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2003 Devil Mountain Double Ride Report
(Saturday, April 26 in San Ramon, CA.)
See also my photo album from
this ride
Prologue:
I was quite apprehensive about this ride, as at 205mi and 20,000' of climbing,
it would be by far the most difficult ride I've ever attempted, plus its
really early in the season. My fears were not tempered by the fact that I'm
familiar with almost all of the climbs on the route, as I know how hard they
are! I'd been training diligently for the past number of months, but a
prolonged bout of the flu and foul weather caused me to miss much more training
than I should have....
I drove over to San Ramon on Friday night and did the
pre-ride checkin. The registration packet contained a nice cloth map of the
course, E-Caps, and a pamphlet from E-Caps on endurance exercising. I went to
bed at 10:00 and slept pretty badly, waking up at 11:50, 1:50, 2:50, and 3:15.
With that final wakeup being only 15min before my alarm was set anyways, I got
up and slowly got in gear. It poured buckets on me while driving to San
Ramon, which was not really how I wanted to start the ride! I got to the
hotel, went to the registration room, dropped off my lights (to be sent ahead
to the Crothers rest stop), and rolled out at about 5:10.
Mount Diablo:
It was cool, but dry as I rode through still-asleep San Ramon with a couple of
other riders. None of us had bright lights, having sent them ahead for the
evening, but we all had decent ones, and there was a fair bit of ambient light
anyways. We cruised through Blackhawk's rolling hills. At this point the
folks I was riding with were going faster than I wanted to (I prefer to save
the hard work for the real hills, not rollers!), so I rode alone in the
peaceful darkness for a little ways before turning off on Mt. Diablo Scenic
Boulevard. I met up with a couple of other riders and we rode along the
horribly-paved road up to the south gate of Mt. Diablo State Park. We started
the climb in earnest at around 5:45, just 15 minutes after the gates opened.
I heard the unmistakable "bang" of a tire exploding - someone apparently hit
one of the huge potholes! I found out later it was Tom, a rider I sort of
know. I stopped early on in the climb to shed my rain jacket, as I was
roasting inside of it! The sun was rising in the east, making for beautiful
views of the cloudy hills. I passed the junction and continued climbing on
Summit Rd. towards the top. I hadn't seen any riders descending yet, which
surprised me a bit, as I'd have thought the early hammerheads would be
descending as I climbed. After a while, folks started coming down the
mountain. One of them rode right off of the mountainside just 10 feet in
front of me! It was a very surreal sight seeing a cyclist come around a
corner, into my lane, onto the gravel shoulder, and off a cliff! I hurried to
the edge and peered over. Amazingly, the rider stopped just a dozen feet
below the road and was still with his bike - I was fully expecting him to have
plunged to his doom, as the mountainside is quite steep! I asked if he was OK
or needed help and he said he was fine, so I continued on my way,
climbing
past a
photographer from PhotoCrazy. Before
long, I passed Devil's Thumb and knew it was just a few more turns to the
summit. The dreaded 18% wall that caps Mt. Diablo actually felt fine, and I
arrived at the top 2 hours after starting the ride in San Ramon. This
first
rest stop (19.9mi) didn't close for 2 hours, but I didn't stay long anyways,
as it was cold! I mixed up a bottle of Spiz, had a handful of bread, used the
facilities, briefly enjoyed the
top-of-the-world views, and
headed back down.
Morgan Territory:
The descent was hideously cold, even with me wearing arm warmers, a vest,
glove liners, and a jacket, and my fingertips and toes quickly went numb.
I descended back past the Photo
Crazy photographer trying to smile without my lips falling off. Diablo isn't
an awful descent, but its not a great one either, with many blind and uneven
turns, and gravel often in the road. I passed the scene of a very bad looking
accident where the cyclist was lying face-down on the pavement and not moving.
