Early this year I realized that the Solvang Double Century would be a great way to celebrate turning 65 by biking 3 times my age in miles. With our traveling to Japan in February, I only had 4 weeks of training going in, so I knew I was not going to be as fast as prior times.
It turned out to be another cold start for the Solvang Double. It was 39 degrees so it was hard to know how to dress for it because you don’t want to carry too many clothes as the day warms up. I settled on a base-layer, vest, knee warmers, double arm warmers and a skull cap. I lined up at the start area just before 7 am, looking to get with a group.

No group seemed to be forming so I decided to go with a tandem with two male riders.

That might not have been such a good idea because they were stronger than I expected, even on the short climb up to Solvang. Nevertheless I was able to stay connected. We passed several other riders who had started early, picking up two other riders, David and Marc. The three of us drafted behind the tandem, and I even went out to take a short pull. About 15 miles into the ride, there was a short downhill with a sharp turn that the tandem ripped through much faster than we could and a gap formed. We wasted too much energy trying to close the gap and finally we mutually decided to give up the chase and the three of us rode together much of the rest of the course.
I knew my training for Solvang was not as complete as prior years and there was no way I could keep up with the fastest riders, which is why I started at 7 am instead of 7:30 am with the fastest group. Still I was feeling in pretty good shape and would go ahead of Mark and David on the climbs up Foxon Canyon and they then would pass me on the descent side. When we were approaching the first rest stop at mile 41, I passed Art Cruz, which was a surprise because I thought he started 2 hours earlier than me. I usually skipped the first rest stop but David wanted to get water so I thought it would be good to stop. The temperature had dropped as low as 34 degrees so I was not drinking that much, but on the other hand I was glad I had now worn a jacket because I was feeling fine and even took off the glove liners at the first stop.
At that rest stop, Art Cruz arrived before we left and he told me he started at 5 am, but had missed a turn and had already ridden an extra 22 miles. What a bummer. While we were at the rest stop the 7:30 fast group came zipping by. I had thought at one time of jumping on their wheel after Foxon Canyon when it was more flat and easier for me to stay connected but in hind sight that would not have been a good idea. Once we started riding another group came by with a couple of tandems and I told my new riding partners, lets get on the train. The headwinds were getting rather strong. With no wind I would probably have been okay to stay with the paceline but the strong winds raised havoc because I could not get the full benefit of drafting. I started to get worried about burning out so I told David and Marc I was dropping off, and they did also. I was glad they dropped back because I drafted behind them as we kept moving through the head and cross winds. Even with their help the winds were so brutal to me while they did not seem to affect the bigger guys as much. Around mile 75 I was wondering if I would ever be able to finish this ride.
Knowing the rest stop was around mile 80, I just kept plugging away, often dropping off for awhile, then working my way back up. The rest stop was not until mile 85 and I needed some time there to recover. I knew that this was not going to be a sub 12 hour ride like in the past and I would need to take more time at the rest stops.

