cccorlew

Here's a preview photo. Words to follow, along with more photos.

Lanceoldstrong

You are such a tease.

cccorlew

Here's a photo of the way a lot of it looked. This is the famed LanceOldStrong. We spent a lot of time on roads like this.

cccorlew

It was a scenic ride.

DiabloScott

Jeez, how do we get roads like that with no potholes and cracks up here?

melgarpoe

Curtis, scenic indeed!

As I said in my post in the other thread on The Triple Crown...

The ride is the least scenic and possibly least pleasant double century I've done so far, but it was great riding with Curtis & Dan (and Nick too, in case he finds his way to these forums also).

I've ridden in the Grand Tour Lowland Double, Camino Real Double and Solvang Spring Double. Hemet is not up to the standards of these other rides, but I guess if you've been to Hemet, you'd already know that. The scenery is not great, the roads are largely busy with lots of high speed traffic and narrow shoulders, and there are long sections where you are literally stopping (assuming you stop at red lights and stop signs) every 1/10th of a mile.

But in spite of the lack of scenery and slightly scary roads, it really was a pleasure riding with you guys. Chatting, pacelining, hanging out with folks at the rest stops, it was fun and I'm glad I hooked up with you guys.

As for taking turns pulling on the front, I was glad to be able to help out. When I did the Camino Real Double, I had about a 50 mile stretch where I just felt like hell, stomach issues, back pain, and just generally weak. I was riding with my regular crew. They would not let me take a turn on the front. They kept saying, "when you feel better, you can pull." Around mile 130 I started to get better and soon was pulling my share up front.

I really get that that we're all better off when the folks who are feeling up to pulling, do the majority of the pulling. In Hemet, I was more than happy to pay back a bit of the good karma I got from my riding crew in Camino Real.

Anyhow, looking forward to your full ride report...

Biker395 

Great eye, ccorlew ... I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures of some of those doublewides.

cccorlew

Lanceoldstrong

Wow Curtis, that is a real thousand yard stare. I think this was at about mile 190 as darkness, cold and the bitter realization of 15 more miles to go was setting in on us.

Ygduf

That looks exactly like I'd expect a Hemet double to look like!

There is no easy double, but at least in most of them you have some decent scenery to look at.

bikingshearer 

Apparently by sand-blasting away every last hint of vegetation.

DanteB

And this is one of the better ones.

DanteB

I think this is the only road that didn't have potholes, stop signs and or stop lights every 20 feet.

Biker395 

If my experience is any measure, that shoulder is probably in good shape because the local twenty-ish male pickup driver population prefers driving on it.

RoboCheme

OK, I have to ask. Why did you guys pick that one?

Biker395 

Take your pick:

1. Because it was there.
2. Because I haven't done it before.
3. Because any DC is better than lounging at home on the couch.
4. Because I'm stupid.

I say the answer is #3. The support and the company were fab too.

Although #4 is looking good right now.

gpelpel

I envy you guys for banking the second (or third for some) leg of the 2010 Triple Crown while I am still nursing my body from Solvang. Yet that's the type of rides I dread. Flat, boring scenery means the ride becomes 100% mental, piling miles after miles until the counter says 200.
What was the ride profile? Any type of hills to spice things up a bit or was it limited to trailer park speed bumps?

Lanceoldstrong

LanceOldstrong's (too long) Hemet Double Century Ride Report

Route and Elevation Profile

The scenery in and around Hemet has taken a lot of bashing so far here, but I actually thought that some parts were quite pretty.

I have not spent much time in the desert and maybe it was the novelty but I found it scenic. The fact that almost an inch of rain fell down there just 5 days before our ride helped. The desert was in bloom with multiple varieties of wildflower. Also nice was the nearly ever present snow capped peaks on the horizon. The storm must have dumped a nice new layer up on those peaks; it was nice to look at. The orange and grapefruit groves we passed at various times were pretty and smelled like a slice of heaven. There is something about the sweet smell of desert air that is unique. The only other times I have smelled it was my times in Phoenix for spring training.

