Sara invited me to join her and her brother (Eric) for a lovely ride through some very scenic areas North of la. how could i refuse, lots of climbing, technical descents on poorly maintained roads, and lots of miles, it's got me written all over it.
we got started shortly before 7am, and would ride together through the first big climb, there were some fun little descents and a nice section along pch that would prove to be some of the few areas well suited to a tt bike. since i'm in full swing on the triathlon training, that's the only bike in the quiver for anything other than recovery days, and this ride is not intended to promote recovery.
Eric made short work of the descents, he claimed he'd need the time later for the climbs and we'd see him again. today was to be his first day riding more than 50 miles, so there was little ground to argue his point, and it's a fun ride, so we wished him well and set him on his way.
at the top of the first climb, Sara and i pull off to the side to perform some minor adjustments to her bike, she was unable to shift into the big ring for much of the first 2 hours, the most unfortunate part of this is that was the most necessary ring to have for much of the initial portions. a little tweaking and we are back on the road.
At the bottom of a short descent was the first refueling stop, Sara and i stopped, got some water and food, and confirmed her bike was working better, and i wished her well. i was off to get in some good old fashioned suffering and see if i could find Eric along the way.
i passed Eric a bit further along, we talked briefly, and then i carried on with the suffering. my legs were feeling good, and there was much climbing to be done, so i wasn't interested in too much dawdling, figure i might as well get to the climbs while my legs feel good (this might be a bad approach, but i try not to think about riding too much, particularly when it's long riding, i get intimidated easily).
i wound up riding with a small group of cyclists for a good portion of the coming climbs. they stuck pretty well to my well, we chatted a bit, and once the descents got technical i bid them well. fully aware that a tt bike doesn't descend as well as a road bike, add to that my less then stellar bike handling skills, my unfamiliarity with the course, and my desire to not crash = a conservative descent: translated to lots of scenery enjoyment on the descent.
a short way into the descent, the roads went to shite, the were horrendous, my descending style goes from enjoying the scenery to trying to wear my brake pads down so i can get a new set. somewhere along the path a managed to flat, fortunately it was a slow leak so i persisted through to the bottom of the descent before pulling off to change it.
truth be told i didn't really notice it was flat until i was at the bottom. i pull over, change the flat in a very leisurely fashion, and am back onto another 3-4 mile climb. i think its around 70 miles now and i'm starting to feel a bit of tired in my legs. the good news is there is 1 descent, a stretch along pch, and 2 tough climbs, then it's primarily downhill and flat to the finish.
pch was another great stretch, just as i started to settle into a good rhythm, the course turned left and began a lovely steep climb up Decker rd, now my legs were truly getting unhappy with me, i was able to coax them up to the top through a good bit of protesting.
one nice stretch of small rolling terrain which offered a good bit of time trialing and back to the climb. the last of the major ascents, i will my way up the climb and am welcomed at the top by the final fuel stop, some pretzels, banana, look at the tantalizing cooler full of coke, and opt for straight water instead. i'm off, onto a quick descent and then a slightly less quick ascent.
then a nice long descent and an obnoxiously steep and short climb (probably not so bad with less riding leading up to it, but i reserve the right to exaggerate, it makes a better story). a couple more turns, and some nice little rollers, and i'm at the finish line.
i went back to Sara's car, got my phone, and began the lovely internal conversation: i should ride back and find Sara and Eric, but it's so far. after a little back and forthing, i'm back on the bike and heading backwards on the course to see how long it takes to meet up with them. i am growing tired and hungry, losing interest in riding the course backwards, when i come to the top of the obnoxiously steep climb.
easy decision, i'll stop and wait here, i've got to get back to the start/finish anyway, might as well wait and ride back with Sara and possibly Eric. after a little while, Eric goes by, no more than double his longest previous ride. kudos. very shortly thereafter, Sara comes by.
back on the bike and i'll pull a little bit of a train back to the finish. Eric and Sara finish within a couple minutes of each other, we grab some of the food they have (sandwiches a small pasta salad, some berries, and a cookie). head back to Eric's, get some food from the store, and grill up some very tasty steaks, rice, asparagus, and a cold glass of milk.
if you are interested, there is a course map and other data: Mulholland Challenge course from Garmin Connect
Sara has some photos which i might post, then again she has photos from New Zealand which i may post too, so don't' hold you're breath too long. they'll be put up eventually:)
