Conference noted::bicycle

2249.0. "Here's one for you, John: T2" by 3D::ROTH (Geometry is the real life!) Tue Apr 21 1992 10:00

From: allana@hpmwtd.HP.COM (Allan Armstrong)
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1992 20:32:16 GMT
Subject: Re: Terrible Two
Organization: HP Santa Rosa Site (NMD MTA MWTD). - Santa Rosa, Ca.
Path: ryn.mro4.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!news.crl.dec.com!deccrl!decwrl!sdd.hp.com!hpscdc!hplextra!hpl-opus!hpnmdla!hpmwtd!allana
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
 
ehouse@Apple.COM (Eric House) writes:
 
>I just mailed off my registration for the Santa Rosa Cycling Club's Terrible
>Two double century: 211 miles with 15,000' of climbing.
>
>Has anyone on the net done this ride before?  What am I getting myself into?
 
Oh brother. You'd better like pain.
 
This is a long and difficult ride. I've ridden Davis, Markleeville, and
Land Rush (430 miles in 2 days, Redwood City to LAX, you have to be
there in time to catch your plane back) and none of these rides compares
in difficulty to the T2. There are many endurance rides you can ride on
willpower alone, and the T2 is not one of them. You must be an excellent
climber as there is much vertical, and the grades are much more
punishing than even the steepest sections of Ebbetts on Markleeville.
You must be a very good bike handler as many of the descents are
challenging and there is much broken pavement. If you are not a calm and
collected bike handler, the steep windy descents and broken pavement
will mentally destroy you. And you must be fast as the ride is daylight
only, 5:30 A. M. to 10:00 P. M., which is a mere 16 1/2 hours.
Furthermore, weather is typically extremely hot, especially on Skaggs
Springs Road as the black asphalt seems to soak up the sun's radiation
and makes the temperature above the road a lot hotter than the mercury
reads. Also, many of these roads are quite lonely. You will ride most of
the ride (all of the hardest sections) essentially by yourself, and
without the comraderie and encouragement of other riders. This is a
strong mental burden.
 
I'll describe the ride from the beginning: (this is a bit disorganized)
 
The start point is Dave's Bike Sport in the eastern part of Santa Rosa
on Yulupa Drive. The ride typically begins at about 5:30 A.M., and the
field is usually about 30-40 riders strong. Riders typically carry a
fair amount of energy replacement drinks and foods as the support for
this ride is modest. There are no rest stops for the first 60-70 miles.
It is wise to carry two double-sized water bottles in cages and one
normal sized water bottle in a jersey pocket to get you to the first
rest stop. Because it will be cool in the morning, you can afford to
make a fairly strong mix of an energy replacement drink in two of the
three bottles. (These drinks often upset stomachs in hot weather. Riders
should not try a new energy source on the day of the ride because every
rider and drink combination seems to have its own peculiarities.)
 
Riders begin by riding south on Yulupa Drive and continue on to Bennett
Valley Road. Immediately after riders depart, the ride organizers will
call together all the private sags which have said their goodbyes to
their riders. Because the Santa Rosa Cycling Club is unable to offer the
support that riders truly need, we rely on private sags to help out. The
rule is that if you are a private sag, you must help the other riders
riding near your rider, and the definition of near becomes quite loose
on Skaggs Springs Road. As a past rider, I can say that this ride is
nearly impossible without water, food, and psychological support on
Skaggs Springs. If there are any riders who think that they are going to
"beat" the competition by not sharing their support vehicle, these
people are small-minded selfish asses who really aren't proving anything
at all. To not offer water to a rider on Skaggs Springs is like kicking
a man when he is down. For a competition to be meaningful, conditions
must be even.
 
Back to the riders. They ride out Bennett Valley Road, which has a few
gentle climbs (nothing over 400', I think), a descent and one bad corner
which is mentioned to the riders at the start. They'll notice that the
pack contains of a few more folk than just those who signed up for the
ride. There's always a few locals who want to do the first (easy) half
and have a car parked at Lake Sonoma. (This probably will include myself
this year; I have such a fondness for the ride that if I am not in the
shape to ride it, I at least follow along for a short while.) On rare
occasion, some of these people will not have paceline skills that are up
the the muster of the T2 pack, and in 1990 one of them took down a
rider, so watch out. In general, the paceline skills of the T2 pack are
not quite as good as one would expect for the difficulty of this ride.
Until the bottom of Geysers, keep your eyes open and think.
 
