04/30/2007

into the sunrise

Sedona Canyon

Me at the top of Sedona Canyon!

Mike, Catherine and John ... sorry about the blurryness - picture taken while in motion!

Finally at the Grand Canyon!

Makes for a nice picture, but I actually did get a bit tired of the view after riding next to it for hours!

The bell at Hermits Rest

Desert View Watchtower

Every so often I need a ride to just confirm that I am NOT built to be a climber! This ride definitely did that! Relatively speaking, it didn't have as much climbing as some of the other climbing events I've done, but it was the type of climbing that got to me and I'd have to rate it overall as one of the hardest rides I've done.

The ride started at the "Rockin River Ranch" about 7 miles off General Crook's Trail in Camp Verde, Arizona. I left work a bit early, so I got to the ranch around 6pm and signed in. I was one of the first people to send in my registration, but somehow wound up being assigned sleeping in a common area, not a room with a bed. D'oh! Susan even posted a note on the azbrevet website saying they ran out of beds and I remember feeling relieved that I had registered early, so how did I wind up on the floor?!?  Because I assumed that by registering early I would be guaranteed a room with a bed.  Susan never promised beds, just sleeping accommodations.  So I didn't complain about my room assignment.  My bad, lesson learned.  Note to self: When registering for an event that has sleeping accommodations included, confirm that the accommodation includes a real bed or reserve a hotel room! I was tempted to just head to town and try to get a room at a hotel, but it was only for one night, how bad could it be?  There was a Paris-Brest-Paris presentation in my "room" that ran late, so I headed into town for some dinner. I got back and setup my pad and sleeping bag and was the first in bed. Two other guys were assigned to the common room and came in a bit later. One guy didn't seem to know how to turn the door handle to quietly enter or exit the room, so there was a loud bang each time he came or left.  Nice.  The room also had an ice machine that dumped ice every 45 minutes or so just to make sure I wouldn't get a good night's sleep.  In hindsight I really should have gotten a hotel room because I only wound up with a couple hours of sleep and none of it was the good deep sleep I really prefer before a big ride.

The ride started at 4am, so I was up at 3am to get ready and had plenty of time. Susan asked everyone to move their vehicles to the back of the ranch right before the start. The pedals in the truck feel way different when wearing cycling shoes with cleats! The ranch is about 3/4s of a mile off the main road on a dirt road. There were some soft spots and there was some nervous riding along the dirt road. One guy next to me went down, but we weren't going fast at all so I think he was ok. There were 23 people registered, but I don't know how many actually started. A large group of 10 or so stayed together to the stop at Sedona. We maintained a pretty easy pace, so that was a nice way to warm up. But people left at their own rate individually after the checkpoint. I caught a few people going through the canyon and eventually caught up to John Chapin from Virginia. He and I would wind up riding together quite a bit. We were making pretty good time, but John warned me that he had driven the route on Friday and there was a significant climb coming up. He wasn't kidding! It was a wall that you could see the road winding up. I had my Trek 5200 with a triple crank, so I dropped into my lowest gear and started spinning up. John didn't have a triple and is a stronger climber than me, so he went on ahead. Someone asked me to post pictures, so I took my wife's little Pentax camera and stopped at the top for a quick picture. There were two guys a bit behind us when I got back to John after the climb, so we rode slowly for a while to see if they would catch up, but they seemed to slow when we did so we finally just started riding again.

The next checkpoint was at a Circle K on Lake Mary Road in Flagstaff. The two guys who were behind past while John and I were checking directions. They only stayed at that checkpoint for a few minutes and were gone. John and I took a bit more time and Mike Sturgill and Catherine Shenk arrived while we were still getting ready. The four of us left together and made our way through town. Susan's route was great and kept us off of the high traffic streets, so it was a nice ride through town to AZ 180. AZ180 was a bit rough in places. I was at the front and hit a pretty nasty section that I think gave Catherine a pinch flat. I didn't realize she had stopped until John called out, so we pulled off the road to wait for them, figuring 4 people working together would be better than 2. I ate some trail mix and had a Luna bar while we waited. They were pretty quick and we were off again. There's a lot of long gradual climbs along 180 and there were a couple spots where Mike or I would drop off to recover some. The climbs were really taking a toll on me. We stopped at the White Buffalo country store checkpoint to rest a bit and I felt quite a bit better after the stop. There was a good amount of descending with a nice tail wind after that stop and we made great time to Valle, but the wind was picking up and I was still not feeling in top form.

