I did it!

At 5am this past Saturday I began what I can say was the most difficult Double Century (200 miles by bike in one day) I've ever attemted. We started from the San Ramon on the outskirts of Mt. Diablo. After a mass start and dodging some pretty skittish riders I made it to the base of Mt. Diablo and the first big climb of the day. It was a cold morning and the wind was blowing as I ascended the 10.5 mile climb rising 3200 feet above the start to an altitude of 3800 ft. The climb itself went well for me. I'd descended this side of Diablo the week before so I was well aware that the climb would be consistant until the top where it pitches up for a few hundred yards. As I made it to the top and the first rest stop I was greated by gusty winds in excess of 40mph and a temperature of 37 degrees. I hurried to get my bottles filled. Took a bite of a bagal and quickly got my gear in order for the descent. The descent was a technical affair that was made more tiring due to the cold, the wind and my hands which quickly became numb. I was however greatful that I decided to go with wool gloves under my cycling mits.

At the bottom of the descent we headed through Walnut Creek with just a few minor climbs as we headed toward Morgan Territory. As advertised "The Morgan Territory Road climb is mostly tree covered and quite beautiful." The road was free of traffic which was a good thing as it was only a single lane for all traffic. The climb was gradual at first but as we made it to the second check point we hit some switchbacks and the gradiant increased to over 10% by my estimation. At the top I again filled up my bottles but this time took in more solid foods as I hit the fruit and some red potatoes. Once I was ready to head out I was told by one of the staff that a rider had gone down just past the stop on the descent. It turns out that the rider was pushed off the road into some loose gravel by a gust of wind. As I continued past I was cautious as the gusts would blow from left to right and as you went by a covered corner it would hit you hard. I could see how this rider ended his day the way he did. As I descended further I stopped to let an emergency vehicle pass and than continued to the bottom.

At the bottom of the descent we began to work our way toward Livermore and the Altamont Pass. Altamont was interesting as you pass through a large wind farm strewn with windmills which buzzed as they generaged power. The wind made this stretch a bit difficult as it blew diaginal across the lane hitting me from left to right. Once I made the turn though to Patterson Pass the wind finally became a non-factor for the remainder of the ride.

Patterson Pass is pretty much in the middle of no where. It dips and dives through the hills of brush around Altimont. It had warmed up at this point but not so much that it was a bother. As I came to mini check point I turned a hard right and realized I still had a big grind to go to get to the top. The stop was well worth it as I needed to top of my bottles anyway as I was now going through a bottle every 20 miles. Once I made it to the peak of the last bit of Patterson I was greated with an exciting descent down to the third rest stop.

From the third rest stop it was still nearly 45 miles to Mt. Hamilton. To get there though you needed to ride up the long gradual climb up Mines road. This climb was 25 miles long with another 2000 feet of gain that brought us to the lunch stop at the Junction Cafe. This 25 mile stretch was by far the lonliest stretch of the ride as I didn't see another double century rider until the stop for lunch.

At lunch I had a chicken sandwich made at the cafe and a coke which got my pep up to snuff again. My shoulder had started to ache from standing on some of the steeper climbs so I took some Ibuprofin to quench the pain. It kicked in by the time I left the stop and didn't bother me after that.

Leaving lunch you head out on one of the few flat sections of the ride. This gave me a chance to warm my legs back up before ascending Mt. Hamilton. After 10 or so miles I hit the base of Mt. Hamilton and began the climb. The side of Mt. Hamilton on this ride that you climb is just 5 miles and takes up up another 2000ft in climbing. The summit is at 4200 feet and the view was one of the more breath taking I've seen. After pasing the observatory and few scattered houses the descent began. The drop lasted for over 15 miles. Unfortunately, the descent was narrow and had many hair pin turns which limited my ability to push my speed to much.

At the end of the descent the route flattened back out and took us to Crothers road where our next rest stop was. This was at a private residence and the accomodations were excellent. I made sure to fuel up at this rest stop as the next big challange Sierra Rd was less than 6 miles down the road.

The ride description describes Sierra Road as a BEAST! That is pretty accurate as you climb 1800 feet in just 3 miles with the majority of the gain in the first half. Several times my mind tried to convince me to dismount and walk but my will won out and each time I forged ahead even when my speed dropped to only 3 miles per hour. Finally, after nearly an hour of riding over 3 miles I made it to the famouse rest stop known as "Pet the Goat", named for the goat pin at the edge of the stop.

After petting the goat, putting on some extra clothes and mounting my lights I headed out. The next 4 miles descended about 1000 feet and than we rode counter clockwise around the the Calaveras Reservour. This rode alternated between flat to descending over the next few miles as we road into Sunol and the last rest stop at mile 181.

At this point I was starting to really feel the climbing in my legs and whatever body heat I'd been able to store up throughout the day had left. This made the first few miles out of the last rest stop a cold teeth chattering affair. Luckily or unluckily there were still two small climbs left. I didn't want to climb any more but was happy to be warm while climbing. I ascended Palomares Canyon in good form but not at the zippy pace I'd enjoyed early in the day. I expected this would happen so just knowing I would finish regardless was enough to keep my legs turning and the road slipping away beneath me. At the top of Paolomares I again descended and again became chilled as I turned on Crows Canyon toward the last climb. Finally at mile 203 I hit the last climb on Norris Canyon. I thought the climb would be longer but it was shortish and only gained 500 feet in 2 miles. Once on top the last 3 miles was a descent back into San Ramon and the finish.

I pulled into the parking lot at 11:27 after leaving at 5:03. I missed a turn which added 5 extra miles during the day and my guess 15 to 20 extra minutes as well. All in all I'm extremely satisfied and proud of myself. This ride was incredible and I do hope that in the years to come I can find the fitness to ride it again. The way I see it the Devil deserves to be whipped more than once.

Stats 205 miles over 20,000 feet of elevation gain in one day!