D2R2 2010

Oh what a day! Weatherwise, that is. I mean, it's August 21st, it's in the 40's and I'm shivering at the 6 am start. I didn't have any plans as far as pace and even though I'm considerably stronger that last year, my climbing isn't great due to the 3-4 extra kilos I find myself carrying around this year. All muscle. Sure, keep telling yourself that, Alex.

I haven't done jack for distance either, having opted to try doing the mtb thing this Spring/Summer. So weeks would go much like this: Race Sunday, Monday off, Tuesday moderate, Wednesday a little interval session, and by Thursday I'd be already shutting it down for a race the following weekend. But I suppose "base" carries over year to year and I guess the 13k+ miles I've done the last two years would carry me through.

I fully expected road conditions to be at their worst as it has been one of the driest Summers in recent memory. (Though as I type it is in fact raining.) I opted to go with the Michelin Jet 30mm's but I think they may actually be a closer to 35. I ran moderately high pressure @60 psi to avoid possibility of pinch flats. They're moderately light at ~340 gms per, but I wasn't so much concerned with weight as I was with cornering washboard descents at high speed and traction on loose gravel at 20+% gradient.

We shoved off at 6:07, little did I know that Doug had planned on me riding with Pain Cave, Kevin, and the Corner Cycle boys. Sorry Doug. I ended up riding with 4 Benidorm guys, two of which were on 29ers. They are doing Shenandoah 100 in a couple weeks and figured this would be a great "training" ride for it. They were keeping up with us though we weren't going at breakneck pace, just a solid steady tempo. I did notice that their was a distinct advantage riding a mtb on the marbly decents, although lugging nearly 30 lb bikes up relentless climbing started to take its toll. I think by mile 50 or so and some 7000+ ft of climbing they told us to go on without them.

This was my 3rd stab at the beast and I still don't really know the route. Efforts to upload route to Garmin were unsuccessful. (I need to learn how to do that correctly.) Several times we would end up following people that we thought knew where they were going, only to end up a 1/4 mile up the road. Another time we actually added another 1/2 mile and missed the first covered bridge. Oh well, all good. It was funny to see the first timers hitting the climbs WAY too hard. I just repeated the mantra I always tell myself on rides of this nature, "There's alot of game left." Not to sound high and mighty, but rides of this length and difficulty must be respected or they will certainly tear you a new one.

I was hitting all the climbs right at or at times slightly above LT. The 34x28 minimum was perfect, though I was wishing I hadn't lent my 11-30 to Brian by about the 60 mile mark. Some of the climbs were quite loose, notably Archambo (cleaned, Yeah Baby!) and the middle and upper parts of Hillman. (I personally think that sector 2 between Heath and Green River is the worst with these 2 climbs and Franklin.) I frankly remember a guy coming into Heath (after climbing Mountain Rd) complaining he had to stop and walk. Apparently he didn't get the memo after I looked at his bike with standard gearing and 25s. One guy summed it up for him, "Poor equipment choice, my friend."

I was feeling pretty good, though I probably could have lightened my saddle bag a hair. I was prepared for Armageddon: 2 tubes, half a dozen zip ties, 4 tire boots, 5 patches, a multi-tool, a chain tool, 2 tire levers, and 3 CO2's. I think the bag weighed in at 3 lbs., pushing total bike weight up to about 22.5 with the Jets. Better to be safe than sorry I guess. I was very confident railing the descents at high speed and the CX bike performed flawlessly.

We took an extended lunch break at the Green River Covered Bridge. I found the Roast Beef sandwich hit the spot though I knew the 400' climb coming out of the stop would probably have me burping half of it back up. It's always difficult to get the blood back in the legs but after 10 minutes they're good to go but your body's pissed off at you again. Maybe it's just me but I get to a level of fatigue at about the 4-5 hour mark and it never gets worse. Yeah, I hurt but I feel I could keep going indefinitely as long as my mind keeps telling my legs to keep moving. Maybe it's the Hammer Perpetuum or I'm just better able to burn fat as fuel. I guess that's one thing I've found I'm particularly good at (relative to myself) - the long sufferfest type rides. Unfortunately for me there are no medals, awards or prize money for my "talent". Oh well, I've always been drawn to hard things and over my first 3 years of riding I've managed to try a little of everything- Road, MTB, and CX racing, hillclimbs, and 7-8 hour death marches like 6 Gaps and D2R2. I've always come away from the long ones with a tremendous sense of completion. No matter where I "finish" I'll always have that and that's enough for me. I had doubts this year going into D2R2 primarily because in the days before the event I had some freak back issue out of nowhere. It literally was so bad that it was waking me out of a sound sleep whenever I rolled over. I questioned my ability to be able to ride for 8 hours, on no less a course like D2R2. But I have to say, that JB riding two weeks off a horrific crash at Nationals inspired me to forge ahead.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. It reminded me when I was a kid when my buddy and I would seek out the biggest hills around just to go down the other side. It literally is climb for 10 minutes, descend washboard for 5, repeat 40 times. Brian, Paul, and I met up with Andi, Brian's wife, at the optional Green River Road water stop at ~mile 80. What are the odds of that? We cruised Green River Road at ~23-24 mph only to have an entire Bike Barn Racing Team blow by us at upwards of 30. Apparently they had no idea what was in store for them at Nelson Road because as we hit the climb, it looked like someone threw a grenade in their group as they were scattered all over the road. Paul and I were hitting the climb at a good clip and it was at this point that Brian wasn't feeling too hot. We took the turn where the 100k and 180k split and waited about 100 meters up the road. Apparently we did the stupid thing not waiting AT the turn. Brian waited for his wife to catch him and rode in with her. If you're feeling like absolute dog meat then you might as well pack it in. You made the right move, buddy, and don't worry we're well aware of your ability to rip our legs off at any time.