I've been reading Bill Hancock's book "Riding with the Blue Moth." It's a story about Bill's cross country ride after his son died in a plane crash. Great book, although be prepared for some tears in the first chapters (and I'm not one to cry). Anyway, one of Bill's staples along the ride was Vienna sausages. High in sodium and fat, maybe that would help with my energy level. So I bought Vienna sausages, a ham and turkey w/ cheese lunchable and a root beer. The food was good and seemed to hit the spot, but we turned into a headwind on Highway 64 and I felt ok riding in front for a couple miles, but when I dropped back I had nothing left. I felt like I was bonking hard, which didn't make a whole lot of sense because I just had a break and had eaten. But something wasn't right and I watched Mike, Catherine and John slowly ride into the distance while my speed steadily decreased. It was a long, slow, hard ride to the canyon!

There's a $12 fee into the park, so I pulled into line with the cars to pay. At the attendant's booth I leaned a bit over and knocked my knee on the rock wall, scraping a bit of skin off. The Grand Canyon is filled with long rolling hills. Rolling hills are my nemesis! I don't ride them well at all. It takes me a long time to get up and almost no time to get down, so it feels like I'm always climbing with no recovery. The route goes out to "Hermit's Rest." It was pretty neat to see the canyon and I was tempted to stop right away, but knew I still had a way to go to the next checkpoint, so kept going. The last long section of road out to Hermit's rest is closed to regular traffic and only has shuttles for people along it. That was nice. I did stop once for a couple pictures of the canyon and I lady took my picture with my bike. The two guys who were out in front passed me along there, so they were several miles in front of me and I saw Mike, Catherine and John on their way back as I was getting close to the checkpoint.

I ate a ham and cheese sandwich some Fritos and had another soda from the snack bar, but nothing really seemed to help get my energy up. I was just feeling off. Maybe it was the bad night of sleep or just all the climbing but I wasn't having a great ride. It was a very slow ride to my next stop at Desert View. I did catch a glimpse of a gray fox along the road. We looked at each other, then it turned tail and ran off into the forest. I kept hoping to see the road turn to the right because I figured that would signal the end of the rolling hills of the grand canyon and the beginning of the descent. I can honestly say that I was really tired of seeing the Grand Canyon. If someone ever says they can't get enough of the view, just have them ride a bike along that road! There was one turn that really got my hopes up, but the switch-back sign off in the distance quickly dispelled that! I got to Desert View about 6pm. The snack bar closed at 5pm. I took a couple pictures of the watch tower, then noticed a couple soda vending machines. So I went over to get a bottle of water. The coke machine didn't have water, but the Pepsi machine had a button for water, but it wouldn't take my dollar. So I went over to the coke machine, inserted the dollar and hit return. Some machines just spit the dollar back out, luckily this one gave me four quarters. So back to the Pepsi machine. Water -- sold out. Lemonade -- sold out. Dang. Pepsi -- got one! Then the display changed to sold out, so I got the last bottle in the machine! I went over to the coke machine and got a Nestea to put in one of my empty bottles. While I was drinking my soda a lady and her husband walked up and said "We have to tell you how impressed we are with you! We've passed you seven times on this trip! We kept saying 'Look! There he is again!'" I told her I wasn't the only one doing this ride and she may have seen other riders, but she was convinced it was just me. She asked how far I had to go and I thought it was about 30 miles so she offered me a ride, which was politely turned down. :-)

