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Around 45 miles in the route starts to climb up towards the bottom of Lake Berryessa, the climbing the stabilized at around 1100 feet. The major climb of the day came at mile 95, with a fairly steep ascent to the 3,100 feet summit at mile 103. Most of the work was done then, lunch mile 117 and one more climb at mile 130. From mile 140 it was all downhill for the last 60 miles. The course was scenic and mostly free of traffic, the support was great plenty of rest stops and more SAG vehicles than I'd ever seen roaming the course.

While the end was flat the wind was there in full force to make the ending that extra bit special :-) My overall time was 12hrs and 32minutes. Not too shabby, the total climb came in at just over 8,000ft.

The ride started at 5:40am downtown by the city park, leaving the town the climbing begins. The weaves trough the hills on some single track roads with very little traffic. This road leads out to Lake San Antonio, down my favorite and scariest decent, on Interlake Rd, I've known people to reach 60mph on this decent, though I topped out at 40mph (thankfully). Through Lockwood, then through a military based, I have to say is weird to have convoys of military vehicles heading the opposite direction. Just past the main military base was a very scenic part of the ride, before hitting the biggest climb of the ride up and over to the coast and back.

The descent down to Highway 1 was narrow and winding and almost as soon as the route reaches the bottom, it is time to turn around and go right back to the top again. This whole portion of the route is long out and back, leading back to Lockwood. After reaching Lockwood for the second time for lunch, it was time to head north towards King's City. I had regularly seen other riders all the way to the lunch stop, but for the next 60 miles, the only people I saw were the course support. It wasn't until I had gone though some roads through no where, back past Lake San Antionio and out to Bradley where I finally saw another rider.

I should mention to get to Bradley there was a little trip down Highway 101, hmm, well luckily less than a mile on there.

From Bradley there was one more climb then a straight shot back to Paso Robles. I caught one more rider on the way to town, I had him in my sights for a while and slowly edged closer. Once I reached him there was only a few miles left to go and I was in full race mode. The ride end was rather uneventful, there were a couple people at the end collecting the results. The finishers were at a dinner nearby. I decided to jump in the car and start my long drive back. I was just glad to have finished the ride in daylight. Oh and I finished 10th (not to shabby).

Ride Overview:

One mile in and the bump in my plan emerged, the road was closed bikes for an another event. Luckily I still had the option to walk it, which I did, but it didn't seem like a great start even though it was only a couple hundred yards. Before I knew it was crossing the Golden Gate, something I do very rarely. I headed over to Sausalito and promptly missed my turn to Highway 1. I realized that a couple miles later and that I'd lost the the only water bottle I was carrying which has flown on the back. Back on route I saw my crew and informed them I needed another bottle. Quick climb over Highway 1 ready for a nice decent, only to find road works and 5 minute wait.

On the coast now things were starting to get into a groove, I was battling a head wind but that was to be expected. The route I had picked and us going in land towards Guerneville, so there was at least hope later on. As we had started late, I told the crew to go on ahead and pick-up our final crew member for the day who was waiting in Petaluma. This was probably the biggest learning point for the day, be careful when you ask your support crew to abandon you. Due to very poor cell phone reception and an unfamiliarity with the area, it was two and half hours later till I saw them again. It didn't help when we finally got back in touch I managed to mis-drect them further.

Reuntited I had a sandwhich and continued on into the head wind. Due to the twisty road it is not a constant wind, but it is always wait around a corner like stalker. Relief came when it was time to head inland, rather than battling to maintain 15mph, I was crusing at 20mph. When we reached Guerneville, the crew asked "Where a we going?". Unfortunately printing directions at the last minute can be risky when your printer runs out of ink. I knew in general terms we want to reach Highway 127 going north but we had to now make up the rest of the route to get there. The crew did a fine job here of coming up with a impromptu route and navigated be through the towns.

Around 6pm we stopped and quickily got some dinner, before joining Hwy 127 for the final stint of heading north before the turnaround. Hwy 127 had a fairly long climb but my legs were feeling pretty good. Midway along Hwy 127, it got dark and I switched to my road bike for the nighttime portion of the route.

We reach Hwy 1 around 10pm and started heading south, it windy road with very little to see in the dark. The wind was now final at my back with a little push, but it has also started to drizzle rain. By 1am I was having a hard time focusing on the road, so decided to take my first break, I slept (well close my eyes) for 30mins. When I got out the van I felt a lot better, though the temperature had dropped as I added some layers before continuing on. It was still rain for the next hour but it was very light.

