5 of us went up Thursday morning to get acclimated to the altitude before the ride. We also opted to pick up our packets in Markleeville. What Eddie and I didn't know/expect was that we would be riding out from the start point after picking up the packets (which by the way requires that you have the paperwork they sent you through the mail with you). After spending 6 or so hours driving up, you'd think a little rest might be a good idea, but not with these guys. Seize the moment, I guess.
Unfortunately, on our way back from our ride out (15 miles or so away), we had a little incident where it left Eddie injured and Noah bikeless. Eddie's bike was also not fully functional, but was repairable. Considering that we were out in the middle of nowhere, it was questionable whether all of us would be able to go. However, due to a loaner we got from Edward and the craftiness and group's perseverance, bikes would not be the team's limitation. Noah was set up on Edward's old bike (a Trek Madone 5.2 that was a little small for him) after a few adjustments (wheel swap, handlebars and stem, seat height, tape, pedals and some detailing). Eddie's bike was repaired by using a lever from Noah's bike and the bar re-taped), but despite this, he wisely chose to skip it since his injury left him less than 100% for this ride...something all of us agreed was in his best interest. He still squeezed out a solo 80 miler around the lake though in lieu of doing the ride and determined to move forward with doing the Vineman next weekend. Animal.
Onto the ride...we all woke up at 3 a.m., much to the dismay of Edward who was not used to our team's over-preparation routines. Noah, our professional barista, had our coffee brewed and ready to go. After we all completed our pre-ride routines, we rolled out to the event by 4:15 since it would take about 40 minutes to get there.
We parked down the road a couple miles or so since the event was hosting over 3000 riders this year. It was wild to see people with lights mounted already on the ride as we were driving up. We heard that some people started as early as 4 a.m., which sounds ludicrous...until you realize it's probably a ride that averages 11-12 hours on the bike for a majority of the participants.
It was still a little dark as we got ready to ride to where it started, but after some last minute bio breaks at the start point, there was enough light in the sky to be able to see the road in front of us. We all rode together in the beginning and the pace was relatively mild. Of course, relatively mild for our group meant passing a lot of people and picking up others in our draft, but we're accustomed to it no different than other rides.
Once we got to Monitor, the first hill of the day, S-Gary (S stood for salad this weekend), decided he was going to go for it early on. Surprised? We weren't. He blazed up the hill and didn't have anyone catch him until midway down the other side. Noah also took off after another guy passed us and tried to hold onto his rear wheel...until he saw that the guy was putting down some crazy power numbers where self-preservation kicked in.
Shannon and Todd kept a more reasonable pace going up, but still were passing a ton of people. I rode with them for a bit, but decided finding my own pace would serve me better since I was having problems adapting to the cold thin air. I did keep them in my sights for a good portion of the ride, but as we neared the top, I eventually lost sight of them.
I saw Gary starting the ascend from the bottom of the other side of Monitor when I arrived there, and Todd, Shannon and Noah just getting ready to go. I had to take a quick pit stop, so I wasn't able to roll out with them. It was good enough though to have caught a glimpse of them, as I was pretty much alone for most of the mountain. I did end up jumping in a line toward the top after the 2nd pass though. It didn't hurt that the female at the end of that line was easy on the eyes, so the motivation to speed up grew as a result.
While the descent down the back side of monitor was fun, the front side was even more so. I was moving at a pretty good clip, but at one point got passed by a female first followed by 2 guys. I jumped on after, and we were flying. At one point, I looked ahead and saw Gary and yelled out to him to jump on. We kept going down the hill and I eventually made my was past the 3 ahead of me. I suppose this was when I set my max speed of 55.2 mph for the day. Thank you, gravity!
Gary ended up catching up and riding with me for a bit on Ebbetts. We got separated after awhile and I was on my own again. Ebbetts was also a beautiful mountain like Monitor, but the road was not as well maintained. It also didn't have a line separating traffic at some point in the middle, so riders who started out real early and descending already made me a little nervous and definitely kept me to the right of the road as often as possible. Some parts of Ebbetts pitched up pretty steep (there was a warning near the base cautioning on a 24% grade) but there were some false flats that were between a 1-5% grade. There were also some false crests where you think you've reached the top only to find there was still more climbing to be done. Absolutely demoralizing.