I was walking my bike back to the parking lot and was surprised to see Catherine Shenk and her husband. Catherine was planning on riding straight through and was taking this as a longer break. I only stayed a minute then headed out. There was a really long descent and it was nice to stop pedaling for an extended time. Miles and miles at 40+ mph really helps morale! As I approached the bottom of the final descent I saw blinking lights up in the distance. John was just finishing repairing his second flat. I rode slowly to wait for him to catch up, but he called out to stop at the intersection with Highway 89 so he could check his tire. It appears the tube was pushing the tire off the rim. Catherine's husband was also waiting at that intersection and walked over to assist. Since John had help, I continued on the final 8 miles to the Anasazi Inn in Gray Mountain. The last hill up to the hotel was tough, but I was highly motivated to get to the sleepover stop!

I checked in and John walked in just after I got my key. The CO2 cartridge was putting too much pressure in the tire. Catherine's husband had a regular pump and got the tire problem fixed. It was 8:30 and the restaurant across the street closed at 9pm. Good timing! If I was quick I might even get a fast shower in! The inn is broken into several buildings and my room was across from a gas station. So I walked over and see Mike Sturgill sitting outside the gas station having dinner. I didn't say much because I wanted to eat, so I went over to my building and tried to get in my room. The door had two locks, one on the handle and a deadbolt. The deadbolt was locked. My key didn't work. So I walked back over to the office and the girl behind the counter gave me a set of master keys. Back to the room. None of those keys worked either. Crap. Back to the office. The girl says "Did you try just pushing really hard, sometimes the door stick." Back over to the room, push real hard. The deadbolt remains locked. Back to the office. "Do you want a different room?" Well, duh! Now it's 5 minutes to 9. Catherine was at the office, so I told her Mike was at the gas station. They were both planning to ride through the night. The weather forecast showed a low in Flagstaff of 29 degrees, so I wasn't about to do that! Anyway, before that last trip to the office I left my bike in John's room and John went over to the restaurant. Right after I walked in, they turned the sign around to "Closed." Close call! It was a buffet style dinner and the food wasn't great, but I knew I had to eat something, so I forced myself to eat most of a plate. John had trouble eating too. It's interesting, but often after a long hard day of cycling, you just don't want to eat anything.

John and I made plans to hook up at 5:30am to ride back. I took a long shower and crawled into bed right at 10pm. I slept like a rock until about 3:20, then got up to use the restroom. I heard some people starting to move through the halls at around 4am, but I stayed in bed until 4:30, then got up to get ready. I stopped at John's door, which was propped open a little, knocked and called his name, but he didn't answer, so I figured he was getting breakfast. So I walked over to the gas station to get some snacks for breakfast myself. John wasn't there, so I assumed he was at the restaurant. I went back and finished getting ready and left my room at 5:40. John's door was still propped open so I looked in. There was a water bottle on the night stand, but his bike was gone and it looked like he had already packed up. Hmmmm. So I rode over to the office, not there. Looked at the restaurant, no bikes outside. So I left.

I was feeling MUCH better and rode pretty strongly to Flagstaff. I passed a couple people who left earlier than me and was passed once myself by the guys who were leading on Saturday, but caught and passed them on the descent right before getting into town. I stopped at the checkpoint in Flagstaff to refill fluids and there were a few other folks there as well. They left a few minutes before me. There was a nasty headwind going down Lake Mary road and I just couldn't get my speed up. I could see a couple riders up in front of me, but I wasn't closing the gap. The wind took it's toll and I was starting to struggle again by the time I made the turn towards the country store next to Mormon Lake. Susan was at the store on her way back from picking up the drop bags from the Anasazi Inn, so she signed my brevet card. The people I saw at the Circle K were still there too. I figured I must be bonking again but options were limited, so I got a large pickle, a bag of Chicken Fajita jerky, some funions and some Gatorade and sat down to eat. The chicken jerky was actually quite good and much easier to eat than beef jerky. I'll have to remember that for other rides.

