Devil Mountain Double 2004 Report

[jeffg]

Well, another year has passed and another edition of my favorite double century has passed. Some things change, some things don't.

First, what stays the same:

1. 206 miles, 20,000 feet of climbing -- gorgeous, but brutal course. Also, great folks (wonderful comraderie among the riders and the most amazing support from the Quackcyclists -- thanks Scott H.!)
2. I finished, after thinking several times that I might not.
3. I still missed meeting or seeing BigMac -- bummer
4. Mount Hamilton was tougher than Sierra Road once again.

Then, what changes:

1. Weather: Instead of freezing on Mount Diablo and Hamilton, it hit 99 degrees according to my Polar 710 near Mount Hamilton.
2. Training happened almost entirely indoors this year. It was weird to fly in from NYC rather than just driving 40 minutes.
3. A new PR, as unimpressive as the final time may be. Progress is slow, but sweet. :banana:

Hey, let's see more Serotta's out there! Hope to see some Serotta folks at the Terrible Two in Santa Rosa!

[EPOJoe]

Grats on completing the ride and the new PR, Jeff! I rode the Chico Wildflower Century on Sunday, and that was tough enough for me. :) I have no idea how you DMD guys manage that ride. I've ridden up Mt. Diablo, but throw in the other climbs and 200 miles...that's gotta be one nasty run!

[Tom Byrnes]

Jeff - Congratulations. The DMD in that hot weather sounds like torture.

EPO - I'm curious. I graduated from Chico State in 1971. I have wonderful memories of riding my bike through Bidwell Park. What was the route of the Chico Wildflower Century? Did you ride up to Paradise (an aptly-named neighboring town)?

[jeffg]

Grats on completing the ride and the new PR, Jeff! I rode the Chico Wildflower Century on Sunday, and that was tough enough for me. :) I have no idea how you DMD guys manage that ride. I've ridden up Mt. Diablo, but throw in the other climbs and 200 miles...that's gotta be one nasty run!

Hey, Congrats on the century!
Any ride can be tough depending on how hard you go. In the case of a tough DC like the DMD, you just have little choice but to try to go hard enough so that you are not out there too long (you have 8 hours to do the first 91 miles and 9,000 feet) and it is unwise to ride too long after dark (one section on a heavily traveled road and some descents that are major fun in daylight!). Getting in at 8:30 PM, I just missed finishing in daylight. It would have worked out if I had not hit the wall on Mount Hamilton. I took two bottles from the lunch stop and ran out of water before the base of the real climb. If it were short I could have hacked it, but an average temperature of 90+ on that section (4 miles @ 8%+) = muscle spasms. I just made sure to take plenty of time and drink and eat as much as possible at the bottom. Result: Fully recovered for Sierra Road and the rest of the ride! :banana: :banana: :banana:

BTW, riding that Legend is sweet! Smooth, lively, and descends like magic! I hadn't done a technical descent in months and it just felt amazing!

[SteveE]

I was out doing the Wente RR on Saturday and passed a few of the Taste of the Devil riders on Altamont Rd. Did the DMD riders get caught up in any of the races?

[jeffg]

I was out doing the Wente RR on Saturday and passed a few of the Taste of the Devil riders on Altamont Rd. Did the DMD riders get caught up in any of the races?

There was no Taste of the Devil this year, i.e. no 200km bailout. In any event, all riders follow the section over Altamont, then over Patterson (oh my God hill) to Mines Road. A pack of riders passed me on the descent of Patterson at about 10:45 AM. Did you see a polished Legend w/ red/black decals? :p

BTW, one course official told us to watch for riders drafting off us!! I told him he could rest easy. ;) That Wente RR looks like a great course.

[SteveE]

There was no Taste of the Devil this year, i.e. no 200km bailout. In any event, all riders follow the section over Altamont, then over Patterson (oh my God hill) to Mines Road. A pack of riders passed me on the descent of Patterson at about 10:45 AM. Did you see a polished Legend w/ red/black decals? :p

BTW, one course official told us to watch for riders drafting off us!! I told him he could rest easy. ;) That Wente RR looks like a great course.

