Congrats Bill, The SR next year will be easy in comparison.
Toshi On Sun, Oct 29, 2017 at 5:35 PM, Bill Lindsay <[email protected]> wrote: > Epic long ride report for an epic long ride. Grab a beer.... > > > As many of you know I did a lot of riding over the last three months. A > big part of the motivation was to prepare for what might be the most > difficult 200k brevet route in America. The Marin Mountains 200k covers > ~128 miles, with ~40 miles off-road, and with ~13,000 feet of climbing. > Despite the unique challenges presented by the course, the same timing > rules apply as if it was a flat-paved brevet. Riders who want to 'complete' > the brevet have to make it through the timed controls on time, including > the finish control which closes at 13 hours, 30 minutes. I'm pleased to > report that I successfully completed the Marin Mountains 200k yesterday, > with a precious little 26 minutes to spare. I've done a few 300k brevets > before which were very challenging and ran a little bit longer than my ride > yesterday, but I think it's probably safe to say that this was the hardest > single day ride I've ever done. > > The brevet started at 6AM in The Presidio. This is a park and former > military base at the northern end of San Francisco, right next to the > Golden Gate Bridge. The group of riders was much smaller than I'm > accustomed to for a San Francisco Randonneurs event. The trail portions > require a permit with the park service and that limited the roster to only > 30 riders. Despite that limit, it's my understanding that only a few were > turned away. The extreme climbing and off-road portions had most SFR > members choosing to ride the Winters 200, and/or the Del Puerto Canyon 200 > instead. Two of the riders that arrived were not given a brevet card. One > wanted to sign up that day, but the limit was reached. Another forgot to > pack a helmet, so he got a DNH. Both riders chose to ride anyway, but knew > that they wouldn't receive RUSA credit. At that hour it was still pitch > dark. Thursday and Friday had both been quite hot, with temperatures in San > Francisco getting well into the 80s, but the fog rolled in Friday night so > it was closer to 50F at that hour. We knew when the fog receded, things > would be a lot warmer, so many chose to suffer a chill and pack light, > instead of dressing warm and having to carry a bunch of clothing all day. I > decided to split the difference. I went without knee warmers, but wore arm > warmers and a reflective vest over a wool jersey. I had a bandanna around > my neck. No extra gloves. That turned out to be just right. I needed to > wear everything at the start and everything was back on at the end. I did > make one big packing mistake. One thing I like to do to pass the time and > the miles on a long day is to film a music video. I carried my smallish > movie camera with the intent that I would look out for short shots that I > would edit together to a rock song. I had two songs picked out (Green Day > "21st Century Breakdown", and The Strokes "Modern Age"). I ended up getting > a fair bit of footage, but the battery crapped out before the halfway point > after which I felt like a dope for carrying it. > > We took the traditional SFR oath, solemnly promising not to do stupid > stuff, and at 6 sharp the intrepid group headed off through the Presidio > towards Golden Gate Bridge. It's a fast ride across the bridge at that > hour, with minimal winds and zero tourists. We descended into Sausalito and > the group quickly split into two equal groups. I hung on with the faster > group, and looking back, I have to assume that most of the slow half didn't > finish. I would end up coming in at 13:04, and only a small number of > riders arrived after me. During my day at the back of the fast half, only > two riders passed me from behind. It's my guess that all the riders in > front of me finished and maybe 10 of the 15 behind me at the start got > DNFs. > > After just a few flat miles through Sausalito and Northern Marin, we > turned onto Highway 1 and headed up Mount Tamalpais. This is another > stretch that is infinitely more pleasant in the wee hours of the morning > with far fewer cars. The route turned onto Panoramic Highway and at > ~1000ft, we started our first off-road stretch on Gravity Car Road. This > trail is wide and gravelly, steep in parts but still totally doable on a > wide tired road bike. One rider in that I ended up riding with a fair bit > was on a White 53cm Roadeo with a red headtube. She was running Paul Racer > M brakes and ~35mm tires and she did great. I was on Bruce Gordon Rock and > Roads (584x43). The top of Gravity Car Road becomes Old Railroad Grade, and > the sky is getting light. Here's a view to the west from Railroad Grade: > > > <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hOIus-A6py4/WfZbegP5pgI/AAAAAAAADrY/IndQT1LmhjIS_aj5Sukl_TgvPIR2-jpqACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2242.JPG> > > > At