I was not feeling very well the 3 days prior to the Davis Double Century on May 19, and even Friday I was poorly rested needing two naps—not a good sign. That, and some large fast-growing nodules that I wanted checked out—pretty sure they are just lymph nodes but one 40mm X 10mm X 5mm one in my groin was a nuisance while riding. Two more in my neck. Arriving after dark, I could not sleep until 2:30 AM (probably a symptom of the prior 3 days whatever was bothering me), then I was awoken at 3:52 AM by arriving cars, then 4 AM by my alarm. So it was not a good staging, though without sleep one still does rest.
Starting out, I felt fluid and smooth but power was 30 watts below expectations*. I was at ease, just not riding all that strong, which is what I expected having felt tired the prior 3 days and what with nearly zero sleep. After 50 miles of warmup (yes, 50), I finally began to feel terrific, passing hundreds of riders, until mile 110 or so, where the same thing happened as with Central Coast Double: a marked drop in energy in spite of paying close attention to feeding and hydration. Still, I found I could out-climb a pair of strong riders who had been pacelining each other; they outran me downhill as I stopped to down half a liter at the summit but they had bad luck (flat tire**), and I then left them far behind; even at the Resurrection rest stop (mile 132) they did not show up and I never saw them again.
Quite strong winds the last 50 miles and me soloing as always (no drafting) took their toll, but again as with Central Coast Double, I repeated my mantra: “just keep turning the crank”. It was not very pleasant, but there is nothing else to be done since quitting is not an option. I did take a few short breaks, including ~5 minutes at Resurrection rest stop (mile 132) where I felt weak and wobbly, having overheated on the climb. I rested for ~5 minutes while I had an ice cold Mountain Dew, something I indulge in only during double centuries as it gives the liver something to do (fructose) and also has caffeine and cold. Strong headwinds on the downhill stuff slowed me down considerably. It was a lonely ride at that point, catching only a handful or riders in 50 miles (but also passing 20 or so at the Guinda rest stop).
It was not particularly hot but the humidity was oppressively high, and I overheated by mile 150. Once core body temperature rises, power output plummets. I dunked myself in a play pool and splashing water over my head and upper back at the Guinda rest stop (mile 158), loaded my jersey pocket with ice, and drank a liter of cold Nuun. More ice at the final rest stop (Forbes Ranch) and that time slathering it all over my belly too. It helps a lot, yet almost no one bothers—weird to forgo a brief but very helpful way to lower body temperature.
There were at least 391 entrants for the double century though some modest number were women not men. At Resurrection rest stop (mile 132), I was told that 13 double century riders had been through, but everyone leaves whenever they like and I left at the last possible cutoff time (5:15 AM). At around mile 36, a pacelining group of ~20 riders passed me (with that size group half the time one is coasting not even pedaling!), but I am certain that I passed nearly all of those within the next 50 miles, because I recognized many of them as passed them later (such groups always break up on the hills). I observed one group of double riders completely short-circuit some miles of the route, presumably a mistake in navigation.
Since Davis Double does not post elapsed times (only finishing time and no start time), I cannot say where I stand on the final results, but I think it is unlikely that of the 13 ahead of me that all of them did it faster. I was bib #405, so of men worst case #14 out of 300+ men. Still, I consider the day a mediocre performance, far below my performance at Joshua Tree. I think the concussion is holding me back, hopefully it will improve and I will be able to ride strong for 200 miles as at Joshua Tree sometime this year, if only the last double of the year!
Next up: Eastern Sierra Double on June 2. This one will be really difficult: I will have to drive 8 hours until 11 at night (June 1 is a graduation ceremony for my daughter), then get up at 4:30 AM. So... a stressful night with little rest and zero time to acclimate. That should prove 'interesting', and sometimes the body clock just works and it is OK. But it is the long demanding drive that is the real deal-killer.
Lloyd before the start of the 2018 Davis Double
f1.8 @ 1/4 sec, ISO 125; 2018-05-19 12:13:53 [selfie]
iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus 4.0 mm f/1.8
[low-res image for bot]
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