Solvang double part deux...
Now that I am back at a "real" computer, I can give a better report on this. Veronica's report was terrific - it's funny how there are similarities and differences in your perceptions of these events.
This would be my fourth double - but a first in one way that I really didn't expect to be such a big deal - this would be my first double without my husband riding as well. He's decided he's "over" doubles, though he'll do Davis and he's also training for Death Ride. Anyway, all my friends who I was staying in the hotel with are slower than I am (and take a LOT more time off the bike) so I decided I didn't want to do the ride with them. I knew I would meet Veronica and her husband, but a double is such an individual thing in terms of pace I did not really want to try to ride with them and have either of us feeling like we were going at a different pace than we wanted to. (I did hope to see them during the day, but I didn't. Head down in the rain makes it hard to see people, I guess.)
So, anyway, I was actually a little anxious about doing this double without Mike. (Silly, I know - I have done a dozen centuries by myself, Death Ride by myself twice, climbed Mt. Whitney all alone - but somehow this got into my head and the fact that he wasn't going to be there really troubled me!)
I rode down with Robert Baldino (Roborider), but his wheel exploded and he ended up with a very late start so riding with him was not an option. I had two friends I ended up starting with - one who's been doing a lot of brevets and another attorney friend, Larry, from Sacramento, who's done about a dozen doubles and this ride 4 times or so. Trying to stay with my brevet friend proved too hard within the first 20 miles (and I think I paid later for trying to set such a hard pace), so Larry and I backed off and stayed together all day. I so owe him. The chalk marks they use for the course evaporated after mile 40 when the rain started. DUH!! CHALK??!! In the RAIN??!! :mad: And my map was a worthless red sponge. I would have totally gotten lost without Larry - as it was I added a bit in Morro Bay when I didn't get off the highway in time. Oh well!
It would have been a beautiful course if I could have seen more of it. The steady rain was really a bummer. Getting a bee in my helmet strap and getting stung was a bummer too.
But there were some really neat moments: I was cresting a hill with another woman and these 2 llamas came running over to watch us - as if they were fascinated with us and wanted to chat! I saw this hippy guy adjusting big panniers on a mountain bike - smoking!
I didn't feel great all day, and I think I am probably coming down with something because my lungs didn't feel right the day before the ride - but I didn't really let it get to me. While I originally thought we could come in under 11 hours, the wind and rain and the fact it is DARNED early in the season for a double century made that impossible. Maybe at Davis. But the total time was close - 11:25 and I was most proud of the fact I only had an hour off the bike. I really work on minimizing that because it's important for things like Death Ride and Mt. Tam double where the time cutoffs will get you.
I am glad I did it, and it was fun to meet some new people - especially Veronica and her husband! I also met Rand, the bike journal freak who rides so much - he is very sweet older guy, marches to a different drummer. And Homey I met on the way home - he is REALLY sweet. I know there are some freaky folks over on the BJ bizzarro world ;) but those guys and Robo are all right!
Oh and for the record - Veronica (and my friend Susie) finished their first double in terrible conditions and Rand and Robo did not do the whole ride. So go girls!! :D
Okay - NOW I have to clean my bike!