Sage Canyon was a tough climb, 11- 15% in sections but the thoroughbred horses at the horse farms were pretty and again, lots of wildflowers.

Yeah, the suburban strip mall sections were bad. But I am a guy who looks on the bright side by nature.

The night before the ride I told Curtis that I didn’t feel 100% like I had for the Solvang double. Not injured or anything, just not at my peak like I hit for Solvang. I had done 80 hard miles, including Mix Canyon on 4/3 just a week after Solvang and then on the Weds. before Hemet I hit a hilly 40 miler a little too hard. My legs were feeling just a little off peak.

Well when we turned cranks at 4:37AM adrenaline and excitement kicked in and I was pleasantly surprised with good legs that lasted all 204 miles. I enjoy being the same height and weight as Fabian Cancellara and with him as my inspiration; I try to make the most out of my big engine. I am grateful my body came through for me in Hemet and I was able to have great ride. A good training base is a beautiful thing I suppose.

Funniest Moment (Warning: pretty crude humor ahead).

First, a little background: At the last rest stop Solvang I had to drop a huge deuce and it made it for a longer stop than Curtis likes to have. Afterwards I told him it was a 3 pounder and losing that weight was why I climbed Drum Canyon so well.

At Hemet I had the same thing happen at the 2nd rest stop. Only this time it was a really long, long stop and I told Curtis that it was a 4 pounder.

Curtis then said:

“Well there’s your problem, it isn’t taking the huge dump that uses up so much time, it’s the line at the scale. You gotta quit wayin’ ‘em every time”

I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the bike. Maybe you had to be there.

Riding with some great SoCal riders made this fun for me. Nick and Melgarpoe were really good guys.

Every Double has a worst moment. It is almost part of the experience, and a double would be oddly incomplete without it. So….

Hemet Worst Moment:

Approx 10 miles to go, full dark, getting very cold very quickly and we hit a steep little climb that slowed us down to take in the worst smell I have ever smelled. It must have been the waste pond from a pig farm. It was the smell of animals feces mixed with the sharp ammonia of old urine, something dead, and other elements to rancid to describe. The wind was bringing it to us and all around us.

Bonus factor: The smell came with millions of flies pelting us from head to toe and sticking to us and our bikes like we were human fly paper.

All in all, the ride was well supported with lots of rest stops and great volunteers. I really did have a great time. Even with the strip malls, the long lines at the deuce scales and the pig waste stench.

cccorlew

Wow. I waited to long to finish writing, but here it is. Sorry for being redundant with LanceOldStrong.

If you appreciate the environment of Bakersfield, the culture of Fresno or the city planning of Oakley, you’ll enjoy Hemet California, the starting point for the Hemet Double Century.

Fellow BikeForums.net poster LanceOldStrong and I launched from Northern California on Friday morning. Mr. LanceOldStrong commented that his Garmin only noted “Here be dragons” once we got south of central California. But we were on our quest for leg two of our attempt on at the California Triple Crown jersey and would not be deterred. After a seemingly endless drive we finely arrived in Hemet, where we checked in were informed that, “No, the route is not marked at all,” but we could leave as early as we wanted.

Bikes in order, clothes set out we got to bed early and I promptly had dreams of trying to start, but not being able to find my arm warmer. I unpacked my seat bag and pulled out jackets, tires, cantaloupe and all kinds of impossible stuff, but no arm warmer. I had a two-foot tall stack on the sidewalk. What a dream. But I woke up and it was time to go. Oh, wait, no it was only 9:30 pm. And that’s how my night went.

Eventually it was really time to leave. We rolled over to the start and signed in and were on our way, with lights, in the total darkness of 4:30 am.

The first few miles were a preview of my entire day. I sat on LanceOldStrong’s wheel and hung on for dear life. Darkness? Ha! Bumpy road? Ha! Traffic? Ha! We just screamed through the night, him leading, me worried I’d lose his wheel and never see him again.

As strong a rider as Mr. LanceOldStrong is, he is not a climber (thank God.) Usually climbing is where all the work is. For me, the only rest I got was on the few hills when he slowed down. I often found myself praying for more hills. I didn’t get many.