Hmmm... I thought I read Taste of the Devil on the riders' numbers. It could have been that I was oxygen deprived at the time. I was off the course by 11:00am, so I guess I didn't pass you.

Oh yeah, the Patterson Pass climb is part of the Corral Hollow RR. There's a false flat after the lower part of the climb that's called "Religion", if I am not mistaken. The first time you do the race you think that you're done with the climb and say "Oh my God!" when you look up and see that there's a real steep section you still have to climb.

It was a fun race! I lost contact with the leaders the first time up Carroll Rd./Flynn Rd.

[jeffg]

Hmmm... I thought I read Taste of the Devil on the riders' numbers. It could have been that I was oxygen deprived at the time.

I think they used the same format for the numbers as previous years. The numbers say both Taste of the Devil and DMD, even though the former was not offered. This is from the website:


"We are not offering the Double-Metric option this year. There are many reasons, but primarily we do not feel that we can adequately support both rides simultaneously. It simply spreads our people too thin."

More reason to train up for the full ride!

[EPOJoe]

EPO - I'm curious. I graduated from Chico State in 1971. I have wonderful memories of riding my bike through Bidwell Park. What was the route of the Chico Wildflower Century? Did you ride up to Paradise (an aptly-named neighboring town)?


Yep, Tom, that was the route. Up Honey Run Road to Paradise, then down to Oroville, up and down Table Mountain (ugg :) ) and a hard left back through Durham to Chico. As rural as most of that route is, I'm sure it looks pretty much the same as it did when you rode it in '71!

Jeff, I still contend you DMD guys are monsters. I actually thought about the DMD route as I lay sweltering on a cement park bench trying to recover some strength on Sunday. 4500 feet of climbing did me in...20,000 in one day is, well, just incomprehensible to this pip-squeak :)

[BigMac]

Jeff:
My heartiest congratulations, what a great accomplishment.

I was not able to be there, my assistant filled in for me -- along with her boyfriend who now says he wants to give DMD a go next year even though his current only bike is a mtb -- they were located at the Sunol aid station. I wish I could have been there, unfortunately I had the displeasure of working the NFL draft as one of our Senior Associates who's primary role is player representation and recruiting was at Alta Bates with his wife for the birth of their 1st child. Ok, that was a very valid excuse but the weekend brought back all those reasons why I never deal with NFL draft and labor negotiations...it is tireless brown nosing work that I am too old to participate in :crap:
I did get the ride report yesterday afternoon, apparently it was a scorcher. Christina said there were no serious health-related issues but a few parties did abandon at her station...that's the home stretch with only the Palomares and Norris Canyon rollers left! :bike: Then again, even if I were able to ride, I likely would have dnf'd long before Sunol. I can ride in just about any kinda of cold but the minute the mercury rises above about 85F, I'm just not going to climb 20k'. All who did have my greatest admiration and for somebody to post a PR in those conditions...You the THE MAN! :beer:

The good news here is that my cast was removed yesterday and I begin PT today. Orthopedist says I will be able to do light biking in 2-3 weeks! :banana: I'll be away during the TT but I am planning on riding the inaugral Mt Tam DC in August. If you can make it out for the event, I think it will be worth your while, in fact it sounds alot nicer than TT -- Skagg's Rd with triple-digit temps has never been a fave of mine. Lots of beautiful rolling terrain through the coastal Marin farmlands and 15k' of climbing. I don't know the exact date or route but others have mentioned it will be early August and if you know the area from Pt Reyes down to Headlands, you're probably aware of the beauty and challenge that awaits us. Once again, congratulation to you and all '04 DMDer's who survived those conditions.

Ride on! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Sandy]

Glad to hear that you seem to be healing successfully from your injury. I am sure that your time off the bike, weight training, etc. must be difficult for you. You certainly don't appear to be the kind to ever let your cardio or strength training stop for any significant amount of time. Have you been doing much exercise, and if so what?

Continue your healing, hopefully quickly, and in a totally satisfying manner.

I admire you and respect you as much as anyone on the forum. You are always so helpful, articulate, and sincere, characterisitics that are often too lacking in some people these days.

Sandy

[Sandy]

PS How do you think the Redskins are going to do this year? How about a win-loss prediction?

