The Davis Double Century

So my crazy friend, Whitney, talked me into this ride. Her sales pitch, "They say this is a great beginner Double. Come on, I've heard guys do it on a fixed gear!" She left out the part about them adding a climb up Cobb mtn a few years ago. That 8-ish mile climb started at about mile 98. Sweet.

Anyway, on to the ride summary: Figuring it would take around 17 hours and knowing we were looking forward to record heat, I left with a group of three others (Whitney, Kevin & Chaust, pictured at right) around 3:30am hoping to get a jump on the sun.

The first 40 or so miles were flat and then we hit our first climb, Cardiac Hill, which wasn't really all that bad. A few more rollers, some gorgeous scenery reminiscent of southern France, and a couple rest stops later, we hit the real climb.

My Garmin reported grades of mostly 7-9%, though I saw it jump a few times to 14%. I saw more people recovering in the shade along this climb than on the road. Many were walking, at least one puking, some sagging. It was, of course, really hard. It was hot (103 degrees!) It was long. It was exhausting. And the ride was barely half over.

The first in our group to sag came on this nasty climb. The second came soon after at the lunch stop. Both suffered heat exhaustion, getting chills and goosebumps. This was a similar story for at least 100 others who reportedly sagged as well--no idea what the final sag count was.

Luckily, the ride was very well supported. I can't say enough about how great a job the organizers did keeping us fed and cool. There were stops every 20 miles or so with tons of food, water, Gatorade, water hoses and ice packs. There were also plenty of sag opportunities if/when it came to that.

Now down to two, we hit our last climb, Resurrection hill. The top was at around mile 140 and after that it literally was all downhill. Re-joined by my friend Whitney at the top, we pace-lined all the way home. This section felt the longest by far. My butt was sore and my smile was long gone.

With 10 miles to go and the sun long-since set, we hit a rough patch of road and I heard Chaust's tire hissing. Just our luck, not one, but two flats! We changed them quickly and hustled to the finish and a hot meal by 11 pm. Yes, that's around 20 hours!

It's been a few days now and I'd definitely say I'm still recovering. No major injuries, but seriously sore legs and butt. As for a good beginner Double? I suppose it might be if that's your thing. I think that's crazy. ;)