Sometimes there are a few riders who are so excited that they choose to
begin the ride by hammering incessantly. It is hard to know if these
riders will be able to keep it up or not. Personally, I'd be inclined to
save it for Skaggs Springs.
 
The first climb is Trinity Road which is ~1400' at 8-10%. This is
followed by a twisty descent with two tricky hairpins, a shallow climb,
and the screamin' descent of Oakville Grade into the Napa Valley. Then
riders ride north through the Napa Valley, Knight's Valley, and
Alexander Valley to the base of Geysers. The first rest stop is at the
Napa/Sonoma County line just north of Calistoga and south of Knight's
Valley. At this point, riders typically make a very fast stop, giving
tights and arm warmers to the sags and refilling water bottles.
 
It is good strategy to not allow yourself to get dropped on Trinity if
you can climb at the pace of the fast group without roasting yourself.
The three valleys (Napa, Knight's, and Alexander) are all flat, and if
you are in the paceline that forms you will save much time and energy.
Also, you will have he company of other cyclists at least until the base
of Geysers.
 
Geysers is quite a significant climb. It's probably only 2000', but the
grade is steep (maybe a little more than Trinity) and you are exposed to
the sun the whole time. Hopefully it won't be too hot this early in the
ride. After the top, there are some rollers, and the second rest stop.
The rest stop is at a water trough that is marked non-potable, but local
riders have been drinking from it for years without problems. The water
is very cold and you may enjoy dipping your head in it. You'll get some
encouragement from SRCC members here and some food, but you'd better not
stop for long. More rollers await you and then a fast descent and
another climb that is pretty steep, too. From the second summit, you
have a long descent into Cloverdale on a road that is windy, bumpy, and
punishing. Short sections of it are frequently dirt. The road conditions
have improved much since I last rode the T2 (1988), so it may not be as
punishing as it once was. Some riders have their private sags bring
along mountain bikes for this road. I think that's a dumb idea.
 
Once in Cloverdale you have some flat land and a small climb (Dutcher
Creek) before lunch. Lunch is is at 100 miles at the Lake Sonoma
Visitor's Center. If you don't finish your lunch stop before noon,
you're going to have a bad day. You should be riding the first half of
the double in 5 1/2 to 6 hours if you have any hopes of finishing in
daylight. At lunch, the foods offered are generally light as the road
from lunch begins climbing immediately. Burritos are often found at
lunch, but most riders report that eating one is a poor choice; burritos
were probably chosen by the ride workers because they'd enjoy them for
their lunch. Some of these people have no concept of what is involved in
the ride they are supporting. Anyway, you're going to have to take a
light lunch because of the heat and climbing to come. The only way to
get enough calories in your system is to eat on the bike continuously
during the descents and on the flats. The sooner you leave lunch, the
less likely you are to be incinerated by the heat on Skaggs Springs
Road.
 
And this brings us to Skaggs Springs Road, the highlight of the ride.
The vast majority of riders who abandon the ride do so on Skaggs Springs
or on Annapolis Road. I don't know how many climbs there are on this
road, but most of them are very steep, and they are all extremely hot. I
can remember isolated pieces of this road, but I can't quite put it all
together in my mind. Riders should be extra careful to drink massive
quantities of water to stay hydrated. Many of the descents don't seem so
bad now because I am a local and I know the road, and my descending
technique has improved dramatically since I did the ride, but each of
these descents are challenging. Some of them can involve very high
speeds on well-paved roads, but there are places where the pavement
quality plus the steepness makes the descents quite punishing. As Lou
wrote earlier, the road seems to connect the peak of each of the highest
hills with each of the lowest valleys. The road could certainly have
been designed to minimize the grade, but the Army Corps of Engineers
didn't do it that way. Enjoy!
 
