Solvang Double

[Brandy]

Who will be there?

[maillotpois]

Not this year. Doing my 300k in my brevet series. (Only doubles I am planning right now are Davis, Tam, Knoxville and possibly Bass Lake).

Have fun - it is a great ride. Not hard at all for a double. (Of course I hope you get better weather than we did last year! I estimate it was raining for 160 miles. :p )

[Veronica]

Nah, it was only 100 miles or so of rain. :p

I'm planning on Central Coast, Eastern Sierra, Grand Tour, Tam and one other TBD. I think. :p

V.

[Brandy]

I'll post a ride report as soon as I write one, but I finished in 12:01 total time! I left at 6:40 a.m. and rolled in at 6:41 p.m.! When I realized how close I was to finishing sub-12 hours you should have seen me sprint to the finish. :p

[jobob]

Nice going! :cool:

[maillotpois]

Great job!! How much time off the bike did you have? That's always the killer there - it adds up!

Too bad you're not coming to Davis. Sounds like you'd be great to have in a paceline. (We generally shoot for right around your Solvang time for Davis.)

You've got 2 down... ;)

[Veronica]

Woohoo! That's a super time. Looking forward to your report.

V.

[jobob]

Geeze, too bad about that one minute that took you over the 12-hour mark, how frustrating !

It's great that you sprinted for the finish to try to get under it. Very impressive.

[slinkedog]

A friend of mine did this ride and had a bad crash at mile 86... she still finished! Must have been an amazing day and I can't wait for your ride report, Brandy! (I'm a breeder, too!! :))

[Brandy]

Great job!! How much time off the bike did you have? That's always the killer there - it adds up!

Too bad you're not coming to Davis. Sounds like you'd be great to have in a paceline. (We generally shoot for right around your Solvang time for Davis.)

You've got 2 down... ;)

I'm not sure exactly because I had no bike computer that day. I had way too much time off the bike, particularly before George caught me in Nipomo (not sure what mile that was but thinking it was around mile 60ish?) and at lunch...we were there for 28 minutes :eek: but we were waiting for the tandems that we had been with since RS2 and didn't want to lose them...they paced me through until the last RS! Oh...and keeping up with the tandems WAS NOT EASY for me. When George finally caught me he told me "I'm going to push you today, but you'll thank me later"...he was right, but I suffered. ALL. DAY. LONG.

Here are some pictures. I can't bring a camera anymore because my VeloSport jersey pockets are so small...only essentials, so just a couple of post-ride shots and most of these are from the AMAZING place that we stayed!!!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/193/443892223_980b89f087.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/443048460_d397858151.jpg

One of the only times that I saw the frontside of these WONDERFUL people that helped George kick my *** from rest stop#2 until the last rest stop. Two of three tandems that I STRUGGLED to stay with all day.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/180/443050583_933191041c.jpg

Okay...on to the AMAZING place that we stayed. Adam Firestone was gracious enough to offer George a guest house on the grounds of the Firestone Vineyard for us to stay in this weekend. We had no idea what to expect, but...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/182/443054191_df6228696b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/443053911_33592f74d0.jpg
We had arrived in the dark Friday night, left in the dark Saturday morning and after eating dinner after the double century...arrived back in the dark again! So this morning, I was in awe of the amazing views from the house!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/443050809_44b4e109bb.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/443051463_453bbaa7b0.jpg

[Brandy]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/198/443052513_71183ac58d.jpg
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http://farm1.static.flickr.com/180/443052910_7b62a3c838.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/443055417_6a4b894ba9.jpg

[Brandy]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/443049160_3e71229a68.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/205/443055897_33bc7b3f45.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/202/443057917_5f7bb3c703.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/191/443054906_e737320929.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/196/443056959_1249afa09f.jpg

[jobob]

Geeze, if I was staying in that house I would have been like, "Double century? I don't remember signing up for a double century ... " :D

[maillotpois]

Great pictures! Nice cows!!!! :D (I love cows.)





George is cute!! ;)

[slinkedog]

Wow! Nice digs! Who is George that Mr. Firestone would offer him a place to stay? Very cool photos... thanks for sharing!

[Brandy]

Geeze, if I was staying in that house I would have been like, "Double century? I don't remember signing up for a double century ... " :D

I think that I tried that in the wee hours of the dark morning on Saturday! ;) It was nice though, we took our time getting out of there yesterday. I think that the best part was not having to go out in search of breakfast before the double and on Sunday morning. George served up a breakfast of bacon, eggs, bagels, yogurt and OJ both days. :)

[Brandy]

Great pictures! Nice cows!!!! :D (I love cows.)