Fortunately there was already a SAG vehicle there, and the rider regained
consciousness as I went by. I found out later that the unlucky rider's
handlebars broke as he descended and he suffered injuries to his neck and back
:( I hope he makes a speedy recovery. I continued descending in the cold,
although it warmed up a little bit as we headed down Northgate Road into
Walnut Creek. I stopped at the north gate to thaw my fingers, shed a layer,
and swap lenses in my sunglasses. From here it was a moderately-paced ride
over Ygnacio Valley Rd. into the outskirts of Concord, then south through
Clayton on Marsh Creek Rd. There were lovely views of the
northeast face of Mt. Diablo
(now clear of clouds), and the temperature was just about perfect. There were
very, very few riders on the road, which had me worried that I was already
towards the tail end of the field. I turned onto Morgan Territory Rd., one of
my favorite east bay roads. I rode with a cheerful rider for a few miles,
which was nice, but when the road got a little steeper, I dropped back to keep
my heart rate where it belonged. The road is in fair-to-poor shape at the
best of times, but recent storms made it even bumpier and muddier than usual.
It was still, as always, a peaceful road to ride on, with very, very little
traffic and a nice climb along a babbling stream. After a while, I came to
the parking lot for the Morgan
Territory Regional Park and
rest stop #2 (53.2mi). As I
pulled in, 4 other riders arrived behind me, so I guess I wasn't completely at
the back of the pack! I stretched, ate, mixed up some more Spiz, and headed
out with 90 minutes to spare.
Altamont & Patterson Passes:
The descent of Morgan Territory is known as "the Plunge" and with good reason
- its major fun! It feels as if you're riding off of the edge of the world as
you descend the twisty 1.5-lane road. Near the bottom, I met a nice fellow in
a Furnace Creek 508 jersey who said he was having a bad day (no doubt, else he
would have dropped me like a stone!). I gave him a double caffeine gel and we
rode together until Altamont Rd. where he stopped. I'd never ridden all the
way over Altamont before, and it turned out to be basically a non-climb to my
pleasant surprise! The early part of the road was shared with the Wente road
race, and there were tons of racers out. It looked like they were warming up
or something, as they clearly were not going all-out. Looking at my watch and
the map, I realized it was going to be tight making the 1:00 cutoff for the
Mines Rd. rest stop. Fortunately the gentle grades on
Altamont are what I'm
fastest on, and I went along at a good clip until the route turned south on
Midway Rd. at the California Aqueduct. It was hillier here, but not too bad,
and it was lovely riding along the rolling green hills next to the huge farms
of (mostly inactive) windmills. A turn on
Patterson Pass continued the
pretty scenery but at a bit more of a grade. I'd heard the last bit of
Patterson Pass was pretty difficult, so I didn't ride too hard on the first
few miles. Sure enough, the road got steeper, then I arrived at a checkpoint
that on the route sheet said "B4 steep hill." In the distance, to my dismay,
the road climbed quite steeply to the true summit, and the words "Oh My God"
were chalked on the road in front of me! After topping off my bottles, I
continued on my way. The climb actually wasn't as bad as it looked, but it
wasn't a walk in the park either, but afterwards, I got to enjoy a fun descent
to Cross Rd. The route again intersected the Wente race course, and several
of the women's groups was on the road while I was. They blew past me at a
fast pace, naturally :-) A motorcycle official for the race pulled up next to
me and asked me if I knew that aero bars are banned in road races - apparently
he didn't know that there was another event on the same road that day. After
I explained that I was riding the DMD he said "oh, that's supposed to be
really hard - good luck!" and went on his way. A rider I talked to later said
that one official warned him against letting the women draft off of him, which
gave him a laugh, as he said it would have been entirely the other way around!
I cruised down Tesla Rd, soon leaving the race course, then turned onto Mines
Road, just 3.5 miles from the rest stop and 1:00 cutoff. I pulled into the
Mines rest stop (91mi) at
12:54, with a whopping 6 minutes to spare. I thought it was odd that I had 90
min to spare upon leaving Morgan Territory, but just a few minutes at Mines -
I didn't feel like I was riding *that* slowly! It had taken me 2 hrs 57min
from when I arrived at the Morgan Territory stop until I pulled into the Mines
stop, which I didn't think was overly slow for nearly 40 hilly miles. The
staff asked me and a few other arriving riders if we *really* wanted to
continue on the double century course, as this stop is the split point for the
200km route. All of us, of course, said we wanted to continue. After a quick
stretch and refuelling, I headed out shortly after 1:00.
