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Ride Report 6/28/09 – Climb to Kaiser ( Well, so much for
high expectations. Although my training for the year had gone well with measurable improvements in my times where it mattered,
i.e. Breathless and Heartbreak, the first signs of a cold coming on a week before zero hour did not bode well. I had taken it pretty
easy since Bear with short rides and limited climbing. I just wanted to maintain at that point. But a sore throat materialized
on Tuesday and slowly developed into a full blown cold. I foolishly rode on Wednesday; more just to make sure the bike was
set mechanically, and it was evident my strength was way down. I spend the rest
of the week trying to take it easy, slamming vitamin C and focusing on getting organized and packed. At least there would
not be any fires this year, BUT the temperatures in the valley were soaring, 106 to 109 depending on the source. I was on the road
early Friday morning and made the drive in good time, arriving around eleven. The folks at the Comfort Inn were kind enough
to grant me an early check in so I got settled by noon. Any kind of acclimation ride was out of the question so I decide to
head out and stock up on water, vitamin C, and Tylenol Extra Strength Sinus. It was then back to hole up in my room in bed
resting where I texted Jeff reporting on my condition. I knew he was going to
go for a PR this year and hooking up, in my condition, was out of the question. I dozed intermittently
and at around five I headed over to the school to check in. The start was on the North side of town this year so that added
about 3 miles to the front end and subtracted the commensurate amount on the run in. Hey, three less miles in the broiling
afternoon heat was OK by me. After signing in, I headed back to my room for more rest. Just before officially
going to bed I decided to give the rig a once over. I discovered that the cable for my front derailleur was completely slack.
Even though I'd made multiple rides since installing the compact; AND it was shifting, I hadn't detected it. I quickly tightened
things up then washed up and hit the sack. I awoke at 4 AM
and kitted up. Since I had brought up bagels and cereal I actually ate something you could call a real breakfast. After filling
up my water bottles, I grabbed my gear bag and bike and headed down to load up the car. I was at the school
by five and parked over on the east side. As I was getting ready I started up a conversation with a fellow rider who had parked
next to me. He was a local doing the ride for the second time too. We exchanged experiences and wished each other luck. A
quick turn around the parking lot and I rolled over to the start. There was already
a huge crowd and I worked my way closer to the front as the organizer gave us a quick safety lecture over a megaphone. At
5:30 sharp we were off and the peloton immediately stretched out as those on the front end hurdled themselves forward. I quickly
found myself falling off the back, and though I never intended to stay with the front group, I at least wanted to take advantage
of hitching on to some kind of paceline on the run up to Wildcat. But the riders I was following were peeling off the
back and the gap kept widening. Eventually I ended up behind another rider with tri-bars and took advantage of his draft
for a mile or too. Intermittently I could see the main group ripping around bends far ahead. As I eased back on the throttle
I wondered how many in the group actually belonged there. Time would tell. Needless to say
my opportunity to get sucked along the first twenty or so miles had come and gone. I was glad that commonsense, at least at
this point, had prevailed and prevented me from trying to hammer on and catch the group. Don't get me wrong, I was tempted
there for a second or two. At one point the
fellow I was drafting behind started easing up so I dutifully took the front only to watch him fade back. I was now riding
solo somewhere between the hammer heads and everybody else. It was weird, sort of a cycling version of the Twilight Zone.
The ride had suddenly evaporated around me. Then, as I was moving along Bullard, a rider came up from behind. His name was
Adam, a local who was doing the ride for the first time. We stayed together for miles, basically chatting. A SAG motorcycle
came by at one point and asked if we were the front. Hah! “Yeah, sure” we shouted back and pointed up the road.
Off he went. We made the right
onto Finally the left
onto With the rising
sun in our faces, we headed up into the foothills, winding our way through ever thickening oaks and scrub. Folks were fairly
spread out by this time, but the pace was still brisk with fresh legs and high expectations all around. I tackled the first major climb of the day with relative ease to arrive at the Wildcat Rest stop. I took full advantage of the plentiful spread being offered as well as topping off
my bottles. Knowing I was still sick and medicated, it seemed wise to set a pace that ensured survival. Sufficiently restocked
I headed down the hill into the With my course corrected
I rolled along through more rural splendor encountering a solo rider every now and then. Just before the next rest stop there
was a brief descent of about 500 feet over a two mile stretch. Towards the bottom I came upon a downed rider being attended
to by two SAG supporters. At the time I had no idea what could have happened,
especially since the road seemed pretty innocuous at the accident sight. Further
up the road I witnessed multiple emergency vehicles going the opposite direction. Later that day I learned the rider had hit
a calf standing in the road and separated his shoulder. I continued along,
finally making the right onto Tollhouse and then covering the mile or so to the next rest stop at Departing the school
parking lot I set off to tackle the Tollhouse/Pine Ridge climb. Of all the climbs this is perhaps my favorite because 1) the
legs are still relatively fresh, 2) the grades are moderate and 3) there are some really nice views. This year it did seem a bit longer than I recalled, but along the way I struck up a few conversations with
fellow riders that helped pass the time. As I approached
the top the road kicked up a few notches and I got out of the saddle and slowly rocked my way to the top. After hitting the
summit, I rolled down to rest stop #3 at the Fire House. I paused long enough to assess my condition and decided I felt pretty
good. Since my Garmin fritzed after the ride I can’t exactly compare my progress to last year’s pacing, but I’m
fairly certain I as taking things at a more relaxed pace. So be it since I had no desire to repeat the latter half of my ’08
Kaiser experience. Gathering myself
up I headed out to for Pine Ridge along Hwy 168. Of course there was that short
stretch of 16% to cover first, but with that behind me I was able to pretty much spin my way along, encountering riders here
and there, but never in great numbers. Since it’s a highway, the solitude
of Tollhouse seemed a distant memory, but the more manageable grade made up for it. As the highway meandered
through the pines I soon found myself in The trip along This year I pretty
much had the road to myself and when I arrived in the town of I won’t dwell on the details. The climb is well documented in its shear verticality and brutal exposure. I’ll just say it really, really hurt. I was geared exactly as last year, but found the lactic acid built up much faster and seared my legs for the duration of the entire climb. The backend dragged on endlessly and I fought to keep my forward momentum. Even after I crested and hit the rollers I was so fatigued I began to think I’d missed the lunch stop. I recall glancing down at my Garmin and watching mile 72.5 come and go. Inevitably it did come into view and I pulled in and quickly parted with my bike to seek food and a spot to sit.