There is one area I’m quick at: Rest/check points. Early in a ride I hate to stop for longer than it takes to fill my bottle. I’m so old I feel like my engine just seizes up if I stop for long. Mr. LanceOldStrong is more methodical at the stops. I found myself circling the parking lot enough that it showed in my mileage total.

But I can’t complain. Thanks to OldStrong’s big pulls we ended up rolling speed average of 15.9 for the first 100 miles.

A unique feature of this double is that it loops back to the start at 100 miles, so we were able to drop by our hotel, shed some clothes and restocked energy stuff before we started our second half.

I’m not used to astroturf lawns, but if I lived in Hemet I sure would be. Our route took us through the mobile home zone where they seem to be a requirement.

At last we got to a decent hill. It’s really only 1000 feet over eight miles or so, but to hear people talk you’d have thought it was Mt. Diablo. It was the only real bump the entire day, and it was also by far the most attractive part of the ride.

We had a rest stop/check point at a winery where I caused some small amusement by buying four bottles and asking for them to be sagged back to the start.

After that it was just trying to hang onto OldStrong’s wheel again.

Right at dusk as the light started and we started up a hill we rode past a stock yard ripe with the aroma of urine and manure and into a swarm of small bugs. It was really a low point. But after cresting that last bump we kicked on the lights and both got a burst of “horse and barn” and managed to light up the last few miles. It turns out that 203 miles feels a lot farther than the 195 of Solvang.

Even after the ride we managed an adventure -- trying to find a restaurant without a drive-through that stays open after 9pm in Hemet. We eventually ended up at what OldString called a “gringo mexican” place next to the ride start. I got the margarita I craved and all was good.

Final stats via Garmin 305:
203.65 total miles
6912 climbing (Ascent smoothed)
15.3 average moving speed
15:38 total time

Damage: Right knee really hurts. Enough I skipped riding to work today. I’m hoping to ride the Diablo Century on Sunday, so I’m doing lots of voodoo.

Best stat 15.9 moving average for the first 100 miles

Special awards:
LanceOldStrong for the big pulls, and great navigation
Nick and Melgarpoe, who we hooked up with on the ride and were just plain fun to roll with.

cccorlew

Metric Man

Hey cccorlew...how did you get your Garmin to last the whole ride?

melgarpoe

Dan,

A couple quick comments on your report. I've been negative about the scenery on the Hemet ride, but it's really only in comparison to the other rides I've done. I didn't mind the scenery and I don't even mind endless strip malls. I'm usually barely able to notice the scenery unless it's Solvang-esque in how spectacular it is. For me, the major failings of the Hemet DC were 1) all the stop signs & stop lights and 2) the extensive sections of high speed, heavily trafficked, narrow shoulder roads. But on the whole, even setting aside the excellent company on the ride, I leave Hemet with very positive feelings overall about the ride.

But I really enjoyed riding with you guys. I like riding with people who stay positive, even when it's tough going, and the three of you (Dan, Curtis, & Nick) were really great to have along for the ride. I know I could have finished Hemet on my own, but it would have made it a lot less fun, especially the headwinds sections. As it is, I feel like I've made several new bike friends who, if the opportunity ever presents itself, I'd thoroughly enjoy riding with again.

And by the way, about Curtis' comment:

“Well there’s your problem, it isn’t taking the huge dump that uses up so much time, it’s the line at the scale. You gotta quit wayin’ ‘em every time”

I laughed so hard I had to explain why to my wife. Fortunately, the kids were out of the house when I read it...

Michael
aka Melgarpoe

cccorlew

Minty Boost. Check this link.
I bought the kit and soldered it together. It likes those expensive lithium batteries, but it really works. I ran it down to under 50%, plugged it in and arrived home fully charged!

By the way, nice jersey in your avatar! Who designed that thing?

Metric Man

Some guy...I hear he's coming up with a completely new design for 2010!

I'm going to look into the Minty thing...thanks.

cccorlew

Don't start rumors.
I'm doing a "controversial" NorCal jersey, and reposting the 50+ even as we speak, but no new 50s design. Too much work and pain.