 I ended up taking another quick nap around 5am, just before the sun came up. At this point I was starting ot move slowly on the bike, not helped by a few hills to climb a lon ghte road. The journey into Petaluma, felt a little grueling. Back Petaluma, we dropped off a the crew member would we had picked up the day before and plot the finla portion of the route out to Novato.

Sure enough there was more hills ahead of me, I whiched bikes to back to Tri-Bike as my road bike was starting to make excess squeaking noises. Getting rid of the sqeak helped me focus and when I got on the decent my legs came back and I charged up the next hill like I had just awoken from a good nights sleep. That might of had something to do with only having after twenty minutes left go, but it left great to power through to the end. We stopped a Gas station in Novato, I jumped in the van and called it a day, well 24hrs. A great ride with awesome support from my crew, can't wait to see you guys out there for the race.

After 3hrs sleep it was time to get up and ride. The ride up to San Ramon was mostly uneventful, though it is interesting what you see on the road at 2am in the morning. As I passed over Calaveras, I encountered a number of cars, who appeared to be organizing there own private road race, but I'm sure they were wondering I was doing out there too.

I arrived at the race start just past 4am, plenty of time to get checked in for the race. I was then I noticed that my new saddle bag, freshly filled with tubes and C02 was no longer attached to the bike. Two miles to go and no spares, well good thing it was a supported ride.

5am at the start line ready to I was ready to go. The first few miles are just riding in a sea of red flashing lights until the base of Mount Diablo, that's when the real race kicks in and people start to separate. There was some very strong wind near the top of the mountain, making it hard to stay upright in some instances. The views as the sun comes up are spectacular. You can all the way to Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose and Stockon on clear day, and this was a great day for it. The climb just before you reach the summit of Diablo is what they call the Wall. I still remember my very first climb on Diablo, when my heart rate reached 200bpm, on this short stretch. A few years later I'm a little wiser (only a little) and know how to pace my self better and made the up like it was just another hill. I was also better prepared for the chilly decent and kept my jacket, until I reach the next rest stop at mile 50 on Morgan Territory Rd.

While the decent on Diablo had be fairly mild due to the speed restrictions in place, found the decent on Morgan Territory Rd, to be quite the thrill ride. A combination of a tail wind a good decent, meant before I knew I had hit 48mph and was quickly trying to slow down.

The wind was with us and against us all the way through Livermore and to Mines road where the next major ascent was, Mount Hamilton. I've done this climb a number of times, 44 miles to the top, of course it isn't all climbing, but it is all work. The lunch stop is midway through the climb and after lunch I was energized and charged up the rest of the mountain like I was on mission. 

After Hamilton, there are is still the infamous Sierra Rd, to tackle. I remained strong completed the ascent. The weather was warm but not hot and definitely made the tough climbs easier then previous years. From there onwards it just time in the saddle, though at point I'd already ridden 200 miles and was starting to feel it. But I had course to conquer (again) after a brief struggle through Caleveras, I reached Sunol. At this point I knew I only had another 20 miles to go, so I continued with all I had. 

Finally back in San Ramon, just miles from the finish I'd joined a pack for the last short climbs. I was on pace and feeling good now. I had just come down the last decent and just one more mile to go, when... my chain got jammed into the crank preventing me from pedaling. I pulled over and took look, the pin that prevents this from happening was no longer there and my chain was wedged. I decided to freewheel the last mile and I was able to rock the crank back and forth to keep some momentum going. It cost me a few minutes but I finished, 246 miles with 22,000 feet of climbing!

Ride Overview:

It was a scenic ride down Highway 1 for about 10 miles before heading back up in the hills at Malibu. As the climb start the group of riders started to break apart, I decided not to be to aggressive and fell in to the middle of the pack. The route climbed up until Mulholland Highway, the road that give the race it's name. It is a great road that rolls through the hills by the coast.

After weaving throughout the hills the course lead me back down to the coast on Highway 1 again heading north. After a seven miles north on Hwy 1 we turned inland which is where the route would stay for next 75 miles or so. We had a short but steep climb to tackle before the lunch stop but not too bad.  At around mile 90 we had lunch and continued through the towns, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, one street looks like the next so this became repetitive quickly, even though it was only 15 miles. Out of the towns, there was a bit of climb before a great decent into what I can only describe as a Labyrinth of Orange Trees. Having gotten through the maze there was of course a very steep hill gating the exit.

This picture (above) is from the top of the climb, which must reached at least 20% grade at it's toughest point. From here though it was all downhill and flat back out to Highway 1, for a couple more big climbs up in the Malibu hills.

Another steep climb into the hills (above).