And then there were 2. Paul was riding ridiculous. He was rocking a single 38t up front with an 11-28 in the back. I think it probably helped on the loose stuff when a turn of the crank actually equated to significant forward movement- kinda like trying to ride the granny ring through tech stuff on the mtb. I ripped Greenfield Road at almost 50 (49.8 to be exact) but started to feel a little insecure with the Jets as they chattered on the turns. It's funny how 112, Lyonsville Rd., and later Call Rd. take on this calm before the storm sort of persona. You're enjoying probably the tamest few miles of the ride when you can't help but look up at the ridge and you're hit with this sinking feeling- that is where I must go. Suddenly at mile 96, with upwards of 6 and a half hours in the legs you see the sign for Patten Hill. Patten Hill for me this year was all it's cracked up to be and then some. The paved wall at the beginning softens the legs up real freakin' nice and then the real fun starts when you hit the dirt. Forget about standing up. It was way too loose. The ensuing 10 minutes were a sight for sore thighs- churning away at 45 rpms while trying to pick lines through deteriorating road conditions, praying that my rear tire would hook up with something so I wouldn't waste another kj of energy. I entertained the idea of walking for about a half millisecond but then quickly realized I couldn't live with myself if I did. I know, ridiculous. I made it into the rest stop at top of Patten about 15 seconds after Paul.

Coming out of the rest stop we hooked up with a group that must have been among the first to shove off that morning. Matt Surch was there, a rider from Tall Tree Cycles in Ontario who finished in our leading group of 6 last year. Todd Holland, another strong rider from the area, was also there and I knew this was going to be a fast drive to the finish. It's all downhill from there anyway, so how bad could it be? Well, not really. South Shelburne Rd. is a bitch. It's usually at about this time that I'm completely sick of climbing and South Shelburne just gnaws at you. (Gee, it only took 100 miles and 11000'.) Matt, another rider, Paul, and myself upped the pace a bit. I was quickly entering the "let's get this fucker done" state of mind. Todd caught back on an ensuing descent and we hit Hawk's Rd. like it was a CX race for crissakes. It was getting real hairy in there as we were passing (or attempting to pass) 100k traffic. I backed off a bit and settled in behind some riders because a.) I didn't want to be "that" guy and b.) I didn't want to crash or cause someone else to crash. The problem is alot of these riders aren't great technical riders and they fishtail all over the trail, not realizing someone faster is coming up their side. Yelling "on your right/left" only unnerves them even more. It wasn't until a guy on a mtb behind me yelled "just hold your line" was I able to finally find a proper hole through. Whatever the case, I made it through unscathed though I have no idea how I didn't crash or flat on a pile of rocks I hit towards the end.

Seeing the group about 200 meters up the road, I gave chase for a while, but decided to just ride tempo to the finish. I ended up coming in about 20 seconds behind a group of 3 or 4, including Paul. I stupidly forgot to check in until about half hour after pounding a couple of ice cold Cokes. My ride time was 7:46, a bit slower than last year, but as I said we took several wrong turns and road quality was down a bit. It was probably a wash though, as the weather was ideal compared to last year when at times it felt like a convection oven. Here's the Garmin file.

Because the pace was much more civilized than last year I actually took in the scenery. Imagine that. If you are some semblance of a serious rider, this is a ride you must do before you die. Even if you opt for the 100k, you will not be left unfulfilled. There are countless scenes of rolling hills and breathtaking farmland that could be used as postcards. If you don't count Greenfield Road and Rte. 112, I bet I was passed by no more than a dozen cars in 111 miles. Support was again fantastic and it keeps getting better. I made one suggestion- a couple cases of cold Coke at the top of Patten would hit the spot. Food was catered by a nearby business and was also quite good. Sandy and organizers put on another incredible event and I look forward to D2R2 2011.