06/14/06

Go to TERRIBLE TWO DOUBLE Official Website

Pics taken by Jesse Smith of QuackCyclists

Pics taken by Eric Norris of Campy Only

Hey, hey, boys & girls.           

I have returned from Santa Rosa, California and the beautiful Sonoma wine country. This is the 30th Anniversary of the Terrible Two. What an epic ride! For 2005 only, to commemorate the ride's 30th Anniversary, the Santa Rosa Cycling club reprised the old traditional longer route, adding 11-miles to the already brutal course. Would you believe they kept the same aggressive cut-off time even though the course is longer and has a bit more climbing!! But I still got in at 9:30pm and made the cut-off and received my "I DID IT" shirt. This shirt is considered to be a prized possession for many Double Century riders.

The COURSE: Here is a quote from the California Triple Crown web-site describing the course: "The Terrible Two was started in 1976 by the Santa Rosa Cycling Club as they realized that a 200 mile course in and around Sonoma County would include some very challenging hills as well as some spectacular scenery.   ...  Except for the transit of Santa Rosa at the start, the entire course is rural and very scenic: vineyards, orchards, pastures, oak-studded meadows, shady forests of redwood, bay, and ma-drone, the spectacular coastline, wild rivers, lakes, and streams, and always the sweeping panoramas from the summits of all those climbs. It's enough to make you forget how hard it is!"

The BIG CLIMBS: Another quote from the California Triple Crown web-site: "Although the route has varied in small ways over the years, its defining features have always been its four big climbs (and the steep, twisting descents that follow): Trinity Grade, the Geysers, Skaggs Springs, and Fort Ross. Numerous smaller but pesky hills add to the overall challenge. Trinity, the Geysers, and Fort Ross are all double-summit climbs, while Skaggs Springs is a long series of climbs and descents, including a tough new climb introduced with the 1995 route change. The steepest gradients on the course don't exceed 15%, but many climbs stay in the 8-12% range for long distances."

The DESCENTS:  Gnarly, white-knuckler descents always follows big, hard climbs.

The WEATHER: Historically, this ride is well known for sizzling-hot temperatures, usually in the +100 degrees. Las Vegas temps were topping out at 110 degrees the week of the ride, so I felt I was ready for the heat. But lo & behold, on ride day, it was mostly foggy, clammy and it probably never got above 75 degrees. I rode with friends from San Jose, Aptos, & Santa Cruz and they were descending with their short sleeves while I had 3 layers (2 of them long sleeves) and still a bit chilly. I did not even take off my base layer long sleeves on the steepest climbs!

The RIDER: I felt great, worked hard, but did not go into redline. I never felt in trouble, and gauged my effort well throughout the ride. But, again, the weather was uncomfortable for me. If I had a week or two to adjust, I could have done better.

The BIKE: This is the De ROSA KING's (a.k.a ELVIS) sixth Double Century. It performed absolutely flawlessly the entire day.

The FATIGUE INDEX: Average HR for the ride was 136bpm.

The  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Elevation Chart and Terrible Two logos are courtesy of the Santa Rosa Cycling Club web-site, http://www.srcc.com/

Outdoor scenery pics on this page are courtesy of Jesse Smith, Executive Producer & Quack-In-Charge of Volunteers for the Devil Mountain Double Century, http://www.quackcyclists.com/Photo/TerribleTwo.htm

Outdoor scenery pics on this page are courtesy of Eric Norris, the One-and-Only Campy Only guy,  http://www.campyonly.com