Tour of California Stage 2 Breakaway from Cancer ride
I rode the Breakaway from Cancer ride that followed the TOC route for stage 2 from Davis to Santa Rosa. 114 miles.
First things, if you are doing the TOC ride with EN you MUST have a compact crank AND a 12-27. I guess if you are not a weakling like me on the bike, you could probably get away with one or the other. I had neither and the KOM hills killed me.
The course is flat for the first 20 miles and then you start getting into the rolling hills. The course has not too steep rolling hills from 20-65 miles. Once you hit 65 miles, you hit the first big hill. It’s not overly steep, its just 5 or 6 miles long. It’s like the movie Groundhogs day. Every turn you think... it has to be the top, and it’s not, it just keeps going. I felt great all the way up the hill. I had 3 bottles each with 4 scoops of Infinite in each. I sipped 1/2 a bottle every hour and drank water with it. I was able to tell at about mile 60 that I needed something more, so I had 1/2 a powerbar. That got the zip back in my legs.
After the long uphill, you get a nice 10 min downhill to recover. Then its rolling hills until mile 85 or so. Then the first KOM climb. It’s a 15-18% grade hill. Some people were riding up most of the way, but were killing themselves. I decided 1/3 of the way up that I was killing my watts just to go 4 or 5 MPH. So, I walked going 3 mph. Didn't like it, but it was the right move. The downhill after was not long enough. The 2nd KOM was at mile 90. It was not quite as steep as the first, but it was longer. I was able to ride 1/2 a mile and then take a 2-3 min break and then go again, repeating to the top. Once you got to the top, you had a nice downhill. Then 1/3 of the way down, there was the last aid station, so I stopped and refilled my water. While I was there, I realized that I couldn't take a full breath. Every time I tried, I started coughing. I could only take about 1/2 a breath. Crap, Asthma attack. My first since HS 18 years ago. Of course I had no meds. I decided to rest for 5 min and then just go slow the rest of the way. I figured it would have taken them a while to get me back to the start anyways. So, screw the plan, just go according to breath rate (a lot more obvious than heart rate ;-) )
After I left the aid station, the route continued down the hill. Thats when the roads when to crap. The road had been resurfaced back in the 70's and there were pot holes everywhere. You couldn't avoid them. Add to that the hair pin turns and the loose gravel on the road and the grade that made you coast to 30 mph and it was not a fun downhill. I could smell the burning rubber from my breaks. I almost bailed on one of the corners cause I skidded. I got the bottom in one piece and was amazed. From the bottom, the roads got a little better, but not much. The rest of the ride was spent trying to breathe and avoid the cracks/pot holes in the road. And of course at mile 103 there was another 300-400 elevation gain hill.
But I finished, 114 or so miles in 9 hours (30-40 min spent at aid stations). I think the last 30 miles took me 3 hours, at least. Its a fun route, but the road conditions at the end made it dangerous. I think it would have been more fun doing it in reverse with all the hills at the start. At least CDA will not be as hilly, or it better not be.
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Comments
Thanks for the preview! Got any pics?
I also downloaded all the stage profiles from the ToC website...some of those are REALLY intimidating! EEK, what did I sign myself up for?!?
Wow, I'm not even doing ToC and after reading that I just ordered a 27