EPIC TRAINING SYSTEMS
Endure, Excel, Achieve
2006 300km Ride Report
March 18, 2006

I know brevets are supposed to be challenging and that is why I do them but this
weekend's 300km brevet had me second guessing myself all day.  A 50% DNF
rate says plenty about the difficulty of today's 300km. 187 miles 11,400 feet
of climbing total time 13:46.

Our safety brief included the usual things to be mindful of and also the mention that
the featured climb, Palomar Mountain, might be bypassed if the weather didn't clear
up.  I have to admit that I was disappointed because I love the difficulty of the San
Diego 300km brevet which has included the climb to Julian in addition to Palomar
as recently as 2005.

At the start were the "usual suspects", Jack, Andy, Bruce, Tim, Linda, Gerd,
Jeffrey and Mary.  And some new faces like Greg and Pete.  Missing were some of
my favorite people to ride with Dan Crain, Janet C, and-- where is David Nakai
these days?

Off we went North on El Camino Real and the pack of 24 riders thinned out
quickly to five-- Andy, Jack, Gerd, Jeffrey and myself.  Gerd fell off the pace as
we neared Carlsbad.  Jeffrey stayed with us until the base of Palomar.  We reached
Control #1 at 9:08am (approx 3 hours).  

As we left Control #1 we began the five mile ascent up the base of Palomar
Mountain (EL 1000 Ft) . Andy got into a groove that Jack and I could not maintain
and he pulled away from us.  I was then dropped by Jack.  Andy put enough of a
gap on me on this five mile climb (mile 55) that I never saw him again.  Things
were going well for me but I just couldn't keep up the pace.

We stayed on Hwy 76 and bypassed Palomar Mountain.  As Pete Penseyres says
"No top, no ride"  Meaning if you can't see the top of the mountain (EL 5500) don't
go up.  So East we go on Hwy 76 and as we begin the gentle climb to Lake
Henshaw the skies open up.  It continues to rain and then hail through Mesa
Grande.  The hail was small but it was pelting me pretty hard and that's when I
started to break down mentally.  

Through Mesa Grande with the hail and freezing temperatures I started wondering
what the !@#$ was I doing.  I could feel the cold starting to affect my body as
well.  My feet which had been wet since 6am were freezing, and now my face was
being pelted and my ears were freezing as well.  Then I could feel my fingers
freezing.  Next came my wrists, which stiffened to the extent that shifting became
extremely difficult.  Eventually, I couldn't shift out of my big ring until I got to
Ramona.  A good 30+ miles of rolling and terrain where I should have been using
my small chainring.  

At Control #2 Santa Ysabel sitting about El 3,000 feet   (approx mile 91 and 5
hours), I couldn't even sign in.  I gave Tina permission to check me in and access
my brevet card because I couldn't move my fingers.  My only thoughts were "get
down from this elevation and it will warm up".  I was at Control #2 about two
minutes my drive was to get to Ramona.  I don't how I descended because
squeezing the brake levers was very difficult.  

Once I reached Ramona I stopped at a AM/PM and ate two double cheeseburgers
and soaked my hands in a sink of warm water for about 10 minutes.  I spent about
30 minutes in Ramona but left with a renewed spirit.  I stopped mainly because,
BEING ON MY BIKE WAS NO LONGER BEING FUN.  Psychologically,  this is
when I started to recover from my lull.  The lull had lasted two hours and I think I
was lucky.  

I am a firm believer of going out hard and covering as much ground as possible
when you are fresh.  The usual terrain of Ultra distance courses is to have the
climbing first and then bring you generally downhill towards the finish.  I believe
the longer you stay "out there" the more weather, calorie deficit, and sleep
deprivation will affect you.

The rest of the event was quite boring and tedious.  Navigation, awareness and
riding skill were the key now as last 100 miles were spent in cross town traffic
from Ramona to Rancho Bernardo, to Scripps Ranch, to Qualcom Stadium, to
Pacific Beach and then back to Cardiff.

At the finish it was Andy with a great time of 12:20 then Jack 13:42 then me
13:46  Andy great job!!! Jack I almost caught you.  You were more than 30
minutes  ahead of me at Control #4 in Pacific Beach.  Sadly, the DNF rate was
very high.  12 out of 24 riders finished.  I congratulate all riders, even those
that didn't finish, you endured harsh conditions which made you stronger.

What was funny was listening to the triathletes that did the Oceanside Half Ironman
on that same day complaining about the drizzle they experienced.  

My response,  "While you were at sea level getting sprinkled on I spent 4
hours above 3,000 feet where I had rain, freezing rain and hail!"  


Thank you to Barclay and all the volunteers for making this event happen.  It takes
special people to volunteer for these events THANK YOU!!

I will see you at the 400km.  








                                















                                        300km elevation chart