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2002 Solvang Double Century Ride Report
(Saturday, March 23 in Solvang, CA.)
Before the ride:
I left Fremont at 11 on Friday morning after putting in a half day of work.
Since I had plenty of time, I decided to drive down Highway 1 instead of 101.
I hadn't been on Highway 1 south of Monterey as an adult, and was hoping to
get some good pictures of the coastline. Alas, the weather was not
cooperating (it was drizzly/rainy), but I got
a few decent pics.
It took a bit longer to get to Solvang than I'd anticipated, but I arrived at
my hotel, the Inns of California, at 5:15, checked in and unloaded all of my
bike stuff, and headed over to the Royal Coopenhagen hotel to check in for the
ride. They were well-organized at the check-in, and I got some Planet Ultra
decals for my bike. After wandering around town for a little while trying to
find somewhere that had carb-loaded food (it seems that most Danish food
isn't!), I had a tasty meal at the Greenhouse Cafe, went back to my hotel, and
got everything together. Its never a good idea to use untested equipment on a
long ride like this, so I'd thoroughly checked out my new NiteRider lighting
system before I left home, however, when I connected it at my hotel, all it
would do is blink 6 times - ack! Thankfully I brought my backup light, a
cheap-o 2AA-cell commuter light. Since I apparently would be using my backup
light as my primary light, I went to the corner store and got 2 sets of spare
batteries for it and then went to bed. I actually got almost 7 hours of sleep
- the most I've ever gotten before a big ride! :-)
Miles 1-38:
I woke up at 5:15, geared up, chugged down a bottle of Spiz, and headed over to
the ride start at 5:45. The ride had a mass start at 6:00 (my first
mass-start ride!). There were a couple hundred cyclists hanging out in the
parking lot waiting for 6:00 to come, and once it did, after a brief safety
& courtesy lecture, we all headed out.
It was misting/lightly raining as we rode out of town, but it wasn't
particularly cold, which was nice. Before long, folks had spread out a bit,
and the next 7 miles went by quickly as it was impossible not to draft with so
many folks on the road :) A zig and a zag later, the route hit Foxen Canyon
Rd, which the Solvang Century two weeks earlier
went on in the opposite direction. There was a short little climb, then a
looooong descent going past many vineyards. By this point it was
intermittently raining rather heavily, but since the road was mostly downhill,
and pretty straight for the most part, I was making pretty decent time
anyways. There was a SAG vehicle & a police car at the bottom of one
turn. I found out later that an unfortunate rider had hit a rock which blew
out his tire, causing him to go off the road and break his collarbone - ouch!
:(
I was soaked through by now, and was wishing that I'd put on my shoe covers
and my heavy, non-breathable (but waterproof) jacket, but it was just a few
miles to the first rest stop, so I rode on. The Sisquoc rest stop (mile 38)
was in a pretty, green valley, and was well-stocked with PB&Js, muffins,
and other good eats. I mixed up a bottle of Spiz, had 1/2 a PB&J and a
muffin, put on my shoe covers and waterproof jacket, and squeezed a bunch of
water out of my long gloves, then hit the road again.
Miles 39-86:
It was still raining off and on, sometimes heavily, as I left Sisquoc and
headed towards Santa Maria. I met a nice woman from Orange County and we rode
together until ... I flatted - argh! She was nice enough to stop while I
changed my tire, but with cold fingers and wet tires, it took me a little
while to change tubes, and she went on her way, understandably not wanting to
stay still for long! After a bit more mussing about, I was back on my way.
The route skirted Santa Maria and then headed out on Thompson Rd for a good
long ways. A little bit before I hit the tiny town of Nipomo, I noticed that
my tire felt a bit low again - oh no! Before long, I had to pull off and top
it off. I resolved to take the time to properly fix my tire at the next rest
stop where they'd hopefully have a floor pump.
In Nipomo, a fellow rider got on my wheel and stayed there for the next 10+
miles. I don't mind folks drafting me (heaven knows I draft whenever the
opportunity presents itself!), but this guy didn't ask if I minded, didn't
tell me he was there, didn't talk to me at all, nor did he thank me when he
stopped to shed layers. Harrumph. After a bit more meandering, the route
headed into San Luis Obispo (one of my favorite towns in California) on Orcutt
Rd, a very pretty rural road that wound its way along some rolling hills. My
tire was again getting low on air, and after stopping twice to pump it up, I
got fed up and pulled over to fix it for good this time. After poking around
with a penknife, I found a piece of glass that was the likely culprit. I
removed it and put in my second (and last) spare inner tube and got back on
the road.
There was supposedly a rest stop on Orcutt Rd. at a "small park on the
left", but I soon came to an intersection that was shown as being a few
miles past rest stop #2 on the cue sheet! Planet Ultra did a great job of
setting expectations for the ride (no food at the ride end, no markings on the
road, etc), but it would have been awfully useful to have had a cone, sign, or
something pointing out where the rest stop was! Several other riders near me
also missed the rest stop, but fortunately I'm moderately familiar with San
Luis Obispo as my sister lives there, and I knew we'd be going by a 7-11
before too long.