I ended
up in the shade resting on an ice cooler after I’d grabbed some snacks and a Coke. I managed to recover a bit and probably
after 15 minutes decided to get moving. As I was working my way back to the parking
lot I came upon a familiar face. It was Jeff laying back in a beach chair looking a bit off. Apparently he’d been hit
with a severe case of cramping, so bad it had become difficult to even walk. I seem to recall he’d also had a mechanical
too. It must have been a terrible blow considering the good time he must have been making before he’d started having
problems. I wished him well and continued back up to the road. Knowing him I
was pretty sure he’d figure out a way to finish the course. I was
now literally 10 miles and 2,300 feet from my goal, albeit the halfway point from a total mileage perspective. But I wasn’t going to think about that at the moment, it was only going up that concerned me. Now this part of the route, at least the first 80% or so, should not be considered
onerous in any way. It’s a moderate average grade of about 7%. But after
the hammering my legs had taken, and my body for that matter, it felt like 10% Also, seeing so many riders descending was
a bit disheartening. I should have been one of them, but my condition had prevented
it. Needless to say I soldiered on watching the miles slowly tick away. I hate
it when a ride is reduced to this, but at this point watching the miles gradually rolling over was all I had and as numbing
as the preoccupation became it did result, inevitably in mile 82.2 appearing and with it the sacred summit, At
last, I quickly dismounted and plopped myself in a chair. I was really spent. I gradually refueled and listlessly watched
riders come and go. Not sure how long I lingered, but it easily could have been twenty minutes at which point I gathered myself
up and headed down. I rode the brakes for the first two miles as I now watched others struggling up that final climb. Then, as I passed through the snow gate, the road opened up and I barreled down the
Highway briefly experiencing the adrenaline that comes with high speed in thin air.
The sharp left onto Highway 168 brought me back down to Earth. Now Tamarack Ridge lay before me with its four gradual
rolling climbs. Surprisingly I tackled it without too much suffering and quickly
found myself on a wonderful fast descent back to I retraced
my path along the lake shore, slipped through town and pulled in to the
I headed
down Pine Ridge and after a few miles shot up Aubery to the next rest stop at On
queue, after the descent into the valley, I began to melt. About 5 or so miles
from the Millerton Store I had to stop and pull over. My feet had swelled into two baked potatoes and my head felt like a
pressure cooker. I’ve never had to stop like this during a ride, but today I had too.
Several riders passed asking about my condition and a gratefully waved them on. Pouring water over my head provided
no relief. I have to assume I’d basically overheated. I crawled down the road barely keeping the pedals turning. This
was definitely more than a bonk. Thankfully
Millerton Store arrived with its blessed cold towels. I tried to replenish liquids as best I could and went through several
iced towels with no affect. I finally filled one with ice and place I on my head
and neck. It helped but I knew I was just surviving, not recovering. No idea how long I rested, but somehow I gathered myself
up and headed out. Of course there was a headwind and every pedal stroke took
a huge amount of mental focus. The run back into I weaved
my way through town half delirious. I finally managed to get back to the school and pulled in. It was late in the day and
I felt I was walking into a party that was already winding down. I register my
return by signing in to no fanfare, an abysmal 12 hours and 38 minutes. I noted
a new record of 8 hours had been set. Someone gave be a vial of electrolyte and
I went over to a table to sit for moment in the air conditioned comfort of the auditorium. I know I presented a sad sight
indeed, covered in salt residue and sweat. What a day . . . I had
no desire to stick around for the BBQ and headed back to my car to load up and head back to the hotel. On the way I picked up some Carl’s Jr., but found out later I couldn’t eat it. I called
home to announce my arrival and text a buddy the simple report “Never again!” I think this will be the closest
I will ever come to death without really dying. I can’t describe the delirium I was in over that last twenty miles.
I wonder if I was bordering on heat exhaustion, who knows. I slept fitfully that night and headed back home early the next morning. I still had little appetite and felt absolutely spent. I took a week to fully recover and now that the memory is getting blurry I am contemplating a return for a third attempt as Kaiser Though I’ve finished I feel like it’s beaten me twice. 2010 approaches. We shall see. No Stats, Garmin data lost |
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