Mines Road:
I'd ridden down Mines Rd. before on a self-supported ride, but never up it. On paper it didn't look
like too difficult of a climb, but in reality I was not feeling strong on it
at all. Two riders who I'd briefly spoken with at the Mines rest stop came
back down saying they'd reconsidered and were going to do the 200k route
instead. I rode alone for a loooong time, my spirits and strength fading with
every reluctant pedal stroke. I was pretty sure I was the last person on the
double century course, as I'd left after the cutoff at Mines, and there was
still a whole lot of climbing and riding ahead of me. I wasn't so much
worried about Mines, but the east side of Hamilton is tough, Sierra is
tougher, and from there it was another 40+ miles of moderate hills to the
finish! A SAG vehicle passed me, asking if I needed anything, but I waved
them on. Dark clouds were looming in the sky and in my brain. I started to
question why exactly I was doing this to myself (beyond, of course, the
opportunity to purchase a cool jersey!). The climb evened out to a gentle
grade, but my attitude didn't improve until just 6 or so miles from the lunch
stop when I met up with a nice couple, the first riders I'd seen in nearly 2
hours! They asked me about the upcoming hills and I tried to be honest
without being too negative, but I'm not sure I succeeded. Another SAG vehicle
went by and I told the driver that I was done, but intended to ride to lunch
under my own steam before bagging it. Having made that decision, I enjoyed
the final few miles to the Junction. I arrived at
"the Junction" rest stop (116mi)
2h 33m after arriving at the Mines rest stop, and had over an hour left before
the rest stop closed, reinforcing my opinion that the cutoff at Mines Rd. is a
bit on the early side. Don't get me wrong here, though - the Quackcyclists do
an unimpeachable job of support! While there is a suggested 1:00 cutoff, its
not rigidly enforced so long as continuing riders look like they can stay on
the road, and everyone was encouraging, helpful, and friendly. I had a tasty
sandwich and some other snacks while I waited for a ride back to the start.
There were three of us waiting for a ride, and the volunteers thoughtfully
gave us blankets and plenty of food to keep us warm and happy while we waited
for the final riders to come in so the lunch stop could close. After not too
long, I got a ride back with Don (I think), a nice gentleman who shared my
love of hiking, so we had plenty to talk about during the slow'ish drive down
Mines Road. When I got back to the hotel in San Ramon, I hunted down the ride
director Scott to inquire about getting my lights back, since they were still
waiting for me at the foot of Mt. Hamilton. He said I could 1) drive there
and get them (not appealing at the time, since its a non-short drive from San
Ramon to east San Jose!), 2) wait for the stop to close and the gear to be
brought back (probably 7-9 hours from then - no thanks!), 3) come back
tomorrow (I had plans to be sitting on the beach drinking beer), or 4) leave a
little cash and have them shipped back to me. Needless to say I opted for
option #4, then drove back home.
Epilogue:
I was, of course, disappointed to DNF, only my second time SAG'ing in on a
ride (the other being on the 2000 Lodi Sunrise Century when I was ill-prepared
for the 105°+ temperatures), but so it goes. I was pleased with how I
felt on the earlier climbs, and am glad I didn't push myself to injury trying
to complete this ride. And on an up note, I no longer feel any desire to ride
the Heartbreak Double this year, since I'll not be finishing the Triple Crown
Stage race anyways, thus saving me a long drive down south ;-). The Quack's
support was first-rate, as it has been on the two other rides I've done that
they hosted (the '01 Knoxville Double and '02 Knoxville Double).
Adam: 0, Devil: 1
Ride Stats:
Distance: |
116.6mi |
Total Time: |
10h 22m |
On-bike Time: |
9h 18m |
Average Speed: |
12.5mph |
Maximum Speed: |
46.3mph |
Calories Burned: |
~8,300 |
Total Climbing: |
~10,700' |
Ride Rating:
Difficulty: |
5 |
Support: |
5 |
Food: |
4 - well-stocked for ultra-cyclists' needs |
Route: |
4 - mostly familiar, but lovely |
Overall: |
4 |
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