We got to the school in good time and found a parking space in the small parking lot. I saw the Woman who was the first Woman finisher at the Death ride (Laura Stern) last year and started feeling competitive on Jennie's behalf. I didn't pay attention to where Jim Molinari and Ken were, as Jennie wished me luck. I couldn't focus on much else. Bill Oetinger gave us all the usual pre-ride speech and threatened to murder any riders that left early.
It was chilly in the morning and I could feel it. We rolled at 5:31 according to my watch and I stuck with Jennie as I shivered and we followed the 'pace' vehicle through the signals in Santa Rosa. Coming around a bend, Jennie and I were about 50 riders back and the group ahead looked like a peloton in a big race. It was clear that some of the riders were not accustomed to riding in a pack by their exaggerated reactions to changes in the pace or road hazards, etc.
When we got into town, I hit something large in the road and was fully expecting to hear the familiar hiss-hiss-hiss of a flat tire. That didn't happen, but I was still expecting something like a slow leak. That didn't happen either. Guess it was my lucky day!
When we hit Bennett Valley Road, the 'pace' car pulled off. The pack remained together. Jennie and I remained in the front 10% of the group which was good, because we later heard that some riders went down on that stretch! As I felt warmer, I went ahead and Jennie was right there on my wheel. We descended a bit into the town of Glen Ellen and went through stop signs like we owned the town (with the group).
Soon, we crossed route 121 and started on the first serious climb of the day. Trinity Grade. It was comparable to a long Metcalf and Jennie and I both went to our smallest gears (me, a 27, and Jennie a 28). Trinity went by pretty fast as I stuck to Jennie's wheel. The group strung out and we started the very technical and windy descent on the other side. I kept the pace a bit high, as Jennie followed. On one hairpin in particular, a volunteer had parked his car at the apex with the flashers going to warn people of the sharp turn. SIX people went down on that descent!
I came upon a slower rider and slowed down a bit to wait for an opening to pass, then passed. When we were done with the descent, Jennie sounded like she was upset about something. Turns out she was expecting me to go by the slower rider without hesitation, and when I slowed, she locked up her brakes and skidded--not once--but twice. She thought she was going down, but managed to save it. She wasn't upset at me, she just had a good scare. Another rider who was following along complimented her on a good save.
Soon after that, I found myself a bush, and caught up to Jennie at Route 29 (Napa Valley). We cruised Route 29 for a few miles before heading towards Silverado Trail. On Silverado, Laura Stern passed our group and we all became one big group for a while. I did a couple pulls and Jennie did some as we were trying to stay near each other's wheels because we knew we could trust each other. This was clearly shown to us as a guy forced his way into the paceline behind me and in front of Jennie causing her to make an evasive maneuver to avoid his wheel. A few miles later, another guy came up next to me and warned me about that rider in particular. I can still remember his number: 59.
I remember feeling dissapointed as Laura Sern's group pulled away from our group, but I was determined to keep the pace even and consistent as I was pulling at the time. We came into the first rest stop in Calistoga (51 miles) at 8:17 and were out of it at 8:22. Right on schedule. It felt good on my legs to keep it going like that.
We passed the Old Faithful Geyser on the way out of town. Too bad it wasn't erupting. Maybe next time I'll stop, 'cause I won't be doing this ride next time I go that way!
I kept picturing in my mind that The Geysers road was right at Calistoga, when in fact it was about 15 miles north. Needless to say, there was a long stretch of flat leading up to The Geysers. It seemed to me that each stretch of flat or rollers was a journey to the next challenge. I had sectioned the ride into 6 insanity zones, if you will. First was Trinity (insanity 'my legs are fresh and I am a fool for thinking I can do this without pain' zone), second was The Geysers (insanity 'oh my God what am I doing' zone), third was Skaggs Springs (Double puker insanity zone), fourth was Rancheria (Everest death zone), fifth was Fort Ross Road (insanity cramp zone), and sixth was Fort Ross Road to Cazadero (insanity you suck zone).
Route 128 was a very nice stretch of road with 1 short climb (which Jennie took me up--thank you very much!). I tried to give her a good pay back for the great pacing up the hill by giving her a draft on the other side. We saw Ken fixing a flat tire on the side of the road on that stretch. It wasn't long before we made the hard right turn onto The Geysers road (or the road that leads to the Geysers).
The climb on The Geysers starts out just plain steep (about 9-11% in my estimation) and settles out to generally very steep. This initial climb goes for about 5-6 miles in my estimation. Once again, Jennie set the pace for the climb as we passed one rider after the other, including the dangerous exploding tandem that passed us going UP Trinity grade. We never saw them again. Of note on The Geysers is the second part of the climbing. It's complete with an 18% wall that you can see from the other side of a valley as you are descending to the bottom of it. Fear is another feeling I am sure many cyclists experienced on this ride. We arrived at the Mercuryville reststop at 10:22 and left at 10:27 after Jennie knocked a potato out of my hand just as I was getting ready to go. She was challenging me to stick with the 5 minute rest stop time. I was so fast, I had time to go back, get another potato and go (of course, I had to eat it on the bike). Right on time.