I met Kristin, a rider from Berkeley, and we rode with another fellow until we
came to the 7-11. We stopped there for a few, while Kristin went in and got
some food & water. I didn't have any cash on me, not expecting to need
any (though I had a credit card as always), so Kristin paid for a liter of
water - thanks! :) There were several other riders at this little strip-mall,
some of whom were making use of the nearby laundromat to dry off their clothes
- not a bad idea! They were not too pleased with the weather, and decided to
shortcut the route, skip the Morro Bay loop, and head directly through SLO to
the 3rd rest stop. Kristin and I had no such desires, as we wanted to do the
whole ride, it wasn't raining at the moment, and it'd be a shame to miss out
on riding through beautiful Morro Bay. I mixed up another bottle of Spiz and
ate a Clif Bar, then we headed out.
Miles 87-115:
The route went right past my sister's apartment, but I didn't see her
car, or I'd have stopped by. Then we headed northwest on Hwy 1 out to Morro
Bay. This is a lovely stretch of highway with wide shoulders and lovely
rolling hills dotted with the occasional volcanic plug (Morro Rock is
the west-most of these). It was sprinking off and on again here, but not
irritatingly so.
At almost exactly the 100mi point, we exited Hwy 1 and entered Morro Bay. The
route went along the waterfront, affording great views of Morro Rock, the
Harbor, and the cute stores in this seaside village. We stopped for a few
near the aquarium and ate a gel, then continued through Morro Bay State Park
out to Los Osos Valley Rd. Los Osos was a great road to cruise on, and I went
ahead at my own pace, since there weren't any turns before the next rest stop,
so I didn't have to worry about losing Kristin. Before too long, I arrived at
rest stop #3 at Laguna Lake Golf Club (116mi). I chowed on a Subway sandwich,
mixed up some more Spiz, ate an energy bar, and hung for a little while as
there was only 74 miles to go :) After we'd sated ourselves, Kristin & I
hit the road again.
Miles 116-145:
The course headed south'ish, passing Avila Hot Springs, and continuing on the
same route that the AIDS Ride went on. We went
through Pismo Beach and Shell Beach on PCH (AKA Hwy 1), a really lovely route
along the very-southern-Californian coastline. After leaving the little
coastal towns, Hwy 1 went through some farmlands and climbed up a lovely
little hill overlooking the ocean. It was starting to get twilight'ish by
now, but we weren't too far from the next rest stop, where Kristin had her
night gear. Before too long, we arrived in Guadalupe at the rest stop (145mi)
and hung out for a little bit, me mixing up yet another bottle of Spiz (and my
last), and Kristin getting her nighttime gear. She was extremely
well-prepared, with glove warmers, extra layers, and the whole nine yards! It
was getting cold'ish, so I put on both my lightweight breathable windbreaker
and my heavy non-breathable one along with my not-quite-dry-yet long gloves.
Miles 146-172:
From Guadalupe, we continued on Hwy 1 south for a while under the setting sun
until it was completely dark, and we rode on in the magical silence of the
night. The traffic was very light on Hwy 1, and it was very peaceful riding
along under the slight moonlight. 16 miles later we turned off on Hwy 135 to
Los Alamos, and the route was even more rural for the next 11mi until we
rolled into the last rest stop (172mi) at an abandoned old gas station.
The staff at the rest stop took a
picture of us, we ate yummy cup-o-noodles, energy bars, etc., relaxed for
a while, then headed out.
Miles 173-190:
The staff at Los Alamos said that there was a big climb awaiting us that would
take an hour or so to finish. It was only supposed to be about 800' of
climbing over 3.5 miles, so I was wondering why they thought it would take so
long. The climb up Centennial St. was gorgeous (I assume, since it was dark
;-), and not that difficult at all. There were markings on the road
evidencing the passage of many cyclists. My favorite was the writing on the
road that said, "You're almost there!" 15 minutes and some steep'ish
switchbacks later, the writing continued, "We lied!" :-) Before too terribly
long, we reached the top of the climb and tentatively headed downwards.
At this point my headlight started flickering and then went out. This was
well before it should have gone out, but it was using the lame-o no-name
batteries that came with it, and I'd brought 2 spare sets, so I replaced the
batteries and went on my merry way. 5 minutes later my light flickered and
died again - eek! And I replaced the batteries again, and it died again.
Hmmmmm. I can only assume that my batteries and/or light didn't appreciate
getting soaked earlier in the day. Fortuntaely Kristin's light was holding up
just fine, so I followed her the rest of the way down Centennial to Hwy 246.
There was a van signalling the final turn on the course, and we continued for
the last 9 miles to Solvang and the finish!
Finished!
We arrived at the finish at 10:22 and checked in. Turned out there were only
4 people behind us on the course! The organizers snapped a pic
of us, we ate a bowl of split-pea soup they generously provided (the ride
claimed to not have any food at the finish line), and I went back to my hotel
and took a nice 10 hour nap :-)
I wandered around Solvang for a while on Sunday morning, taking pictures and
generally enjoying the quaintness of this strange little town. After a yummy
lunch at A Taste of Denmark, I headed homeward.
Ride Stats:
| Distance: |
190.5mi |
| Total Time: |
16h 22m |
| On-bike Time: |
13h 49m |
| Average Speed: |
13.8mph |
| Average Speed (including stops): |
11.6mph |
| Maximum Speed: |
45.1mph |
| Total Climbing: |
~7,000 ft |
Ride Rating:
| Difficulty: |
3 (relative to other double centuries - as far as rides in general
go, any double is pretty darned hard!) |
| Support: |
4 - overall very good... except for my missing checkpoint #2! |
| Food: |
4 |
| Route: |
5 - gorgeous! |
| Overall: |
4 |
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