George is cute!! ;)

Aren't those cows the best? There were so many calves out there, I had to stop and take pictures. You can't really tell, but the white one was nursing from the black mama. So cute!

I know, he is...isn't he? :p I'll spare you all of the details, but I'm going through a divorce and the timing with meeting George was just...I don't know...right. :)


Wow! Nice digs! Who is George that Mr. Firestone would offer him a place to stay? Very cool photos... thanks for sharing!
George is just one of those people that has people saying "if you ever want to visit XYZ, give me a call"...lol!

[maillotpois]

Well, excellent. Sometimes timing works well. I am happy for you - but I am sure it's been a rough time.

I had a line of cows trying to cross the road in front of me during my 300k on Point Reyes Saturday. I was coming up to them, and they were just streaming in front of me crossing from one field to the other. As they saw me coming, they stopped and just stared at me. I was talking to them, encouraging them to keep crossing. They were just fascinated with me!

[Brandy]

Okay...ride report time. It's long...and copied and pasted from my blog.

http://cyclemama.blogspot.com/

Solvang Spring Double Century

We arrived in Solvang just in time to check in for the ride on Friday night, after a long drive in heavy traffic. Much of the time in the car was spent trying to decide what time I would start in the morning, in relation to George's 7:30 a.m. start time. Recalling that I had a 45 minute head start at Butterfield Double and that he caught me by the first rest stop at mile 38, we decided that a 6:30 a.m. start would be good. It would be the earliest that I could safely leave without carrying lights, which we would drop with the ride organizers in the morning and pick up at a later rest stop.

After checking in, we were off in search of some food and Firestone Vineyard where we would be staying in a guest house on the grounds. We got settled in, and then it was off to bed for me. I was exhausted and facing another early morning start. When the alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. I didn't want to get up, thinking that I could easily enjoy a day relaxing around the winery and exploring the town (just kidding...though I was asked at registration if I would just be hanging around town while George was riding...lol. Ummm...HELL NO! I'm riding too!) but I dragged myself out of bed and started getting ready. George made a breakfast of bacon, eggs, bagels and yogurt while I rushed around trying to make sure that I had everything that I needed. We left Firestone and headed toward the ride start, slightly behind schedule. As we drove down Foxen Canyon, we saw some of the first riders who must have left at 5:00 a.m. The farther we drove, the more cyclists lights we saw, what a great sight!

Having left a few minutes behind schedule, we of course...arrived at the host hotel a few minutes later than we would have liked. I ended up rolling out alone at 6:40 a.m. Brrrrrrrr...that pretty much sums up the first hour of my ride, at least! I was freezing, having opted to suffer for a short time so that I wouldn't have to ride with knee warmers in my very tiny jersey pockets for the rest of the day. I rode alone until the first climb on Foxen Canyon, where I joined up with a group that had left shortly before I had. Following George's advice, I secured myself a spot in a paceline with a great group of three brothers, one of their wives and a friend of theirs. I stayed with them through the first rest stop and we all left together. We rotated several times and after I dropped back after a strong pull up front, we were suddenly being passed by a train of tandems and a split second decision was made to jump on the back. The tandems kept a fast pace and we were with them for awhile, until a few of us decided that we were pushing too hard to keep up with them through some of the rolling terrain and opted to take it easy and let them go.

At this point, though I was trying to get as far along as I could before George caught up to me, I was also thinking about conserving some energy, knowing that I would be pushing a higher pace once he did join me. As we made a sudden turn, we lost one of the guys from the group, so we pulled off of the road as someone went back to find him. We weren't rolling for long before one of the riders needed to stop for some water, so we pulled off again. I had a feeling at this point that George couldn't be too far now and that he would show up any minute, as I'm standing on the side of the road, motionless, waiting for this rider to buy some water at the store across the street. Sure enough, just a couple of minutes after we stopped, there he is and he shouts "I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO CATCH YOU YET!" I think that was code for...you're going too damn slow. ;) I said goodbye to my new friends and we were off. Shortly after meeting up he turns to me and says "I'm going to push you today, but you'll thank me later." Huh? What? Ahhhhh crap, I'm in for it now. With that, he picked up the pace as we made our way toward the second rest stop. At some point (NOTE: this ride report may or may not be accurate, it's all a blur now...hell, it was all a blur DURING the ride!) he threw me into a paceline with some very strong 7:30 a.m. starters. I tried hard to hang on and was able to for a while, but eventually I couldn't keep the pace that they were going, so I let go. Shortly after that we reached the second rest stop.

