Yep, Solvang will be my first double. It's one of the easier ones with 7500 feet of climb. I'm really training for the Devil Mountain Double, which is one of the hardest doubles with over 20,000 feet of climbing. I've done the staff ride twice, never really expecting to finish - just riding until it wasn't fun. Thom does SAG for it, so I could stop whenever. This year I decided I really wanted to finish it. Since I am training to do one of the hardest ones, I might just as well do two others and get the triple crown.

Five times up this one hill isn't bad. I'm watching my heart rate and lap counter, and working hard, but it's bad not until the last 45 seconds when I go beyond my lactate threshold and sprint as hard as I can. It has a good downhill, so I don't need to work for a bit.

V.