ( yes !!! )
The next 40 miles to the turn-around were hilly and lonely. I hadn't seen another Rando for 8 hours and felt very alone. For whatever reason, this made the riding particularly challenging. It was getting dark, I was in unfamiliar territory, the roads were steep, it was getting dark and no services for 40 miles. Yeah, I was nervous. Would I run out of water ? Did I have enough food ? How much hilly terrain was ahead and how would it cut into my sleep time ? Started seeing the r eturning riders. Most of them were only 1.5 - 2 hours ahead of me.
I finally made it to the turn-around at mile 190. Phew. Amazingly, my new shorts were still fairly comfortable after nearly 200 miles. Nonetheless, I got myself cleaned up and ( for the first time) applied some chamois cream. That worked out well. I spent about 30 minutes at the control resting up, eating and putting on extra clothing to ward off the cold. Then, back on the bike and back into the hills to get to the over-night. Riding alone at night wasn't fun. The night was dark and moonless; the temperature was dropping ( lucky I brought along a balaclava !) and my mood was foul. However, the stars looked fantastic. I saw a shooting star. Two teens tried to scare me and chase me down on foot ( apparently, there's nothing better to do on a Saturday night...) I made it to the overnight control at 2:15, only 15 minutes behind my goal. NICE.
So, the first day was all about pacing. I kept riding and trying to build up a buffer, so I could eat and sleep. I had no problems with the cold. I assumed I was the LR rider, but on the way back from the turn-around I saw a group of three in-bound.
I ate, changed into fresh clothes and slept for 2.5 hours. It would have been nice to pack a sleeping bag instead of sleeping with a space blanket. When I awoke Kaylie was just going down for a nap. She had nothing but a space blanket. OUCH ( I gave her my thermal pad - she used it as a pillow.) Her boyfriend Ken had a cold and stopped riding at mile 150. I found out later she stopped riding at around mile 260 because she didn't have a spare tube with the right length valve stem. I'm sure there were other reasons as well; Kaley's a strong rider.
I rolled out of the over-night at 5:30 with Roland. The morning was cold and I felt tired. Alas, the cold was back and I was beginning to cough. A few moderate climbs and some lousy roads later we arrived at the next control. I got some food and drink. Roland, Kevin and Foreign Guy ( not his real name ) were sitting on the ground eating breakfast burritos. These guys were seasoned Randos and I figured I'd follow their lead. I bought one for myself.
We rolled out of the control and up the first major climb of the day. At the top of the climb I felt good and was able to really enjoy a view of the valley below. At this point I realized that eating the burrito was probably the smartest thing I could have done. As I rolled into the valley below I was keeping my average 12 mi/hr pace and on-track for a 5:00 finish.
But, I also rolled into some strong headwinds and watched my pace plummet. Time passed very slowly. I was feeling more and more tired. The cough wasn't getting any better. I ended up stopping twice in the next 36 miles to eat and rest. The last time a pace-line of three passed by. I hustled to catch up. It felt so very good to be alee of the wind. Alas, I couldn't hold their pace when the road tilted upwards and decided to break off. Adding to the misery: my left Achilles tendon was hurting, the bike shorts I changed into were beginning to chafe and hurt. Somehow I managed to struggle through 35 miles of headwinds to the next control. I was whipped.
The control was staffed by some nice friendly people who cooked me some pancakes, fried eggs, bacon. That really hit the spot. I also drank some coffee. Anyhow, at this point I joined up with Kevin Mainsand we rode on through the headwinds to the second major climb of the day. We rode up Hopland grade , talked, enjoyed the views. It was no big deal - especially since the winds died down as we rode higher and higher up the hill. At mile 326 we were at the top looking at a road sign that warned of four miles of 9% downhill grade. Alas there were strong winds on this side of the mountain as well and the first half of the descent was scary. But, at this point I was only 50 miles from home.
With all of the strong headwinds earlier in the day, we were treated to about 30 miles of tailwinds. I was feeling sicker and the tailwinds weren't improving my mood. I just wanted the ride to finish. I can't remember what time I finished; I think it was 7:15 pm. I was so sure Ken and I were the LR riders, but there were five others behind us.
Things that worked well:
- The new bike shorts and chamois cream.
- The new sun protector thingies for my arms.
- The balaclava really helped keep me warm.
- Eating, drinking, soft-pedaling to help with the cramp.
- Staying focused on the pace - nice job on day 1.
Things that didn't work so well:
- Need to eat a gargantuan breakfast before starting to ride the second day. 300-500 cal just doesn't cut it.
- Something is going on with Achilles tendon - need to fix something before it becomes a show stopper.
- Get another pair of the cycle shorts that work and DON'T use the other ones for 120+ mile rides.
- Need to purchase a new windbreaker/jacket this one has been used up.
- I need some sort of sunscreen for my face - still.
- DON'T SLEEP ON YOUR SIDE - it aggravates the shoulder and makes the riding more painful. I know this from the last 600K. I knew this when I went to sleep. - moron -