jeffg
08-06-2007, 12:53 AM
As the Germans say, fortune in misfortune, sort of
After a long day at work, I got to the ride about one hour ahead of the 5:00 am start (no sleep).
The climb up to Mt. Tam, which I had never done, was gorgeous, but very uneven with steep sections and lots of flat sections and intermediate descents. The view of San Francisco shrouded in fog (only the top of the Transamerica building was visible and the top of the GG bridge) was amazing!
Then we descended through the fog (it was sunny and warm at the top of Tam!) and rode along the coast for quite a while. I traded pulls with a guy I rode with on the Terrible Two for a while.
All was going well until my custom shoes, that I had sent back for modifications, started killing my feet after about 85 miles :crap: :crap: :crap: I stopped to take off my shoes a few times (and considered tossing them into the abyss) and swear a bit.
Then I headed through some headwinds and the constant rollers that mark this course. Unlike the Terrible Two or Devil Mountain that have numbers of key climbs that mark the course, Mt. Tam gets up to 15,000 feet of climbing with only Tam and Coleman Valley as significant climbs.
Coleman Valley, by the way, is a gorgeous climb but is not as tough as advertised (one section is about 1.5 miles at 10%).
Anyway, I had made it over Coleman Valley and was heading down Joy Road when I got a sudden flat. After fixing the flat I realized the tire had a huge cut in it and it would less than wise to bomb the descent. I was lucky it was a rear flat and I was not going that fast or leaning too heavily in a turn when the rear blew. On the other hand I did not have anything on hand that would really fix it (nothing that would make me feel confident at 40 mph), so I waited for another 30 minutes for a SAG to no avail. I then limped the remaining 10 miles to the next rest stop. Somewhat demoralized, I tried to call my wife and see if she would mind me getting back a little later (it was her birthday the next day, after all) but I could not reach her. I then weighed whether to wait and see if anyone could round up a new tire, but then just decided I really didn't care anymore.
So, I find myself in a new era, where the mantra of death before DNF no longer holds.
Ride stats (to tire desaster): 133.3 miles/12,460 feet of ascent
Time: 9:46
Average on bike speed: 15.1
Maybe I will start carrying a spare tire.
Course Verdict: Beautiful, but with some annoying and occassionally hostile traffic on highway 1 since you hit it in the afternoon. Central Coast hits highway 1 in the early morning, which is much better. The constant up and down of the course is taxing but nothing like facing Skaggs Springs on the Terrible Two after lunch. I much prefer Devil Mountain, Central Coast, or the Terrible Two.
Jeff Verdict: I am on overweight wuss at present. I did ride and finish Central Coast and the Terrible Two this year along with the GF Pantani and the Maratona dles Dolomites, but I am much slower than I have been (ouch) and much more willing to bail if the chips are down. Maybe it's because I know I can finish these rides and am motivated only as long as I ride strong. Maybe it's because I start to think of the burden it is on my wife to watch the kids all day and set internal deadlines for when I should be back and start to think it's not worth it when I don't meet them. I don't quite know yet. What I do know is that I need to find a solution to this foot pain or I am done with doubles until I do. Foot pain on a 6-8 hour ride is one thing. Over 12 hours is quite another ...
And no, Too Tall, I am not taking up crew instead of cycling. That's my wife's gig ... although she wants to start doing doubles next year! Then I can watch the kids while she rides!
After a long day at work, I got to the ride about one hour ahead of the 5:00 am start (no sleep).
The climb up to Mt. Tam, which I had never done, was gorgeous, but very uneven with steep sections and lots of flat sections and intermediate descents. The view of San Francisco shrouded in fog (only the top of the Transamerica building was visible and the top of the GG bridge) was amazing!
Then we descended through the fog (it was sunny and warm at the top of Tam!) and rode along the coast for quite a while. I traded pulls with a guy I rode with on the Terrible Two for a while.
All was going well until my custom shoes, that I had sent back for modifications, started killing my feet after about 85 miles :crap: :crap: :crap: I stopped to take off my shoes a few times (and considered tossing them into the abyss) and swear a bit.
Then I headed through some headwinds and the constant rollers that mark this course. Unlike the Terrible Two or Devil Mountain that have numbers of key climbs that mark the course, Mt. Tam gets up to 15,000 feet of climbing with only Tam and Coleman Valley as significant climbs.
Coleman Valley, by the way, is a gorgeous climb but is not as tough as advertised (one section is about 1.5 miles at 10%).
Anyway, I had made it over Coleman Valley and was heading down Joy Road when I got a sudden flat. After fixing the flat I realized the tire had a huge cut in it and it would less than wise to bomb the descent. I was lucky it was a rear flat and I was not going that fast or leaning too heavily in a turn when the rear blew. On the other hand I did not have anything on hand that would really fix it (nothing that would make me feel confident at 40 mph), so I waited for another 30 minutes for a SAG to no avail. I then limped the remaining 10 miles to the next rest stop. Somewhat demoralized, I tried to call my wife and see if she would mind me getting back a little later (it was her birthday the next day, after all) but I could not reach her. I then weighed whether to wait and see if anyone could round up a new tire, but then just decided I really didn't care anymore.
So, I find myself in a new era, where the mantra of death before DNF no longer holds.
Ride stats (to tire desaster): 133.3 miles/12,460 feet of ascent
Time: 9:46
Average on bike speed: 15.1
Maybe I will start carrying a spare tire.
Course Verdict: Beautiful, but with some annoying and occassionally hostile traffic on highway 1 since you hit it in the afternoon. Central Coast hits highway 1 in the early morning, which is much better. The constant up and down of the course is taxing but nothing like facing Skaggs Springs on the Terrible Two after lunch. I much prefer Devil Mountain, Central Coast, or the Terrible Two.
Jeff Verdict: I am on overweight wuss at present. I did ride and finish Central Coast and the Terrible Two this year along with the GF Pantani and the Maratona dles Dolomites, but I am much slower than I have been (ouch) and much more willing to bail if the chips are down. Maybe it's because I know I can finish these rides and am motivated only as long as I ride strong. Maybe it's because I start to think of the burden it is on my wife to watch the kids all day and set internal deadlines for when I should be back and start to think it's not worth it when I don't meet them. I don't quite know yet. What I do know is that I need to find a solution to this foot pain or I am done with doubles until I do. Foot pain on a 6-8 hour ride is one thing. Over 12 hours is quite another ...
And no, Too Tall, I am not taking up crew instead of cycling. That's my wife's gig ... although she wants to start doing doubles next year! Then I can watch the kids while she rides!