Carl Sanders's Blog (63)

From which direction will the winds blow? On the days leading up to the Solvang Spring Double century, I focused intensely on the weather reports for the central coast. If the coastal breeze came from the northwest as it often does this time of year, then our return southward leg of the race would be a rocket sled ride back to the start. If the winds changed direction and blew from the southwest, our return leg could be a grueling 100 mile crawl into a coastal gale. I had the same sort of…

Just never know what might happen at these double events. 



Somehow, from somewhere, I managed a fairly descent ride at the tail end of my 'racing season'.



The week prior to the Mount Tam Double (MTD), the final race in the CA Triple Crown series,I felt strangely tired and un-motivated. Telling signs of true burn-out for certain.



I thought at least that this unenthusiastic mood would make  for a good taper leading up to…

Fully charged, ready to roll, not sure how long my batteries would last, I joined 19 other intrepid cycling souls at 6 AM in Santa Rosa, CA for a long strange SRCC 600K bike ride.



Easy conversion: 600K = 375 miles. Reasonable numbers, but still, my first ride at this distance.



With our team assembled ahead of time, we hatch a ‘Plan’ for a sub 24 hour finish. MarC, Shane, Doug, Miguel and I had contemplated a go at a course…

Respectable finish. Perfect cool weather. Good folks.

Rode steady and strong all day. Despite losing some ground starting mid-pack up the Coleman Valley climb and getting bumbled up down the first dirt descent with the mass of other riders on Willow Creek, I slowly re-gained positions throughout the rest of the race. 

Coleman Valley + Willow Creek (down) + HWY 1 + Fort Ross + Salt Point + Kruse Rhododendron + Hauser Bridge + King Ridge + Cazadero + Willow Creek (up) =…

Time for some short XC intensity!

Three 8 mile laps, each with 1,200' of climbing. Off in waves, Pros and Experts start up front. 

The foothill course conditions were choice; green grass, blue skies and tacky soil from recent light rains. No mud. A few hundred riders of all ages and categories eventually mob the flowing single track loop through oaks, rocks and creek crossings.

I choose not to blow myself up out the gate, but to find that grove right near or at my…

SQT Goal: To establish a new and epic mountain bike route that traverses the entire western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Summary: This was an mountain bike tour like no other. Carl attempted to pioneer a new and continuous adventure…

As a kid, I used to painstakingly build these incredibly fragile balsa wood model airplanes. Hours of work would go into cutting, gluing and assembling these delicate little projects. After carefully winding the rubber-band powered propeller, I'd hold my fragile model aloft, release my grip on the tiny aircraft and watch it take flight into the unknown.

Yesterday, after full season of dedicated training and racing, I stood in the dark atop my trusty Trek Madone, waiting at the start…

Uplift - A few final encouraging words exchanged with my traveling companion, Paul McKenzie, and we set of at the 5:15 AM start from the Palmdale Holiday Inn parking lot. Approximately 70 Double Riders take to the high Mojave Desert for the second Stage of the California Triple Crown series. Twenty or so of us push the pace up a 50-mile gradual climb along the San Andreas Fault. I hope that I won’t crack with this early morning extended effort.

My attention on this…

 The Calling – With a third place finish at the CA Triple Crown Double Stage Race last year, the pressure was on from fellow SRCC members for another Club podium at this year’s prestigious test of cycling endurance.

Immersion – My training under way, with each goal and objective set down on paper, I set out to see what I had in me for the race season ahead. Out the gate at the Solvang Double a couple of months back, I tested a field of seasoned…

A good day to ride.

One week before the Devil Mountain Double, I needed one last primer to sharpen my edge, shake out sludge. A 60 mile Hopper over west Sonoma County mountain roads seemed the perfect last intensity push prior to easing off before digging deep across the 200 miles and 18K in climbing at the Devil the following weekend.

On course, I see many familiar faces, many at the same locales along the route seen in previous Hoppers. We start in Occidental and roll out…

Arriving 15 minutes ahead of the 7:00 AM start at Furnace Creek Ranch, put me in the second wave of 60 riders at 7:10 AM, 10 minutes behind the lead group. No bother. This was the last double of my season and I was planning on taking it easy for a change. 