It was a mad rush to refill bottles, grab electrolytes and Advil, and use the restroom before hitting the road again. As we rolled out, the same tandems that we had joined up with earlier rolled out as well. George didn't even have to say it because I knew what was coming next. The words were familiar as I've heard them before ~tandems punch a big hole in the air and provide a great draft ~never pass a tandem on rolling terrain ~if you have the wheel of a tandem, don't let it go! So grab the wheel of a tandem, I did! George was right, the tandems do provide a great draft, but they were not easy to keep pace with unless we were climbing. That seemed to be the only time that I felt like I could handle the pace comfortably.

As we pulled out of the "not so secret control point" in Morro Bay, we saw M.E., Joel, John and Bill who appeared to be on a restroom stop. We waved hello and were on our way. This is where my competitive beast reared it's ugly little head, I'm woman enough to admit this much. I was thrilled to have passed them, knowing that they had started before me, in the dark. As hard as I was pushing and struggling, seeing them gave me a boost, assurance that my hard work was paying off and that I was on my way to finishing my second double century with a decent time. Feeling like I was fueling well with the Sustained Energy provided at the rest stops, I asked George whether we were stopping for lunch. One of the tandem guys answered that they were planning to eat and we made the decision to stop as well so that we could continue on with them.

At the lunch stop I grabbed sandwiches and V8 as George took care of refilling our bottles and grabbing more electrolytes for us. We sat to eat, keeping an eye on the tandem riders so we could leave together. As we were standing in line to use the restroom, M.E., Joel, John and Bill pulled in. I shouted "Happy Birthday Joel!" across the parking lot and M.E. came over and snapped a picture of us and then we were ready to roll again after a 28 minute stop. It as during this next section of the ride that I hit my low point for the day. Unbeknownst to those I was riding with, I was seriously suffering. Not that I hadn't been suffering trying to keep pace with the tandems all day, but this was different, I was really suffering. It was apparent within several miles of leaving the lunch stop that I made the wrong decision and that I should have stuck with liquid fuel. I spent at least 20 miles nauseous with my lunch in my throat and the V8 would have been the first thing to come up...I could taste it right there. I rode in silence, not mentioning how horrible I felt because I knew that if I did, I would totally lose it. George realized that there was something wrong when I was refusing to drink when he prompted me to. I tried to sip, but I couldn't and finally I told George how awful I felt. Not wanting to lose the tandems, George took over, literally pushing me in order to give me a couple of minutes to recover. It wasn't the first push that I would accept from him, nor would it be the last. Those little reprieves from the hard pace were just what I needed at the time.

With much effort, we made it into the next rest stop having not touched my bottles at all since the lunch stop. I believe that this was the point that I started telling George that I hated him. He was pushing me to my limits, limits that I never would have pushed myself to and I was feeling beat and didn't hold back in telling him, or anyone else who would listen for that matter! I remember one man asking me how I was doing and I answered back "HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!" As we looked around the rest stop, he pointed out that I wasn't the only one who was hurting. The exhausted looks on the faces of most of the riders said it all...he was right. As we were getting ready to get back on the road George told me that there were only 50-ish miles to go...a club ride, that's it! One of the tandem riders said..."even better, only 30 miles to the next rest stop!" Okay, 30 miles was do-able, even if it was going to hurt. I started fueling right away and was beginning to feel a little bit better. I don't recall much of this section, though I was feeling better than I had on the last section, and that's all that matters! I'm sure that I told George that I hated him a couple more times, but he can take it.

The first thing that I saw when I pulled into the last rest stop was...lots of people resting! As tired as I was, we were less than 20 miles from the finish and I just wanted to be done. We went to our routine of bottle filling, restroom breaks and quick "hello's" to other riders and volunteers. The Cup'O Noodle was calling my name, but fear of more solid food and desire to just get it done, had me skipping it. George and I left the tandem riders who were resting and headed out to climb Drum Canyon. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. What sadistic freak puts that at mile 175 of a double century? Oh, who am I kidding? If I organized the ride I would have done the same torturous thing. ;) If I recall correctly, I stopped telling George that I hated him on Drum Canyon, but only because he was hurting more than I was, riding on a 49x15 fixed gear. Finally reaching the top, I was ready for a fun descent...but OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! The road was horrible and as I passed George on the descent he warned me to be careful, so I slowed it down considerably.