Me Again

[BigMac]

Sandy:

I am very fortunate that I have a pretty extensive gym in our home. Obviously I could continue upper body workouts and most yoga workouts but honestly I was able to maintain many lower body workouts as well. I worked alot on hip and thigh strength and flexibility so i suspect my recovery time back to bike should be relatively short. I average 10-12 hours/wk in gym. With cast removed, I can swim lots of laps for rebuilding cardio base over next 3 weeks. As the saying goes, 'where there is a will, there is a way'.

I haven't looked that closely at Redskin roster moves but honestly Coach Gibbs is far more intelligent than I. The upgrade in coaching alone over the previous regime should lead to a handful of additional wins. I do know your 1st round choice, Sean Taylor, very well. He's a pretty good kid that gets the most out of his average athleticism. He's big enough and probably fast enough to cover TE's and backs in passing situations, although this is a skill he really needs to work on. He has wonderful instincts which seems to always put him in the right place, always near the ball. This is his greatest asset. He really needs to work on his tackling, he waaaaay too often attempts the shoulder block w/o wrapping up the ball carrier. This worked marginally in college but will NOT work in NFL. This will REALLY frustrate Coach. It's simply a bad technique that will be addressed in mini-camps and training camp and hopefully will not rear its ugly head during season...if it does I suspect Coach will bench him for a half. Sean could not find a better situation for his skills than playing for Coach Gibbs. If I were a betting man, I'd pick Redskin to finish 10-6, 1 game behind Philly but ahead of Dallas and a #5 or 6 seed in playoffs as a wildcard team. Obviously the strength of team is on defense. Gotta get you a dog and may be a cat. You can be sitting on your couch watching your 'Skins , cat in lap, dog at feet and Kevan rolling on floor hoping you'll toss him a few scraps ;)

Ride on! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[jeffg]

Thanks for the kind words. Too bad you missed the ride, though it was indeed a hot one once Mines Road was reached. San Antonio Valley Road around 1:00 and Hamilton around 2:00 were really tough. Maybe time for a Camelback. I feel slow at 15:30, but without the bonk on Hamilton it should have been a little under 15 (I spent 30 minutes at Crothers eating and drinking and warding off nauseau). Next year I am aiming for 14:30 on DMD. We'll see. If I can hit around 13 on TT this year (hopefully not 118 on Skaggs this year), that will be an encouraging sign.

Sunol: I (along with my wife and six-month old son who were waiting for me) met a very nice couple at the Rest stop. What time were your friends/colleagues there? I arrived around 6:30.

As for Marin DC, we'll see. It might be tough for me to make both June and August. On the other hand, that would give me a Triple Crown while living in NYC, so I'll keep it in mind. That would be a beautiful ride! :banana:


Best of luck on the recovery!


Jeff

[BigMac]

Jeff:

I believe they were there from mid-afternoon till dark. Christina is a slim, very striking tall girl, 29 years old. Her father is a very tall german, her mother is a very short, petit Philipino woman. Christina is usually very outgoing and extremely well mannered. Her boyfriend Paul was there the entire time as well, at least i believe so. He's 30, shoulder length reddish blode hair, slightly shorter than Christina, muscular build with at least 1 tatoo on one of his arms. He's always been very polite on the few occasions I have met him, he also has a spike/stud through one of his eyebrows...and I thought I did some dumb things in my youth :confused: Good to hear all went well. I'm hopeful for a sub 15:00 next year as well...I'll be 56 by then having missed the last two DMD's due to injuries so my goals need to be tempered to some degree.

Ride on! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Kevin]

Sandy,

The Redskins? How about my Giants. A rookie quaterback, no offensive line, a running back who fumbles, all new linebackers, a rookie coach, can you say 0-16? Why do I torture myself with my beloved Giants?

:crap: :crap: :crap:
Kevin

[Sandy]

Hmmmm. Perhaps we should make some significant bets on the Giants/Redskins games this year. Kevan could hold the money.

Hmmmm. Perhaps we should make some significant bets on the Giants/Redskins games this year. Kevan should not hold the bets.


Booking along,

Money Mirman

[Kevin]

I hope you are going to give me at least 21 points.

Kevin