I carried a camera and fully intended to take in the sights and experience of another long ride in the desert. Death Valley is an amazing place to ride; wide open vistas, the rocks and bones of the earth exposed, alluvial gravel…

White Moutain Double: off to the eastern Sierra; mass start in the dark out of Bishop; south on HWY 395, then east and up to 10,000' where the course u-turned before the final gravel pitch to the 14,000' summit; killed it on that climb, surprising myself at how well I was feeling at altitude in the cool morning air; then a series of bombing descents east, and then counter-clockwise over super smooth blacktop back onto the playa and around the…

This was my third year riding and now racing double centuries. It was also my third, third place double finish this season (Terrible Two, Alta Alpina & Mt. Tam) and my third place position overall in the CA Triple Crown Series (Devil Mtn., Terrible Two and Alta Alpina).

Last week, I just didn't seem to have the gusto to kill it and go for broke at the Tam Double. I had passed up the High Cascades race a couple weeks earlier due to a family emergency. Perhaps I had some pent up…

Coming in third at Terrible Two, after completing the second of three CA Triple Crown Stage races, and after having raced across 400 miles of road and climbed just over 30,000', I was now only five minutes behind Robert Choi, the reigning CA Triple Crown Stage Race Champion. Just 20 minutes behind me was Maximiliano Mehech, a consistent endurance racer breathing down my neck. Just behind him, holding forth position was Marc Moons, the SRCC Belgian powerhouse.

Alta Alpina remained the…

All the usual suspects were there. Motor-pacing behind behind a big Ford pickup driven by Carlos Perez out of Sebastapol and through Santa Rosa, were Jady, The Triman; Marc, The Belgian; Brian, The TT Course Record Holder; Gabe, The Hopper Master; Robert, The CTC Stage King; Max, The Funny Guy; Gary, The Quite One and Jeff, The Kid. Behind us were nearly 200 other riders, all amped up and zipping along through town in the early morning light toward another long day on their bikes.

My…

Not five miles into a 130 mile, 15K+ day, I rolled up next to Jaydy Palko, the SRJC tri-monster, who looked over at me and gave the challenge, 'Hey bitch, sit up or ride?' Crap, I hadn't even warmed up. Wryly, I responded 'ride'.

Quickly Jaydy and I pulled away from the other 30 or so other SRJC riders heading out Dutcher Creek Rd. from Lake Sonoma, en route to Anderson Valley, Ponit Arena and back home over Skaggs. Jeff, the 'kid, an upcoming young club rider, latched on as we…

I'm worked. That took all I had. Only a week out from my successful Devil Mountain Double effort, I stood at the start line in the front row for Boggs VIII, contemplating whether or not I had it in me to defend my Expert title for a forth consecutive year.

I know this race; the mass chaotic start; hundreds of riders elbow to elbow, wheels crossed battling for position up the first climb; the hypoxic push for the first single track hole shot; the ripping narrow descents through the…

I had decided early on to adjust my focus toward longer events this season. My base season was increased from 3 to 4 months. I opted out of the first few high intensity short cross country races. Instead, I set my goals around later events such as the CA Triple Crown Stage Race (the three hardest double centuries in the State: Devil Mountain Double, Terrible Two and Alta Alpina), Boggs VIII 8hr, Tahoe Sierra 100 and High Cascades 100. 

The first up on this change of course was DMD.…

I hadn't intended to race this double. This was to be my sixth double for the season and my ninth overall. Only 41 more doubles and six years to go en route to my 50X50 goal. Bass Lake was supposed to be just the last long final ride for the season. After-all, I'd been racing consistently since February, knocking out some reasonable finishes at numerous local ultra-distance dirt and road races. Now, it was mid-October and I was feeling a bit tired, somewhat uninspired.

Instead, I…

I’d venture a guess that no other racer had brought along two doctors, there to provide him with bottle hand-ups, check his vitals and provide desperately needed encouragement on a most challenging course. I came prepared for this game.

Dr. Kevin Sherer, a pulmanologist and his wife Dr. Rebecca Sherer had just moved into the Bend area and were excited to see their old friend compete on a National stage and…