Just as I was finishing up, Susan drove back up and she had John with her! He made a mistake and was riding in the wrong direction after this checkpoint. He said he woke up at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep. He apparently knocked on my door, but I didn't hear it. We left together, but I could immediately tell I still didn't have enough energy to keep up on the climbs. So John dropped me on the first climb on the way back to Lake Mary Road and I wouldn't see him again until Clint's well. It was a long, long ride between the Mormon Lake store and the gas station at Clint's Well. I passed Doug Patterson and Lynn Katano (on a tandem) at the top of one climb when they stopped for a Jelly Belly sport break. They caught and passed me a mile or so before the turn onto highway 87. I told them I remember one really significant climb after Clint's Well, then rolling hills before the descent to Camp Verde.

The group I was shadowing was still at the gas station when I got there, including John. I had an ice cream and another Gatorade, but didn't stay long. John and I left together. I couldn't believe it, that ice cream was exactly what I needed. All of a sudden my energy level came way back up and John wasn't getting nearly as far ahead of me on the climbs. Maybe it was a calcium deficiency I'd been struggling with, but man was I feeling better. We hit a big hill, but it didn't seem to take as long as I remembered. Turns out there were two significant climbs with the second climb lasting several miles. I caught John just after the turn onto General Crook's Trail and we rode together for quite a while with some points where he'd drop me on the climbs and I'd catch up on the descents. It started to sprinkle a little and got a bit chilly, but not too bad. We hit a long descent and I peaked at about 52 mph. When I got to the bottom John wasn't in sight. I wouldn't see him again until the finish. I rode pretty strongly over the remaining rolling hills. It started raining just before I got to the final descent, so I kept my speed under 40ish until I got down the hill a bit where the road was dry, then I let go of my brakes and enjoyed the descent, hitting a high speed of just over 58 mph. Rain stings pretty good when you are going over 50 mph on a bike! But the rain stopped shortly after I got to that dry area of road and the temperature really started to come up.

There was a nice tail wind on the way into Camp Verde and I made good time to the turn leading to the Ranch. As soon as I made that turn I faced a nasty headwind. Mike Sturgill passed in his truck on his way home, so I know he finished safely. I remembered a couple really steep hills along that road and they were just brutal. I looked at my $400 inclinometer (also known as the Polar CS600) and it showed 16% going up the first one! OUCH! When I glanced at the second hill it showed 14%! Not nice after 375 miles! John was maybe 10 or 15 minutes behind me at the finish and Doug and Lynn showed up about a half hour after that. I asked Lynn how they did on the tandem on those last two hills and she said there was a lot of cursing going on! Guess I'm not the only one with sporadic bouts of Turret's syndrome!

So, some ride stats from my Polar S710i:

Saturday
Total ride time: 16 hours 42 minutes
Distance: 227 miles
Avg/Max speed: 15.8/53.1
Avg/Max cadence: 76/128
Climbing: 12,520 feet
Calories burned: 11,126

Sunday
Total ride time: 10 hours 19 minutes
Distance: 154 miles
Avg/Max speed: 16.3/58.2
Avg/Max cadence: 70/130
Climbing: 7,340 feet
Calories burned: 6,290

I have to admit I was out of the saddle most of Sunday because my butt was a bit tender. The pad seams on my cycling shorts just plain hurt when I sat. I probably should have gone with a different type of cycling bibs for Sunday with seam lines in a different location than the seams from my bibs on Saturday. A good lesson. Paul Layton has a 1200k scheduled for June and I'm now leaning towards not doing that one. It got pretty hot through Valle and in Camp Verde, it will probably be really bad in June. I'll keep my eye on the weather for that area and decide later this month. Also, I think I'd like to lose a bit more weight before doing that kind of rolling hill terrain again, especially one with double the distance! I do ok on hills for a "Clydesdale" (for you non-cycling folks, that's someone who pushes a scale over 200 pounds), but I don't think I'll master rolling hills until I'm a bit lighter. All in all, a very challenging ride!