06/14/06

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Hey, hey, boys & girls.           

I have returned from beautiful Death Valley, California. The ride course was changed from the Northern Route to the Southern Route because First Lady Laura Bush and some of her close friends were visiting this same weekend. For security reasons, the Park Service changed our ride route. I have not completed the Southern Route (paceline accident in 2003), so this was actually a welcome change.

The COURSE: We were treated to two once-in-a-lifetime marvels of nature: (1) A flower show at the foothills, before the major climbs to Jubilee and Salsberry Passes and (2) The Badwater Basin had retained so much water from the record rainfall, it looked like an ocean.

The WEATHER: Great! mid-40's at the start and high-60's most of the day. The wind was a factor as it shifted through the day giving us lots of headwinds to fight. But, it also kept the temps very mild.

The BIKE: The Merckx Team SC held up beautifully against some of the rough roads near Ashford Mill Ruins. I was using my Mavic Open Pro Blue wheelset with 32-spokes laced to Campy Record hubs. It made for a much more comfortable ride. However, I was still beat-up at the end of the day. No mechanical problems this time. I have replaced my NiteRider Cyclone HID with the Light-&-Motion ARC HID. The battery has a bit less run-time of 3-hrs. at max. output. But it is %50 lighter and much smaller. The max. output of 675 lumens seems brighter than the NiteRider (no specs published). In my opinion, the Light-&-Motion is a far better product and a lighter system.

The RIDER: My biceps were really tired. I need to do more curls to strengthen them. Physically, I was not %100. My calves were just below the threshold for cramping with still 100-miles to go. But experience helped me manage through it without going over the threshold. I do not think it had anything to do with electrolytes or hydration. My body was well stocked with both. I believe it was a combination of wearing knickers the whole day restricting efficient blood flow in the calf area (first time I had ever ridden a double on knickers) and having put on +500-miles in the last 10-days-straight prior. Total mileage for 11-days including the double was 700-miles.

Overall, this was a successful double century, since this was targeted to be just a 'training' double. I still managed to better my Northern Route by 15-mins. despite the winds and minor physical troubles.

My  NEW PACELINE FRIENDS:  David Williams (Palmdale), Joe Farinha (SF Bay Area, 1st Double), Dennis Uyeno (SF Bay Area), Kirk Koester(young, strong, 18-yr. old from Sacramento).

The  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Elevation Chart is courtesy of Adventurecorps, http://www.adventurecorps.com/deathvalley/southernroute.html and was created by Doug Sloan.