benweir.com

This was my second double century, the first being the Solvang Double earlier this year. For both events I started out riding a pretty brisk pace and had some doubts that I could sustain it for 200 miles. At Solvang I finished strong and felt really great even including the final Drum Canyon climb. Yesterday ... not so much.

Even though I finished the ride relatively quickly I keep thinking about what went wrong and how to not make those mistakes again. I felt worse after this ride than I've ever felt after any other. I was seriously second guessing whether I wanted to ride any more doubles ever. Today I feel fine. There's the usual muscle soreness and general fatigue but overall I'm recovered from what was ailing me yesterday.

So as for the ride, I left Motel 6 at 5:20am sharp with Bostic, dl33, and Ygduf. I had shorts, lightweight jersey, and arm warmers on and the temperature was just perfect for that combination. We made the 4 1/2 mile ride to the official start. There was no need to check in but we posed for a group photo before beginning the "official" ride at 5:40.

We headed out of town as the sun rose and rode through a large grid of country roads with names such as "Road 23" and "Road 86B". As the miles passed we picked up more riders and soon had a nice paceline going. The first rest stop came at mile 19 and we rolled by that one. After that stop the pace quickened and there were some really strong riders up front including one guy in a California/Nevada state champion jersey. I made it to the front for one quick pull and immediately redlined my heartrate. Those guys were fast!

We hit the climb at Monticello Dam and the group scattered. I missed the main break and so I climbed at my own pace which was actually a refreshing change from the earlier torrid pace. Also I could blow snot rockets

There was some climbing and descending and eventually we made it to the second rest stop at mile 56. Our original group of four regrouped here and then we continued onward at a more sane pace. We stopped at rest stop 3 (at mile 76) and then kept going on Butts Canyon road. Years ago I used to ride my motorcycle all over this area and I still distinctly remember the name of that one in an immaturely funny sort of way.

Rest stop 4 came at around mile 95. Our group rolled in there at just over 5 hours of riding time. The Cobb climb was just after this stop though and that's a sure fire way to slow down an average speed. This climb was steep but not too bad since I'm used to doing local hills that are even steeper. There were a couple false summits before we hit the top. And after hitting the top there were a couple more short intermediate climbs before the true descent.

But that descent was worth waiting for! No pedaling (would have been useless even in my 53x11 gear) and no brakes. Just flat out speed.

At the lunch stop (mile 117) I probably ate too much. it was just a sandwich and I didn't feel any ill effects right away. Actually I felt pretty good throughout the Resurrection climb and down the other side. By the time we made the right turn to follow Cache Creek (at mile 143) I started fading.

It wasn't like hitting a wall, it was more subtle than that. Actually I didn't even realize what was going on at the time since it was affecting me mentally as well as physically. Looking back I realize now that I wasn't taking on enough calories and I think that for the final 50-60 miles of the ride I was "slow bonking".

I remember a point in the ride where I mentioned to Chris that I was "through with solid foods" for the rest of the ride since my stomach just wasn't feeling it (probably due to the sandwich). My plan was to just drink the Cytomax and let those calories sustain me. It turns out this was a horrible idea for me.

Anyway this last section of the ride was sort of a death march for me. I remember trading pulls with a guy in a green jersey for a while. I also remember feeling on the verge of tears but I don't remember exactly when or why. I remember Chris saying at one of the rest stops that it was the first time he'd ever seen me look tired. I think he thought I was a robot up until then. I was gulping down Cytomax but my mouth would feel dry and sticky again just 5 seconds after taking a drink.

The last rest stop came at mile 196. With just 7 1/2 miles left I had to stop because my water bottles were empty. Finally I made it back to the official start in Davis and then back to the hotel from there.

So my big mistake of the day was nutrition. During the Solvang Double I drank Perpetuem which they provided at the rest stops. I felt completely fine that day. Then without doing any research I just blindly equated "Perpeteum" to "liquid diet" to "Cytomax" to "good" even though the two products are nothing alike.

Cytomax is basically sugar water with electrolytes. Perpeteum is mostly complex carbs with a little bit of sugar and also some fat and protein. Even though I was really suffering out there it's actually an excellent learning opportunity and now I'm actually excited to get the nutrition down and then take on the Terrible Two. First step is to re-read through the Hammer fueling guide with a brand new perspective

Stats for the day:
209 miles, 11:24 riding time, 18.3mph
13 hours total time

View the thread at bikeforums.net for more ride reports and pictures.