Yesterday, Mike and I led a Death Ride training ride on the second half of the Terrible Two course. We'd driven part of the ride before, and I knew that part had a wall on it that was so long and steep I laughed deliriously in the car and hoped the AWD Subaru could make it up. Well, turned out that wasn't the hardest part of the ride.
We rode from Wohler bridge near Gurneville up through a ghastly headwind to Lake Sonoma. I decided I needed to pull the 15 miles because I have heard there are brutal winds at my next double this Saturday. Then the fun began. Skaggs Springs-Stewart's Point Road to highway 1 is 35 miles of climbs and descents and a very brief welcome spell riding along a river. The "wall" is about 1.5 - 2 miles of 13 - 18%. I am not kidding. No break atr all. Crazy stuff. I actually made it up.
There were a lot of people out training on this road - they didn't look like doubles riders. Most looked like racers.
My friend Stacy had a bobcat run alongside her for a while on this road. Amazing. After the final "wall" on Skaggs, there is a scary descent with concealed cattle guards and some more climbing and then we were onhighway 1 for about 15 miles of rollers. That part was fun because I like rollers, but the goal of this ride was tobolster the confidence of one of the women I am coaching for Death Ride, so Stacy and I stuck with her and we all had a fun ride down 1. I have tryul never seen the cean that blue. This was a gorgeous ride and a beautiful day.
After highway 1, we turned onto Fort Ross Road. Wow. A wall even longer and steeper than the one on Skaggs. It was at least 2 miles, and there was no way I could make it up without putting a foot down at one point. After that, a beautiful ridge, a harrowing descent, and a couple more super steep climbs.
This was an amazing ride. We were so lucky to have great SAG support - I am not sure how you'd do the ride unsupported unless you have a camelback. We had great weather, and everyone was so happy to have finished. I think completing this ride really bolstered my coach-ee's confidence that she can complete the Death Ride. Stacy and I told her over and over with complete truthfullness - there is no climb on the Death Ride as hard as those "walls".
So in the middle of the first wall, I told Stacy "If I ever talk about doing the Terrible Two, slap me." The TT goes over 100 miles of some really tough riding before it even hits the part we rode. Then later, she and I decided the TT might be possible. She said she'd talked to some guys at Knoxville who said, you just walk up some of it and you don't care. You just get through it.
Total ride distance was 107 miles. 10,800 feet of climbing. Almost 9 hours ride time (woof!). I'd do it again.