After descending Drum Canyon I felt great! My spirits were high, I turned on my iPod, grabbed George's wheel and we took off. The closer that we got to the finish, the more riders we passed. I had gotten a second wind and George was now counting down the miles for me. 7 miles! 4 miles! <~~~that was the best, four miles. Anyone can ride four miles...and I was going to do it...and do it fast! The road was familiar again, I knew exactly where I was and how far I had to go. As we came up the final hill into Solvang, I asked George what time it was...6:38 p.m. I told him that I was so close to finishing sub 12:00. It wasn't a goal of mine, as a matter of fact, I would have never dreamed of having a time anywhere close to that considering I did Butterfield in 14:25 and was very happy with that time. Suddenly at that moment, it became the goal and I was so close, but even the sprint to the finish couldn't seal the deal. I came in at 6:41 p.m. which gave me a total time of 12:01.

The second that I got off of the bike, all of the pain, all of the suffering I had endured...it all went away and was replaced by smiles, hugs, sheer joy and pride. George was right, he pushed me and though I wouldn't have said it until that very moment, I was thankful for that. I tested my limits like they had never been tested before and I never would have known that I had that in me, had he not pushed me to achieve it.

[Starfish]

What I can't get over in the pictures is the sunshine! I seriously have to find a new climate to live in.

And of course, Brandy, your time is so impressive to me. Way to go!

[maillotpois]

Great report!!

I wished I'd skipped the Cup o Noodles last year before Drum Canyon. Good call. :cool:

[Jo-n-NY]

Brandy, what a great report. If I remember correctly, you just began riding last year, but correct me if I am wrong. You have really come a long way.

~ JoAnn

[Brandy]

Thank you JoAnn, you're correct...I started riding in May '06 and then had some time off of the bike in late summer/early fall.

[Veronica]

Is George going to be doing any doubles up this way? :D :eek:

V.

[jobob]

V! Behave!
:D

[Veronica]

There's nothing wrong with a little oogling. It's staring that's wrong. :p

V.

[Brandy]

Is George going to be doing any doubles up this way? :D :eek:

V.

As a matter of fact...lol. You're doing Mulholland, right (I saw you on the list!!) Veronica? He'll be doing that as well. He also just signed up for DMD and he's planning on Mt. Tam...can you tell that he prefers the climbing doubles? He only did Solvang so he could ride with me...lol!

I'll be there to see him off in the morning at Mulholland, so hopefully I can say hi to you too, unless you plan to start early. I'm doing the century and we start at 6:30.

[Brandy]

There's nothing wrong with a little oogling. It's staring that's wrong. :p

V.

:p :p You're absolutely right. Be sure that you check out his legs. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...:D

[Veronica]

That's probably Veronica T. doing Mulholland.

I'll look for him on DMD. We'll be working the Morgan Territory stop, where I'll probably do rider check in. Then we do the water stop that's just below the summit of Hamilton.

V.

[Brandy]

That's probably Veronica T. doing Mulholland.

I'll look for him on DMD. We'll be working the Morgan Territory stop, where I'll probably do rider check in. Then we do the water stop that's just below the summit of Hamilton.

V.


See...there I go assuming that there's only one Veronica who rides doubles...lol! :p ;) :o

[jobob]

Hey Brandy, if you don't mind my asking ...

How on earth did you manage to get from just starting out, to finishing fast double centuries, in less than a year? :eek:

Did you have a specific training plan?

Do you go to spinning classes, lift weights, run? (I imagine raising three young kids would qualify as all three, hee)

I'd just love to know how you did it.

[Veronica]

It's an age thing. :p Brandy is a young 'un. I wish I had seriously started riding younger.

V.

[jobob]

Oh, for sure, age or lack thereof has a lot to do with it - heck, I'm old enough to be Brandy's mother (were I a child bride, cough cough) - but there has to be more to it than that !

[Brandy]

Hey Brandy, if you don't mind my asking ...

How on earth did you manage to get from just starting out, to finishing fast double centuries, in less than a year? :eek:

Did you have a specific training plan?

Do you go to spinning classes, lift weights, run? (I imagine raising three young kids would qualify as all three, hee)

I'd just love to know how you did it.

Here's my very long story...

Prior to getting my road bike in May '06, I had been taking 3-5 Spinning classes/week and lifting weights regularly since October '05. I think that gave me a huge advantage...my first ride outside was 20 miles and within a couple of weeks I was up to 45 miles rides. I took some time off in June to travel and visit with friends and in the beginning of July I started training for Cool Breeze Century, which was August 18th. I just increased my mileage slowly, started adding more hilly rides and I think that my longest ride before the century was 65 miles.

I had surgery in late August that had me off of the bike until mid-October, then I started back with easy rides leading up to the OCW Fall Metric ride on October 28th...where I thought I would DIE! After that I had several horrible rides and was really discouraged, my legs were fine, but my cardio fitness had suffered in my time off of the bike and I was getting winded every ride.