The next rest stop is at the Iron Bridge just before the ride turns
right on Annapolis Road. Many riders abandon before they even see this
bridge. After the ride turns right on Annapolis, it goes straight up
this climb that is, at least in my faded memory, quite steep. I've
ridden it when I've been fresh, and it's nasty then too. Several more
climbs similar in style to the Skaggs Springs climbs delight the riders.
 
The combination of Skaggs Springs/Annapolis Road has to be among the
toughest roads I've ever ridden. It's certainly in the same class as
Sonora Pass, for those of you who are familiar with this little bump.
 
When Annapolis Road finally meets the sea at Sea Ranch, the ride turns
south on Highway 1. Both times I have done the T2, I held back a tear
when I saw the ocean because that means that the punishment is done, at
least for now. Often the weather is much cooler here, which is a great
boon, and it is quite possible to get a tailwind.
 
The ride goes south on Highway 1 for 25 miles. It rolls and twists a
lot, but there are no significant climbs. At Fort Ross, there is a rest
stop, where riders often display their unusual psychological state to
the amusement of the SRCC members.
 
The ride heads east on Fort Ross Road, which must be the most difficult
single climb of the entire ride. It climbs maybe 1000' at a fairly
consistent grade of maybe 17% (ok, ok, I haven't measured it). This is
very difficult, coming at the 170-mile mark in the ride. Once you get to
the top, there is a hairy descent towards Cazadero that is interrupted
by a very rude climb. I remember getting very upset at Lou, myself, and
the rest of the world when Lou was driving sag in 1988 and told me he
didn't know how far it was to the top. I nearly cried. There are quite a
few false summits. Once you reach this top, you should be very happy,
because the punishment is truly over. The descent into Cazadero is quite
hairy, however, so be extra careful. Remember that your reactions and
coordination are not what they were at the start of the ride and that
this is a NASTY descent. I don't even enjoy it when I'm fresh.
 
Once you reach Cazadero, if you're there in any reasonable time, you
WILL finish the ride. It's just a matter of riding Cazadero Road (flat
as a pancake) to River Road, climbing Bohemian Highway (easy) to
Occidental, stopping at the rest stop, doing a few more little climbs on
the way to the Santa Rosa plain, and then dragging yourself into town
late in the evening.
 
It is assumed that every rider who shows up is strong, fast, etc., but
one thing that can be a tremendous help is psychological preparation. If
you know what the ride entails you can better budget your efforts, and
you are less likely to suddenly become psychologically overwhelmed by
the conditions on Skaggs Springs. To that end, I strongly suggest that
riders ride the second half before they show up for the T2. You can
start in Healdsburg, head out Dry Creek Road, Skaggs Springs, Annapolis,
Hwy1, Fort Ross, Cazadero Road, River Road, and head back to Healdsburg
on Westside Road (left turn from River to Westside is well hidden) and
get your 110 miles and have some idea of what you're in for.
 
This weekend I did a ride in this same general area. (King's Ridge,
Hauser Bridge, Kruse Ranch) This refreshed my memory of just how
punishing these roads are.
 
If you decide to do the ride, you'll probably see me out there. I'll
probably ride the first half and drive sag for the second half. I
remember just how important it is to get water on Skaggs Springs so I
plan to spend my afternoon lecturing cross-eyed riders about how they
are not drinking enough water. If they don't listen, I'll just pour it
on them.
 
Allan

    
    Thanks, Jim.  For anyone who wants to do this ride, the foregoing
    write-up seems invaluable.  Someone (a Rod, I believe) posted an 
    overview write-up a couple days ago and already made me itching
    to do this ride.  The more extensive description here only makes
    me convinced there must be an element of masochism! :-)
    
    Again, the author is probably correct: this is one ride where it is
    crucial to assess the route beforehand and get your mental state
    in order... and your nutritional drinks mixed in advance.  :-)
    
    If I were closer to that coast, I'd spring for the T2 in a minute!
    
    Who knows?  We'll see...
    -john
    
    PS: Anyone else out there planning to do it?