We had one more screaming descent with a dip in it that I could remember taking me by surprise the last (and only other) time I had been on the road. I signaled Jennie behind me to slow down and I think she remembered that time. We made the left turn to start the stretch along the river. I led at a brisk pace over a very bumpy stretch of road. Several people seemed OK to follow at that speed. Then, we crossed the bridge to the other side. I had it in my head that we would descend all the way into Cloverdale. Oh, no. We had some rollers to negotiate, and several stretches of gravel as well as some wet spots. That was a rodeo ride. Jennie reminded us of how she encountered a logging truck when she did the ride in 1995. I was thankful we didn't run into anything like that.
We finally arrived in Cloverdale and took a new stretch of road that paralleled 101. Normally the ride goes through the town of Cloverdale, but we essentially skirted it, which we all agreed was much better. A short hop over Dutcher Creek Road with an old fellow racing club buddy of mine and a nice fellow named Steve brought us to Lake Sonoma and lunch. When we arrived, the people at the lunch stop said out loud that Jennie was the first Woman. Laura Stern had stopped at the porta potties just in front of us, so Jennie and Laura essentially came in at the same time. In the back of my mind I was hoping we could finish ahead of her. We arrived at lunch at exactly 11:45 (109 miles). Our first 100 miles had an elapsed time of 6:05. Jennie and I had a quick half sandwich (we couldn't eat much because the "Terrible Two was to become truly terrible" as soon as we were to ride out of lunch). We were done with lunch by 11:55 and went and found a bush. After that, we were rolling at 12:00n.
The climbing began immediately. First, a somewhat gentle climb for about 1 1/2 miles. Ken passed us on that stretch. Then, a left turn and the real climbing began. We did a very steep stretch for a couple of miles, then a short downhill (about 1/4 of a mile), then another steep pitch, then a short downhill, another steep climb.....Needless to say, the trend was up! We had several false summits and I was not enjoying it. It was all exposed and the temperature was rising. I stuck to Jennie's wheel for what seemed like an etermity as my world centered around her rear wheel. Jennie and I both fried like calamari on that stretch. The water stop nearly at the top of it was a welcome sight. We stopped for about a minute to top off. We went down a steep descent, then up a steep climb, then down a steep desent, then up a steep climb. THAT is not a kind road.
Eventually we came to the final descent--very bumpy and about 6-7 miles. My feet were throbbing from all the pressure from climbing. I didn't want to stop, so I gritted my teeth and continued. I wasn't very good at pointing out road hazards for Jennie behind me because I couldn't focus on it. She smartly kept her distance so she could be ready for the bumps. As the road flattened out, we caught up to Ken and I had that lovely nauseous feeling to go along with my throbbing feet and sore hiney. I took a look at Jennie and she was covered in salt. I tried to give her my wheel but she just held back. My brain was too fried at the time to realize that she wasn't feeling any better than me. I slowed down and when they caught up, I let Jennie go by. Then, with some frustrated curses, Ken announced that his tire was going low again. My brain couldn't do anything other than ride. So, Jennie and I kept going as Ken stopped to fix it. The Camp Gualala reststop couldn't have come sooner. I suddenly had a craving for a coke and cookies and pretzels and....I stuffed my face as Jennie took another salt tablet. One wasn't enough, but at least she was taking some.
We headed for the nearest bush (no portapotties at that reststop due to a Girl Scout jamboree happening at the camp) and continued. My feet felt better from the break and I needed the food I ate. We descended with another fellow from the Santa Rosa Cycling Club. Soon, we saw the metal bridge that represented the start of Annapolis Road on our right. We kept going and had our own bridge to cross. Jennie said that the next climb started just after this bridge. No biggie, I thought. We'll just deal with it. I had no idea.
The Rancheria climb started out very steep and stayed that way with the exception of the turns where it got steeper. It did not let up one iota. At the top 1/4 mile the gradient increased. My guess is that it stayed pretty steady at about 10-15%. I was told it climbed over 900 feet in 1.6 miles. The fellow with us started asking us questions about us riding together, etc. I just hoped he would pipe down soon. Jennie stopped to catch her breath. She was doing OK, so I continued on. As I got to the top, I almost caught up to a guy who was walking his bike. Yep, it was a slow go. I waited a minute or two at the top and Jennie appeared.
