EPIC TRAINING SYSTEMS
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2006 Death Valley Double Century Race Report Page 2
| October 28, 2006 196 Miles 10,500 feet of climbing |
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We help athletes
achieve their goals
to win, race, or be
fit, and to discover
for themselves our
passion for cycling.
achieve their goals
to win, race, or be
fit, and to discover
for themselves our
passion for cycling.
Checkpoint #4 (Mile 120) At Scotty’s Castle we were required to pick up our lights. I found it pretty silly to pick up my lights at mile 120 and only 2 O’clock in the afternoon. But it would be dark by the time I got in. The climb to Ubehebe Crater is not difficult until the last ¼ mile. However the road surface is terrible. My feet were hurting pretty bad by now and the road was not helping. If I could only learn how to get rid of the aching foot pain that I get on these long rides I could improve my times significantly. The pain is so bad that I can’t pedal with any force. I knew I was in better form this year than 2 years ago because after leaving the Crater I was able to put together a couple of intervals. Two years ago I coasted and coasted until I got to the Hell’s Gate turnoff. This time I was able to make use of the descent and make time on a few riders. |
Checkpoint #5 I reached the Hell’s Gate turnoff alone. I had been alone for the last 60 miles. But as I was refueling Tim pulled into the rest stop. We had linked up earlier for a short time on the way back from the 95 Junction. It was nice to talk to another rider since I had been alone for so long. Tim left the rest stop about 1 minute ahead of me. He climbed at a faster pace and I could not keep up with him. As it turns out he finished 9 minutes ahead of me. (Mile 168) The Hell’s Gate climb is the toughest part of the ride for me. Since the course doesn’ t have that much climbing you can go pretty hard all day. And then at mile 168 you have 6.7 mile 2000 feet of gain climb. If you have been hammering all day this climb can really test you. I was trying to finish in under 12 hours so I was pretty spent by the time I hit the base of this climb. My average speed up the climb was just under 8 mph. Not bad but that was were I lost valuable minutes towards achieving my goal. Getting to top of the Hell's Gate climb is a huge psychological boost. The climb is almost 7 miles but the descent is 11 miles. You know you are almost home free. The terrain undulates on the last 12 miles. I was feeling better after the long descent and tried really hard to maintain a fast pace. I kept watching my time and realized that I wasn’t going to make my 12 hour goal. But I kept the pace high and finished with a total time of 12:11. |
(Finish Line Mile 196) I came into the finish feeling pretty good. I was a little disappointed with my time initially. After a few minutes of reflecting I was ok with my time. I considered the fact that I rode solo for almost 170 miles. And still I finished 20 minutes sooner. I does get harder and harder to squeeze out a few minutes as you get closer to the 12 hour mark on a Double Century LESSON LEARNED-- Follow the right wheels and when in good form sit in on the fastest group you think you can stay with. |
ADDITIONAL DEATH VALLEY DOUBLE CENTURY REPORTS |
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