November was crappy ride after crappy ride and more discouragement about not being at the same level I had been at before surgery. Finally...the first week in December I went out on a very windy solo ride on the river trail. Somehow I managed to push through and go the whole distance, though I thought many times about turning around. I ended up with 72 miles that day, my longest solo ride at that point and more importantly, a breakthrough mentally...my attitude was starting to change.

December 10th...the day that I met George. :D We had our so Cal BF holiday party the night before and since it was raining (and I assumed it would be the following day so I could bail on the century ride...lol) I indulged in far too much holiday cheer. :p I woke up hung over and disappointed that the skies were not letting loose...damn it...I HAD to ride the "burrito century" from Irvine to San Diego. The first leg sucked, I'm fairly certain that I still had Malibu Rum running through my veins and I just didn't want to ride. A Starbucks stop made everything right in the world and I was able to get into a groove. I pulled into the rest stop at 7-11 on Avenida Pico in San Clemente and there he was...this mystery man...hmmm...who was he, all decked out in a Swami's kit and surrounded by people??? He had been out doing his own thing, had ridden up from Encinitas and stopped to refuel when our group started coming in. He knew one of the guys in the group, so decided to wait for him to say hello and we started talking. He decided to roll with us and he started pointing out some things that I could change about my form and pedaling and I noticed an immediate power increase. I ended up riding with him all day, and there was mental breakthrough number two...just what I needed at that point! I emailed him to thank him for that, though it bounced and he never got it, but luckily our jerseys gave us away and he came to Bike Forums looking for me. :p

So...since then, many of my long rides have been with George. He pushes me to achieve things that I didn't think were possible. Honestly, January sucked for me training-wise. I got maybe one weekday ride in if I was lucky, but I did three centuries and one 200k brevet that month, so I was riding every weekend. I was able to get some 30 milers a couple of times during the week in February, then I had my first double on February 17th. Since then my long ride training has been limited due to childcare, a couple of 45 milers, an 82 miler and then a 114 miler with 12,000 feet of climbing, coming up on this second double. I did add some hill repeats in, and I will continue with that.

So basically, you can see that I have no set training plan. I have the advice of a coach at my disposal, but the best laid plans...well, you know. With three kids and a divorce pending, my training plans often fly out the window!

[maillotpois]

Ditto on the spinning thing. Before I started riding, I had a year of spinning 2 - 3 times a week. When I did get on the bike everything came really easily to me - and I did Death Ride for the first time a year after starting cycling**. I think spinning lays a great base for road riding.



**Granted I flamed out and only did four passes because I thought I was going to barf all day, but my point is I progressed quickly because of the spinning background.

[Brandy]

I think spinning lays a great base for road riding.


I find it so hard to go back into a Spinning class now though! I mean, time constraints and childcare dictate that I have to if I want to get a workout on the bike in sometimes, but I stare at the clock the whole time...lol! I need to get over that because I'm being hired by a local gym to start subbing soon. :p I need to find a way to teach with road cycling in mind, I can't be bothered with all of the jumping and in and out of the saddle now.

[maillotpois]

The best Spinning instructors I have had have been serious riders. None of the stupid "ride swinging your arm at your side" BS that you would never actually do on a bike. Very focussed intervals - often using race scenario visualizations, which makes it more fun. I think you will be able to come up with some productive and focussed workouts.

I don't spin any more either. I just do the Coach Troy DVDs.

[Bike Goddess]

Well, I was a roadie snob when it came to spinning classes. However, after my bike accident in January and then not able to do much activity for about a month, I decided to give it a try.

The first week I went (3x a week) I thought I would die at the end of the class! I was soooo tired. But I've kept at it and now it's 3-4 times a week. The instructors I have are mostly indoor cyclists, but they use outdoor training plans when they do the classes. I'm definitely in shape leg wise and cardio wise for when I get back on the bike. I try to push myself a little further each week. Yesterday when we did a cadence count I was up to 138rpm. I was pretty happy about that as it wasn't that hard for me.

I recommend spinning because it does help with the cardio and also with keeping a steady pace on the bike. We do some jumps, a lot of standing in different "gears" and lots of cardio and leg work. I"m so glad I have something to keep me in shape while I heal. I don't know what I'd be doing at this point if it weren't for spinning.

I"ve gotten my friend Sarah to go a couple of times. She immediately noticed a difference in her riding style- she's more consistent in her cadence and stronger on the hills. She was already a strong cyclist (another young'un)and spinning is just accelerating her training.

One of the women in our club- Laurie Fenech (MP- she races with MACO) does spin classes 5x a week, races on the weekends, rides most every day and runs as well. This is in addition to a full time job as a teacher! She is winning races in her category this year. She's 51- and beats people who are 30. Go figure!