Ride Report 5/24/08 – Heartbreak Hundred (Lebec, CA)

For some reason I could not get jazzed up for this ride. I prepared with plenty of training rides and gobs of climbing.  I spent the week pre-hydrating and eating right. All the things you’re supposed to do, but I just wasn’t excited about this event.  Perhaps still being somewhat of a newbie to Centuries (it hasn’t even been a year since my first) I imagine there are times when your head is somewhere else. This must have been one of those times.

What was nice is that it started late in the morning. Late, that is, by my standards.  Roll-out was at 8:00 am which meant I could leave the house around 6:00 am and still arrive with time to spare.  A big unknown was the weather. Things in the LA basin had gotten just weird. Tornados, snow flurries, thunderstorms had all been in play. It was overcast and ominous that morning and as I drove north I encountered several rain showers.

I passed through Gorman and hit the off ramp for Frazier Mountain Park Road in Lebec. I accidentally drove right past the truck stop since I was expecting to pull in on the right side of the road, duh. Made a quick U turn and headed back east towards the interstate. No problem finding it this time. The parking lot was already bustling with riders.  I parked and headed for the Best Rest Inn to try and find the registration table. Riders were milling about everywhere. I spent some more time wandering about making wrong turns, but I finally found it down stairs in back. After signing in I headed back to the car to suit up

I really had no idea where the weather was going to go so I slipped on two base layers under my jersey, full leg and arm warmers, full finger gloves, booties and a headband. In retrospect, I’m glad, because it did not really warm up the entire day. I shoved a few Powerbars and Clif Gel Shots in my back pockets and then rolled over to the back of the Inn where the timekeepers were stationed. It was really backed up and while I was waiting I kept looking east. Dark clouds were looming and I had flashbacks of last year’s Spooktacular. I made a quick decision and returned to the car for my rain cape. Lugging it would be a small price to pay if the heavens did decide to open and let loose their fury.

I returned to the timekeepers station and it was even more crowded. They only had two volunteers taking departure times so you can imagine how long it was taking to get everyone processed. My only concern was getting too cold. In the end it took less than 10 minutes and I was on the road at 8:21 on the nose.

The route sheet was about the size of an index card. There were very few turns so I figured I’d rarely have to refer to it. The ride started out along Frazier Park road with a mild climb. It hovered around 4% which suited me just fine. I passed lots of folks, but was polite enough to announce my presence as I overtook them.  I know how annoying can be when someone suddenly overtakes you without warning. Lot’s of “on your left” and “good morning” as I passed. Along this stretch there was plenty of shoulder and a helpful tail wind. My plan was to start out conservatively, consistently drinking and eating, keeping an eye on my feet and, oh yeah, enjoying myself a bit.

Once the course turned northwest there was about a mile of two of relatively straight road that led to a moderate climb up into Padres National Forest. There was some really nice scenery with low car traffic and a pretty good shoulder for riding. I continued to overtake folks. Was passed by two huffers during this portion of the ride, but they never really got ahead of me. I tended to lose them on the climbs, but overtake them on the descents.

And there were some fun one’s, though I wasn’t able to completely open up since passing folks at speed wasn’t always safe. A few times I had to brake since there was no way to pass safely. The lead huffer even commented on one of the climbs how much I must like the descents, which I do. I seem to have improved a bit since I was passing folks consistently rather than being overtaken.

I hit the first rest stop at mile 18. At this point I was still feeling great, my legs felt strong and I had nothing to complain about. My feet were acting up, but I wasn’t sure if they were just cold or in fact my straps were too tight. At this point I pulled off my booties and loosened them up just in case.

Following the rest stop there was another mild climb and then a nice descent down into the valley. The next 20 miles were really unique.

It was basically a down hill, but rolling and WIDE open. The vistas were spectacular both to the north and west into the San Joaquin Valley.  At this point the pack was completely spread out and over and over again I would gradually reel a rider in and pass them, then move onto the next and so on. The speeds were good and the wind and temperature moderate. Road conditions were excellent through out and I enjoyed hammering along at a good clip.

I finally reached the left turn onto Cuyama Highway. They said something about an emergency water stop, but I never saw it. A short up hill and then downhill brought me to the second left onto Highway 33. Oh dread, a MAJOR headwind and a long straight stretch of road. I pedaled along this endless stretch, watching a barn slowly grow on the distant horizon. I was plodding along at 14 mph. What a slog. Any hopes of a good finish were dashed if this kept up. Solo was not the right strategy here!  I managed to catch a few riders along the way, but I was pretty sure this was going to continue for at least another 20 miles or so and at this rate I’d be pushing for another 1 to 2 hours. Yuck.

