Tina and I did the Davis Double Century on Saturday. I had already done it in 2005, but a number of Western Wheelers were doing it and since I was going to be in Davis anyway, I decided to do the ride as well.
For my part, my ride went well. I met Lyresa, Jeff, Letty, Laura and Mike Myzsa at the start at about 5:45 and we proceeded from there, hitching onto a tandem who pulled us to the first rest stop. At that point, we heard about the wild fire at Lake Berryessa that had closed the highway there, and with that, the ride had to be re-routed. The end result is that we did an out and back to Cobb mountain with the morning leg being a reverse of the regular way back. The Davis Bike Club did an excellent job with the logistics of moving rest stops and opening new ones, and we managed to find our way without any problems.
With the route change, the climb up to Cobb mountain was a little tougher with gradients of over 10% in spots, causing some riders used to the more gentle Davis climbs to end up getting off their bikes and walking. I enjoyed the climb knowing that I’d get to enjoy the descent even more. Indeed, we saw a number of returning riders bombing down the hill as we were climbing.
Other than the route change, the day was uneventful for me except for a little hunger bonk near the end. As usual, I did a lot of pulling, and for some reason I didn’t get enough food on board after the Guinda rest stop. As a result I started to get the hunger knock a little with about 20 miles to go. My power meter was saying I was producing only about 100 watts and my heart rate had fallen to about 105 bpm. Still, I was managing to keep a speed of about 17-18 mph. When I looked behind me, there were still 5-6 people sucking my wheel, and no one was offering to help the poor dying cyclist (me!) doing the pulling. I pulled off the front and fell behind. Letty was the only WW left with me, and I had to get her to drop back while I pulled over to the side of the road and search my pockets for any food that I could find. I found a gel pack and a Clif bar. Just then a SAG vehicle came by and asked if I was OK. I asked him where the next rest stop was, and he said it was about 3/4 of a mile up the road. Sweet! I got back on my bike and we proceeded (slowly) to there. They had the best chili and grilled cheese sandwiches, which I gladly consumed. After about 15 minutes or so, I was feeling much better and we hit the road with only 6-7 miles to the end, which we did with no further problems.
As for Tina, she had a good ride with her friend Lydia. I passed them at about the 70 mile mark (they had started at 5am or so), and they were still looking pretty fresh. I stayed with them for a while until the first climb up highway 20 towards Clearlake. Since it was an out-and-back route, I saw them again as I was descending Cobb, still looking strong.
I got back at about 7:30pm and after consuming the tasty supper that was provided, I chilled out and shared war stories with the rest of the Western Wheelers as they arrived, and waited for Tina and Lydia to finish. Soon it got dark, but I wasn’t too worried as Tina had the powerful light on her bike that was perfect for showing the way. At about 9:20, they arrived and in good spirits, the only casualties being sore legs and sore behinds. Congratulations were extended to the newly minted Double Century riders and hear their war stories.
So it was a good day all around, and we slept well knowing that we had accomplished our goals for the day.
Pictures are here.