around mile 20 we spit out to the road, the highest paved road in Marin > County. At this point it's natural to feel pretty good. Nearly 20% of the > climbing is done, and one of the five dirt sections is complete, but the > real tough sledding is coming. The next dirt section comes right away on > and now things are different. Section 1 had been closer to steep 'dirt > roads'. The second section is double track mountain bike trails. Riders > are instructed to follow the trail signs towards Potrero Meadows and Lake > Lagunitas. The climbing is steep and fairly rocky, but firm. My lowest gear > is a 28x32, and I was able to clean the climbs. The descents tended to be > just as steep and rocky, where my hydraulic disc brakes and carbon shock > fork came in handy. On the very steep descent towards Bon Tempe Dam, I > caught a rider on one of the recognizeably 'modern classic' rando machines. > It had lugs, a flat top tube, tons of fork offset, and Rat Trap Pass tires. > He was running M.A.F.A.C. cantilevers and asked me if my hands were > cramping like his were. My hands were not cramping so I replied "that > descent was no joke". He rode ahead while I filled up my water bottles at > the ranger station, and I didn't see him the rest of the day. I assume he > did well. After crossing the dam, there was a little more trail riding and > section #2 was done. > > The road ride was very short to the third and by far the hardest dirt > section. Pine Mountain Fire Road and San Geronimo Ridge Road are extremely > loose and extremely rocky. There are several steep sections both uphill and > down that look to me completely impossible to clean on a bicycle of any > kind. The rocks are so large and loose that walking is no picnic either. At > one of the rideable sections I came around a bend to see a steep uphill in > the distance with maybe a half-dozen randos shouldering their bikes up the > incline. I got off and walked 5 or 6 times. This is the section that makes > it extremely challenging to get to the first timed control on time. The > controls cut off at close to a 10mph pace, so these sections where you are > going more like 2mph really take a bite out of your budget. Mountain bike > historians enjoy seeing the famous turn offs from San Geronimo Ridge Road: > Repack, and White Hill. Sadly, our day takes us to Sylvestris Fire Road. At > this point we've done a TON of climbing, and we're still at a high > elevation. The descent down Sylvestris is going to take us to a long road > section with comparatively little climbing. It should feel like a reward > but instead it's harrowing. Sylvestris Road is extremely steep (-15% at > times), and very straight. You drop almost 1000ft in under a mile. It's the > opposite of fun. I wonder how folks with rim-brakes would do it safely. I > do not want to see what the KOM time is on that descent. Scary. When I got > to the road crossing Sir Francis Drake towards Nicasio, I was happy to be > through the hardest parts. There was still a ton of work to come, but now > it was a 26 mile road ride to the halfway point and the first timed control > at Marshall Store. All the previous controls were "info controls" where the > cue sheet tells you to stop and fill in the answer to a question about a > landmark. That proves you were on course. A timed control also enforces > that you are on course and on time. > > The road section, which was mostly on familiar roads, went easily enough, > except either I've never been, or I've forgotten about the steepness of the > "Marshall Wall". It's 'only' 500ft, but it's quite steep and slow going. I > took it easy and slowly. Then the course hit Tomales Bay and turned South. > I arrived at Marhsall Store at 12:15. The cutoff was 12:36. I had > dilly-dallied quite a bit taking video footage and such, and I spent a fair > bit of time at Marshall Store in line, and sat down for lunch. They are > famous for their barbecued oysters, but I had fish stew. My iPhone was > already getting low on battery so I plugged in one of two USB batteries > that I had packed. That's when I figured out my video camera was done for > the day, so I would not be doing anymore stops for that, but I did want a > coffee. The course continued on the road through Point Reyes Station. I > bought a cup of coffee at Bovine Bakery and continued through town to enjoy > my cup of coffee on the famous couch at Black Mountain Cycles. Mike Varley > asked me about my Lauf Grit fork and commented on my home made stem > shifters while I relaxed on the couch and gazed at Mike's vintage pink > Bruce Gordon road bike. I couldn't afford to sink in to the couch, so I > drank my coffee quickly and went back on the road. > > The course continued around the tip of Tomales Bay and turned north > through Inverness. Sir Francis Drake turns out towards the Pacific on the > Point Reyes Peninsula, but the