The descent down the backside was also pretty fast, but it was only a 5 miler. I got to see Todd taking off with Shannon and Noah just behind him. My stop at the bottom was just to get my first bottle refill, and I was off again not too long after they left. I did manage to down a honey waffle as I started but downed it quickly to be ready for the climb. Although the climb back up was only 5 miles or so, it was where it held 9-11% grades remained through a lot of the climb. I was definitely doing the 34/26 dance most of the way up.
Descending the front side of Ebbetts was probably the least fun of the descents. There were large masses of cyclists going up at this point, so it was really hard to find a good flow through the turns. It improved once there was a line in the middle of the road again, but most of the steeper descents were done by that point. Even then, I still backed down some because of how many people were on the other side.
The best part about reaching the bottom of Ebbetts was running into Todd, Shannon and Noah again as they were having their lunch. I wasn't sure I was going to stop there, but as I had found my rear tire was soft and after some convincing from the guys I didn't look well, I sat down to eat. Noah graciously offered to fix my flat while I ate, which I accepted and appreciated immensely. Todd grabbed me a Coke, and as I saw they offered Uncrusttables (fancy PB&J) sandwiches, I opted to indulge rather than self-SAG.
The guys waited for me, so we could all ride together to head toward the final climb of the day: all 17 miles of Carson. Heading out, I wondered if I fully recovered after the first 4 passes. I took a couple stabs up front, but when one of the guys we picked up wanted to mix it up where Todd wasn't going to have any of it, I saw it as my perfect opportunity to drop off as I knew I just didn't have anything to give at that point. I would not see these guys anymore until the top of Carson.
Now what can I say about Carson? Although it didn't pitch up like the ones before, I do have to say it was the most grueling. It went on FOREVER. A few miles into the climb, there was a lady calling out on her bullhorn that there was 2 miles left to the next stop but 11 more miles to go after. We all agreed at the end that we didn't like her very much and her words just caused us more agony than comfort. 11 more miles?!?
Near the top, I suffered a cramp on my left leg where I tried the "Bear trick" pedaling with the other side only hoping that the Shot Bloks I was popping would kick in. Unfortunately, the other leg decided to follow suit where I panicked wondering which leg would actually allow me to unclip without falling. My left leg won. After taking in some more fluids and electrolytes, I was able to finish up the last 3 miles. At the top, Shannon came out to grab and rack my bike while I indulged in a strawberry popsicle and a can of Coke. Noah and Todd where there also, so it was nice for them to have waited.
The descent was a lot of fun too but also quite hairy given this road was not closed to motorists. There were also some potholes here and there as well, so we had to be extra careful. Signaling each other was impossible at the speeds we were reaching exceeding 50 mph (Shannon hit 53), but Todd, Shannon and I worked together nonetheless to make it down safe. 17 miles of downhill was a great way to end the ride.
If you were to ask me yesterday what I thought of the ride, I'd say it was the worst experience I've ever had. However, I'd have to qualify that it was my worst "physical" experience ever. The ride wasn't only cardiovascular. It was everything, mental and physical included. Thus, the ride name was absolutely spot on. It took you to the boundaries of each and beyond for sure.
From an objective perspective, however, this has got to be one of the best rides I've ever done. The support was unbelievable at the SAGs, the scenery was beautiful, the abundance of spectators on the side of the road who supported and encouraged us to keep going was amazing, and the hills can only be described as "legit." 3000+ participants can't be wrong. Even to those who completed the first 2 passes only (an option for this ride), that in itself was a feat.
A special thanks to Edward for letting us use his Tahoe house as a place to shack up for the weekend. We pretty much converted the house to a bike shop, a liquor store, a pizza parlor and a pseudo bachelor pad for 3.5 days. As a result, we all decided to make him an honorary member of the Broadcom team for being such a gracious host. He, too, finished the ride (all 5 passes), but we wouldn't expect any less from a St. George Ironman finisher. Stud!
Lastly, I just wanted to thank all of the guys who attended again because I would never have even tried this ride had they not come out with me. They continued to show their amazing athleticism during this ride, and their antics before and after the ride made the event even that much more enjoyable. I'm so lucky to know all of them.
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97996816
After this weekend, however, we ALL now know it's all about the Strava:
Mine
Todd's
Shannon's
Noah's
Gary's
Edward's
Pictures of the area and the lake (courtesy of Eddie):
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