I was glad when we reached the northern part of the ride around mile 100 when the winds would be either a cross wind or tail wind. By now my legs were feeling over stressed and I was afraid I was going to cramp. I was taking a lot of electrolytes and drinking a lot but you can also cramp from fatigue. Somehow I made it to the lunch stop at mile 113. I saw Deb Hoag there, and she was getting ready to leave when we arrived. I ask Marc and David to not slow down again for me and if I dropped off the back to just go ahead and that I had decided to ride a slower pace. I took advantage of the stop to plug my Garmin Edge 810 into the external battery supply so it would start to recharge since I knew it would not last the entire ride.
After eating a subway sandwich I started off with David and Marc but within 5 miles I made the decision to drop the pace a bit and make sure I did not cramp. Soon it started to cool off from the high 70′s it had been at the lunch stop, because we were near the coast. That would be a good thing since I usually don’t cramp when it is cooler.
At the next rest stop, mile 141, I arrived before David and Marc left but told them I was going to ride solo. I was there for some time, again recovering. I decided to swap the external charger to my iPhone but then I realized the LiveTrack feature of the Garmin 810 was not working. I saw a text from Anne that LiveTrack was not working since the beginning and she had been worried. I sent her a text to let her know where I was and tried to get LiveTrack to work again.
The combination of the cooler weather and more resting worked, and I was feeling much faster after that and even thought I was riding by myself, I was moving along very quickly. I arrived at the last rest stop once again to find Marc and David. I told them I would ride with them again since I was no longer on the verge of cramping. Marc was now the one who had the issue and was dropping back. David wanted to move on because he wanted to finish before 7:30, so I said I would wait for Mark. That gave me a chance to work on the LiveTrack from the Garmin to my iPhone and get it working fully.
Marc had a bit of a hard time on the hills but would catch me on the descents, then he seemed to get his second wind. He wanted to finish before 8 pm and I promised him that I would ride with him to get him to the finish well before 8 pm. About 15 miles from the end we passed Lonni, who had started at 5 am. She said she was having a tough last 30 miles, but since I had promised Marc to help him finish early, we plowed on. A few other riders had latched on to us.
It was just getting dark as we were going down through Foxon Canyon. I was glad I had some light, the period between sunset and civil twilight, as we were descending because I had only taken a smaller light. We finally made it down to the highway and I knew that it would be a short couple of miles to finish. We finished at 7:38 pm.

I probably looked a bit ragged but I was feeling fine, much better than I was at mile 75.


It was great to finish. It was the first time that it took me over 12 hours on this particular double century, but in 2011 they changed the course so it was 5 miles longer and another 2,000 feet of climbing.
My biking time was only 50 minutes longer than the Solvang Double in 2009. That was rather good since I was clearly not in the same condition and we had those strong winds, plus the extra 5 miles and 2,000 feet of climbing. My stopping time was quite a bit longer, but I was not trying to win any race and that stopping time helped me from cramping like I did on the Knoxville Double last fall. This is how it looks compared with the other double centuries I have done.
Double Centuries
|
| Year |
Event |
Miles |
Feet |
|
Bike Time |
|
|
|
% Stop |
Notes |
| 2003 |
Solvang |
193 |
7,200 |
|
|
11:18
|
19.2
|
|
12% |
First |
| 2004 |
Davis |
198 |
8,300 |
56 |
11:12 |
12:45 |
17.7 |
148 |
12% |
Cramped |
| 2007 |
Solvang |
193 |
7,200 |
59
|
9:50
|
10:42
|
19.6
|
137
|
8% |
Paceline |
| 2007 |
Devil Mtn |
205 |
18,600 |
59 |
14:31 |
18.12 |
14.1 |
136 |
20% |
Cramped |
| 2007 |
Davis |
198 |
8,300 |
59 |
10:55 |
12:30 |
18.2 |
144 |
13% |
|
| 2008 |
Solvang |
193 |
7,200 |
60
|
9:36
|
9:59
|
20.3
|
145
|
4% |
Paceline |
| 2008 |
Devil Mtn |
206 |
18,600 |
60 |
14:25 |
15:32 |
14.3 |
136 |
7% |
|
| 2008 |
Davis |
203 |
8,300 |
60 |
11:10 |
13:00 |
18.2 |
143 |
14% |
|
| 2009 |
Death Vly |
197 |
9,400 |
60 |
12:23 |
13:22 |
15.9 |
136 |
7% |
|
| 2009 |
Solvang |
199 |
7,200 |
|
10:36
|
|
|
|
6% |
Paceline |
| 2012 |
Knoxville |
201 |
13,000 |
64 |
12:43 |
14:23 |
15.8 |
138 |
12% |
Cramped |
| 2013 |
Solvang |
198 |
8,600 |
65 |
11:26 |
12:38 |
17.3 |
136 |
9% |
Windy |
Categories: Solvang Double
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