All of a sudden a group of about 10 riders overtook me, A Santiago guy was going all out on the front pulling the train along. I saw several riders I’d overtaken had hooked onto this freight train. As the last riders passed I hopped on. Suddenly I was moving at 17 plus mph. Now this was an improvement!

What a mix bag of riders it was. There were several Santiago guys, a big dude decked out in full time trial mode (red aero helmet, red skin suit, etc) and sundry other rag-taggers like myself. I was on the end behind a guy who was pretty much all over the place. His wind breaker was flapping in the wind and he wasn’t holding the best of lines. I backed off half a wheel just to be on the safe side.

Somewhere along way we whisked past the 2^nd rest stop in Ventucopa. I have no idea when it happened, but it must have been when I was caught up in the paceline. No other riders pulled off that I could tell. I can only presume it might have happened when I was on the front and possibly a few fell off.

On the first rise the group began to decompose. I was on the front and took a few guys up the hill with me. As I reached the top I realized contributing the paceline as a front man had been a mistake. My legs were fried and I was soon overtaken by part of the group being towed along by the time trial dude. I watched them fade into the distance.

At this point the road hit a section of rollers which, if anything, added some interest to the ride. A guy I’d worked with passed me and held off my front we’ll by about 50 meters all the way to Lockwood. Not sure if he was waiting for me to catch up so we could work together. I also over took a young lady who was going solo on this stretch. We leapfrogged once or twice.

I finally made it to the left turn onto Lockwood Valley Road. The four guys we’d past almost 10 miles ago came up and all of a sudden there was a group of about 7 or 8 of us. Unfortunately everybody seemed to be moving at a different pace and we fragmented into 3 groups, or should I say two groups and me. At this point I was out of water and had eaten my last Powerbar. Not good.

The road wound through a number of washes, some flowing with water. Nothing like a bit of mud to make the day interesting. I caught a few riders along this stretch, but was passed by numerous small groups. Obviously the back end of this ride required teamwork to make good time, but I couldn’t seem to find a rider that was moving at my intermediate pace.

About a mile or so before Heartbreak Hill, they had a roving water stop. Thank God. I pulled over and filled up both my bottles. I exchanged a few pleasantries with the volunteer and then mounted up. At this point my legs were seriously hurting. The brisk paceline and extended pulls had done their damage. My legs were spent.

The road gradually started going vertical and then all of a sudden I came to the broad sweeping incline of Heartbreak Hill.  As you started the climb you could literally see up and to the right where you were headed. It was really quite spectacular.  The grades dipped into the 16% range on this stretch.  Along the way I was caught by a rider who was making short work of the hill. As he passed we chatted briefly. He had also done Breathless and finished in the 5 hour range, very impressive. As we rounded to the final ascent he gradually moved off my front wheel.

I finally summitted, taking a left turn that dropped be at the final rest stop. I laid my bike down and headed for the food table. Missing the last stop had been a big mistake. My stores were empty. I gorged myself on everything they had to offer including two ibuprofen.  Riders were arriving and departing fairly regularly. Most seemed pretty tired.

After about 10 minutes I was back on the road, but wasn’t quite out of the woods yet. There were still two more climbs and lots of rollers ahead. I covered the next 20 miles pretty much alone, catching a few riders along the way.  There was a long straight stretch through the valley and then the final climb before the welcomed descent back to the start.  I reached Frazier Park Road and hit a pretty substantial headwind, but since it was downhill I didn’t mind it much.  As the finish approached I felt energized and pretty much cranked all the way back to the Best Rest Inn.

I pulled into the parking lot, weaved through the parked big rigs and rolled up to the registration table, checked in and then headed to the BBQ. They had burgers and dogs plus sodas and chips. Folks were milling about but not in great numbers.  I relaxed for a bit and then rolled back to the car, packed up and headed south.

I felt this was a fairly good ride. The climbing was excellent, but the long pull along Hwy 33 was a drag. Getting caught up in the paceline and missing the second rest stop was a mistake. The support was good and up to Planet Ultra standards.  I will definitely consider repeating next year.