Back on Mulholland Highway just before another decent and climb.

Nearly at the top of the final climb and it was starting to get dark. It had been a painful climb and my legs were feeling it, but I only had a couple more miles before the final rest stop and decent. The final decent was steep and the daylight had faded I was now relying on my bike headlight to show the way. After the big decent there was a small climb back into Agoura Hills where the race started. There is something about city streets and possibly just because it was the end of the race, but the last five miles seemed a longer than the first. I was very glad to get back that the hotel and rest and feast :-)

A perfect day for a ride, a little windy at times but a great temperature, no rain and awesome scenery.

Route Overview:

This morning I started at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz, my plan was to go up to San Francisco and then head back to Santa Clara, but plans change. Highway 1 is notoriously windy, with a strong headwind when your heading north. I fought the wind on and off until Half Moon Bay, I stopped there for a drink and bite to eat and made the decision I better better off heading south. I was still feeling the affects of my early morning century from a couple days before and didn't want to injury myself by pushing too hard. So I headed south on Highway 1 enjoying the wind at my back. I turned on Tunitas Creek and headed up to Skyline, from there I continued up to Highway 92 and then south on Canada Rd, weaving my way back to Santa Clara. Not a bad a ride, 115 miles all said and done.

View from the Top of Hamilton

The mass start was at 7:30am but by the time I arrive at just past 7am, most people were already on the road. So instead of waiting till 7:30, I decided to join a small group and start at 7:15am. The beginning of the route was the same as last year, so it was very familiar, nice rolling hills with Vineyards everywhere. Before I knew it I was at the top of the first "big climb", which tops out at 1,500ft. I was still within sight of the small group I started with occasionally trading places. Then decent lead me to catch up with some of the riders that had started earlier and I was starting to pass people. I was keeping a great pace and opted to skip the first rest stop.

Now 70 miles and just under 4hrs in I was feeling good and little overdressed as the rain had not yet materialized. However just then rain decided it was time and with a high volume of "light" rain. At first the only issue was making sure you stayed away from the wheel spray you past others. My new gear was keeping me dry and warm. I opted to skip the second rest stop and keep my pace going.

Five hours and eight minutes in, I'd just hit 100 miles, this was a great pace! I was now on Highway One having just passed through San Luis Obispo, going towards the coast. I started to see the SAG vehicles helping other riders on the side of the road with flat tires. This began a sight all to familiar over the next 12 miles, to the point I was looking down at my own tires. Sure enough I pulled in to the lunch stop to find both my front and back tires were both slowly leaking air. Apparently there were metal shards on Highway 1, which sink well into a bicycle tire. I go the use of the pump at the rest stop used both my spares and picked a patched tube as new spare. Of course by the time I was done with everything I was cold, damp and spent nearly 50 minutes off the road, doing things in the rain just seems to take longer.

As I pulled out of the rest stop I saw two people walking back with there bicycles who had obviously immediately had flats and not for the first time by the looks on there faces. I really wasn't sure whether I face the same fate shortly and continued on with some trepidation. The rain was still come down hard but I knew I was over halfway there. It was not the ride I did a year ago, which by most accounts was a pleasant ride on a sunny day with the temperature hitting the high 70s, we nearly hit the 60s, almost a 20degree difference.

I skipped the next rest stop to try and recover the time I'd lost but, my pace had fallen. I was still putting out the power but was rewarded with a headwind for my efforts. Cold and wet I arrived at the last rest stop at around mile 160. They had Pot Noodles! Generally not a favorite of mine but this was exactly what I needed to push through to the end, hot and plenty of salt. 

The next part was one a barely paved road parallel to the Freeway, it only lasted a few miles until I hit a proper road again. Then was the slow climb up what was seemed a small climb first in the morning. This was one of the major differences on this years course, previous year had gone over Drum Canyon Rd, which was riddled with pot holes and know doubt lead to a few accidents. So the new climb was a welcome replacement. The route ended on a nice quiet and well pave road through a different Canyon. The light was now fading and as it was now 7:30pm, I had now gone past my original 12hr estimate for the course.

As if no course would be complete without a missed turn, I indeed with just a few miles to go missed a key turn and ended up adding another couple miles to the course. Not much time wasted and I was glad to be finished. My bike was badly abused, subjected to awful conditions and I was wet and damp. The new rain gear had helped a lot, though I'd still be interested if anyone knew of any research on waterproof forcefields? :-)  

Thanks to folks at Planet Ultra for putting on a another great ride!

Full disclosure, I was ready throw-up after 30mins (the mark of great workout) so I stopped there. Next the full hour. :-)