Davis Double Century

A few weeks ago, Amy talked me into signing up for the Davis Double. She'd already done the Solvang Double, and will be well on her way to getting the coveted California Triple Crown (three doubles in one year). Davis is supposed to be a good "beginner double"...less than 8500 ft of climbing and really amazing support. I was worried, though, as the Gran Fondo was my longest ride to date (103mi), and one of only a couple full centuries I've done...this year, the longest ride I'd done was an ~80 miler out to Mt. Diablo. Not a huge base of endurance there...it was going to be a challenge, physically AND mentally!

I arrived in Davis @ around 5:15, still dark. People were having trouble finding their friends; out in the darkness you would hear someone shout "Steve!...Steve!" trying to find each other. Went in, got my number, met up with Amy and her friend Leonard. Almost forgot to put on sunblock (hard to remember when it's still dark out!)...and by 5:35 we were on the road. Riders were supposed to start between 5:15 and 5:45am, but apparently the vast majority of the group had started on the earlier end.

We managed to form a group behind a tandem couple, who pulled us almost the entire way up to the first rest stop, as the rest of us just warmed up our legs. Rest stops were very well stocked: PB&Js, tons of great fruit, triscuits, crackers, Cytomax. We took a while at the first stop, took the opportunity to the use the bathrooms.

We headed out, on our own this time, for the next stop. I made an effort to constantly keep looking at my power/HR to make sure I was keeping a sustainable pace. We maintained a 21-22 mph pace for quite some time, which would have been a bit unsettling if I couldn't confirm I was barely pushing into my L2 zone. Must have been a tailwind!

Soon after, we went through Winters and out to Lake Berryessa. By this point, I realized that the number I placed on my bike was in a very inconvenient spot on the frame, right between my legs...when we started picking up the pace, the number would flap open and rub against my legs. I tried to ignore it for a while, but that didn't last long...I reached down to reposition it, and when I looked up I realized that I had veered very close to the edge of the road - and to my right was a ditch! Looking up ahead, I saw that there were sections of the road in front of me that had eroded away. I had a decision to make; try to escape this situation and risk a fall, or ride out into the ditch and hope for the best. I opted to ride into the ditch...which was the right choice; I was able to ride it out and didn't hurt myself or the bike. Still, pretty darn embarrassing!! A small group of riders in front of me had heard it and turned around to see if I was OK!! Honestly, who falls on a century ride!?

Riding through Berryessa was kinda surreal....We rode right by the spot where my grandma used to have a trailer up there at Markley Cove, where I spent many a summer day as a kid. Cardiac grade was an easy little hill, unlike the name suggests. Then we were treated to this amazing descent.

Miles flew by quickly after that. The next thing I knew, we were already climbing up Cobb Mountain, which is the toughest climb of the course. The three of us were passing people left and right...it was a decent hill, but compared to the some of the steeper grades in the Bay Area, it was an easy task. We crested the hill @ the 102 mile mark. I downed a Diet Coke and plunked some ice cubes in my water bottles (and maybe my shorts) as I waited for the other two to catch up. I didn't wait for long though, they were right behind me and barely breaking a sweat!

We kept the rest short and kept going, knowing the the lunch stop was not too far away. We made it to lunch in Lower Lake at around 2pm, after a really fun 50mph descent.

For me, lunch consisted of a giant sandwich, some pasta salad, fruit, a couple of cookies, and another Diet Coke (caffeine!!!). I also kicked off my shoes and walked around barefoot for a while, which felt really nice!! Everyone around us still seemed to be in high spirits, happy that we were only around 80 degrees this year (as opposed to to ~110 the past couple years).

We left lunch knowing there was one more major climb in front of us: Resurrection grade. Again, not as scary as it sounded. However, this time, the sun was directly overhead and we did not have a lot of protection. My head was down, pedaling away, until I read "...and the dead shall arise!" painted on the ground below me. Woohoo! I was very excited when we rolled into the next rest stop - for two reasons. 1) they had NUTTER BUTTERS, which I love and had been hoping to see at some point, and 2) ice socks! Whoever invented the ice sock has my eternal gratitude.

That was pretty much it for the climbing...just 60 or so miles of flat to rolling terrain to go. I rode this next section solo, as I pulled away from the others during the descent, and was feeling really strong after those Nutter Butters! I picked off a lot of riders in that section...people were starting to look a bit the worse for wear. Indeed, at the next rest stop I was beginning to hear lots of groans, limping, talks of soreness...as for me, I was glad to still have youth on my side! My legs were still feeling pretty good, but my butt was not used to all this saddle time.

A few minutes later, my team arrived. 40 miles to go. Home stretch. We pulled out, and apparently about 2 dozen riders followed us. Between the three of us (Amy, Leonard and I) we were able to maintain a very fast pace (18-21mph) for the entire 20 miles or so between stops. I hadn't even realized we were pulling so many people until we made a turn approaching the next stop. At the stop, we got many thanks from people who said that we had "dragged them" the whole way. The second to last stop was the Cup Noodles stop...which I had never heard of but apparently is standard for a Double Century....definitely replenished the lost sodium!

We trudged along with 20 miles to go. We had heard about the mythical 195 mile stop, which featured grilled cheese sandwiches. Earlier, we had decided to just skip it, considering we were only 8 easy miles to the finish. But when we got there, we just couldn't resist! Grilled cheese sandwich after 195 miles is a glorious thing.

We ticked off the last few miles and arrived in Davis just as the sun went down, for a pretty good time (under 12 hrs riding time, and 15 hours total). All in all, it was gorgeous, fun, well supported, and not quite as difficult as I had expected. I actually think the coming Auburn Century may prove to be more difficult, and the Tahoe Death Ride definitely will, but I feel a little bit more confident about both of them now.

Totals:
Duration:   11:43:30
Distance:   202.584 mi
Ascent:      7722 ft
Norm Power: 171


                 Max / Avg
Power:         720 / 149 watts
Heart Rate:   175 / 142 bpm
Cadence:      162 / 76 rpm
Speed:        48.5 / 17.3 mph