course has us turn onto Mount Vision Road. > This is an interminably steep road climb, with numerous switchbacks. It is > almost guaranteed to be entirely car free, which is great. Riding it alone, > you feel really isolated from just about everything. The Bay Area is so > dense and urban that it's easy for me to lose track of the areas that make > me feel this way. We really do have a lot of incredible open space. Here's > another shot looking of the view from Mount Vision Road. I think we are > looking East back over Tomales Bay. > > > > <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AdJQBFzoO54/WfZjfb8-8TI/AAAAAAAADro/OGaXM2C5jAE0RMUFTpdq9MEjWy34wW6DQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2246.JPG> > > At the end of the long steep climb is the funnest of the dirt sections, > Inverness Ridge Trail. This is super tight, narrow singletrack, completely > closed in with vegetation. It's a steep descent, but not too steep, and > technical, but not impossible. It's just a hoot. It's right at the edge of > what I can do on a bike with drop bars and medium width tires. It's one of > those descents that you kind of have to do with some speed. If you are > timid and slow it would be WAY harder. The only bummer is that it is kind > of short, only about 2 miles. The road descent on Limantour road back into > Olema is also really fun, though. Very wide sweeping turns, great pavement > and very few cars on wide roads. I really opened it up. Strava says my top > speed for the day was 47mph, and I assume it was on this stretch. At the > bottom I hit the little market in Olema for another timed control. Again, I > was just a little bit ahead of the cutoff, rolling in at 3:15 with a > closing time of 3:48. Now I'm at mile 90, with something like 35 miles to > go and about 4 hours to get there, so I'm feeling pretty good. > > > Six miles south on Highway 1 and I turn off to the last and longest dirt > section. Randall Trail heads straight freaking up to Bolinas Ridge Trail. > These trails are completely shrouded in redwood forest, and naturally paved > with the needles. The trails are heavily rooted, but otherwise solid. > Randall trail is a continuous 2 mile climb that ranges between 10% and 15% > grades. It's really hard to be doing at mile 100. My heart beat was > pounding in my ears as I grinded up the slope. The turn onto Bolinas Ridge > Trail felt like release from prison, but that section was also a big > challenge with numerous steep rollers. Descend-climb-descend-climb. You > never change elevation all that much but really rack up the work on your > legs. My back really started to feel it at this point as the day's work > began to wear on me. There was a real sense of accomplishment to spit out > onto the road, having finished the last dirt section. > > > But "not so fast", say the Seven Sisters. The last hard road section > wanders around the back side of Mount Tamalpais. The Seven Sisters are a > series of hills out there. As I understand it, their names are: Tempest, > Tierney, Trinity, Teresa, Tabitha, Tamara, and Tiffany. On one hand, > knowing there are seven kind of help keep the end in sight, but they really > were hard at this point in the day. I must have had my general setup > dialed, because nothing hurt early, but at this point, on my hardest day > maybe ever, everything was getting sore at about the same time. Legs, sore. > Hands, sore. Back, shoulders, neck, tired. Feet, sore. Back side, feeling > it. It was tremendous that nothing was bugging me earlier, but my body was > telling me that I was getting to the limit. Once the Seven Sisters were > complete, I went back down Tam the same way I had come up 12 hours earlier, > and cruised through Sausalito and across the bridge to the finish. At that > point is was dark again and the cold fog was rolling in. The winds were > intense on the bridge, but thankfully that again kept most of the tourists > away. I had a cup o' noodles from the volunteers, but I felt a chill coming > on quick, so I loaded up and headed home. > > > My Niner Seven Fiver did tremendously well. I have that bike dialed for > this kind of riding. Fun fact: one reason I bought it was that the geo > chart for a 59cm RLT9 is almost indistinguishable from a 58cm Atlantis. I > think the only two numbers that are not identical is the Niner has a 0.5 > degree steeper seat tube angle and a 5mm shorter top tube. Those who know > things about things know that is a wash. It's the exact same fit and > handling. If I could snap my fingers and have it be steel, I would. There > is a steel RLT9, which I'd love to have. I really love my Lauf Grit fork > for mixed terrain riding. If you are not thrashing about on the road, it's > easy to forget you've got a shock and it helps a bunch on the bumpy stuff. > I couldn't be happier with it. > > > Bill Lindsay > > El Cerrito, CA > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