As we approached the coast, the cooling temperatures were welcome (breezy and in the sixties). We had a tailwind for much of the way with the exception of the many curves that brought us into the wind. It wasn't long before Laura Stern and another rider passed us. Jennie was getting tired of the pressure and just wanted to focus on her ride so she was glad when she passed us finally. It wasn't long before familiar territory appeared in the form of Timber Cove and Timber Cove Road (a road that intersects Route 1 and greets you with a large sign that warns you of the 18% grade ahead when you turn onto it). A few miles later and Fort Ross Road appeared. That was our road.
After a brief stop at the reststop (where Jennie introduced herself to Laura Stern). She took off up the hill with me in tow at a brisk pace. I was feeling OK for a change as we started the climb (something I attribute to the cooling effect of the coast and the chocolate chip cookies and pretzels). I was concerned that Jennie was taking it too fast and she soon stopped for a breather. I knew she was fine so I just kept going. I had a good climb and passed two people on the way. The toughest part was a nasty pitch at the top that nearly stopped me in my tracks. Yowch. Jennie appeared shortly after at the top and we continued towards the stretch that takes you to Cazadero.
I was expecting a descent for a while, then a tough little climb and another descent into Cazadero. Nope. Not today. It was another typical road for this ride. We descended, did a short climb, descended, did a long, pain in the ass climb, descended.....You get the picture. I thought for a while that the town of Cazadero didn't exist and we would just keep going on that road: up-down-up-down forever! Bill Oetinger slowly drove past and gave us a friendly greeting. My first reaction when I heard a car tailing us slowly was to get very annoyed (OK, OK, the road was getting to me). That all went away when I realized who it was. Other than Bill, Jennie and I had that stretch of road all to ourselves.
Yes, Cazadero finally appeared as we caught up to another fellow who pulled us for quite some distance along a very bumpy road. My hind end wasn't dealing with this very well. Prior to meeting up with this fellow, Jennie turned to me and told me that if I wanted to do this ride again, I was on my own. My response to her was to say that if I decided to do it again to just shoot me. We passed Bill Oetinger talking to a Highway Patrolman along that road. Apparently, Bill had broken up an altercation between a cyclist and an angry motorist who had just hit the cyclist (cyclist was OK and the driver took off, but Bill got the license). Jennie and I stayed with the other fellow all the way into Monte Rio, where the final reststop was at mile 183. The reststop attendants checked our numbers (just as they did at all the other reststops). We arrived there at 5:55.
There were only about 3 other riders there. As Jennie hit the restroom, another rider asked me if she was my girlfriend. I said yes, and he asked me if she knew that she was only a few minutes behind the first woman. I told him she was well aware of it, and was riding her own ride. Enough said. We left that rest stop at 6:00, still on time.
Jennie clearly was feeling better as we started the climb up to Accidental, uh Occidental. She boogied up it as it went by very quickly. We made the left turn onto the Graton road climb amongst a barrage of traffic. Luckily it went away when we got to the top and I took the lead on the descent. Finally! a smooth stretch of road! We were flying. We came around a corner and saw a car turning onto our road from what appeared to be a side road. As we sped past the 'side' road, we saw a guy standing there signalling us frantically to make the turn. We were going way too fast to make the turn so we slowed down and saw on the pavement ahead the words "TT NO" with an arrow pointing the opposite way. As it turns out, we actually turned right onto a side road and the road veered left there.
We were soon back on track in cruise mode. I wondered if we could beat Jennie's time from the last time she did the ride in '95. We had to get in before 7:10. I didn't want to look at my watch as we turned onto Guerneville road. I saw another rider ahead and knew that he would be turning soon. I knew we were close. I kept looking at the rider and telling him to turn! Hurry up and turn! He did.
We came to the turn and the road turned very bumpy. A painted sign in the road said 1 mile to go. YES. I couldn't get past the bumps to truly appreciate what we had just done when we pulled into the school.
We arrived at 7:04. Total time was 13:33 with our stops limited to 43 minutes of that time. That was the most efficient Double I had ever done and we had beaten Jennie's 1995 time by 10 minutes. We saw Danny Fallorina at the finish. He finished about 40 minutes ahead of us. Laura Stern ended up finishing 15 minutes ahead. After that, Jennie and I just sat in the parking lot and took pictures of our exhausted selves. After some time, we cleaned up and got a something to eat and bought our well earned jerseys. Ken showed about an hour later and Jim showed up about 1/2 an hour after that just before dark. He brought lights, but never needed them. Well done, Jim! Ken later confessed that he was thankful Jennie convinced him to get a 27 for this ride. He got good use of it.
We hung out and talked with several folks for a while. We headed back to the motel at about 10:00 and took showers. It was nearly midnight when we went to Denny's for milkshakes. Denny's milkshakes are now the best ever.
Done!