Mount Tam Double 2013 'Year of Thirds'

[Carl Sanders]

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 energy left over from not heading north to Bend for that 100 miles of dirt fun on Mt. Bachelor, but I had not intended to race the Tam double this round.

Attempting to quell the inner racer, disregard the start line excitement and just head out for a mellow 200 mile ride, might not have been a very realistic expectation. At the start were many familiar hard-core double riders, many of whom I had gone to battle with during the Triple Crown. Max Mehech, Dave Palmen and Gary Swanson were among the many faces that I had come to know well at these intense ultra-endurance events.

The long and short of it all: I just couldn't hold back the competitive drive, was feeling fresh and this was my turf.

A police escort took the mass start of 200+ riders out of Terra Linda, and out to Lucas Valley. Max, Dave, Gary and myself grouped up pushing a fast pace off the front through San Geronimo Valley, over White's Hill and into Fairfax. Onto Bolinas Fairfax Rd., our group of four pulled away from all the other riders. This was a road I knew well; each climb, the bumpy descents and every pothole. I knew exactly how my body would respond to the warm-up climb to Azalea Hill, the drop back to Aline Dam and the wooded ascent toward Ridgecrest Blvd.

It seemed too easy dancing my way through the cool fog and onto the usually merciless seven sisters in the morning grey murk. Our group of four kept it together while pushing a steady pace toward the summit. No other riders were in sight. I felt spunky, cresting Tam at the East Peak Parking Lot in first position (KOM), calling out  my bib number 'rider #200!' to the Check Point officials at the top.

The four of us then carefully descended Tam on the foggy wet roads past Muir woods, then north up Hwy One to Point Reyes Station for our first Aid Stop at mile 72. Around Nicasio Reservoir, we began over-taking hundreds of other riders jammed on the road that had merged with our course while they completed either the shorter 100 K or 100 mile version. On toward Petaluma the four of us motored on past a steady throng of very intent riders, many of whom seemed to be undertaking their ultimate ride challenge for the year.

A slight course change new this year in Petaluma off D St., caused a bit of confusion among us and our group splintered just before the Aid Station at mile 92.  I rolled in to the Aid looking for my 200 companions among the hundreds of other riders that had converged on what for many riders is their 'lunch stop'. Amidst the chaos of bikes, cones, caution tape and food tables, I could not find the other three riders that I had been with just moments earlier.

Back onto the course, now solo, I charged ahead, but with a little less enthusiasm. Head down, I settled into a pace that seemed comfortable, not knowing if I was ahead or may have been left behind.

Into the Valley Ford Aid at mile 119, I saw Gary and Dave heading back out. I contemplated skipping the Aid Stop, but I was  nearly out of water and knew that the notoriously steep Coleman Valley Road climb was just around the corner. This was another busy and congested Aid Stop that requires you drop your bike at the entrance and then go wait in line for water. More lost time.

Without any one to work with, I pushed ahead alone into a thankfully mild headwind over Bay Hills Dr., above Bodega, then back onto HWY One for a short jaunt, before turning right up Coleman Valley. I'm also quite familiar with the steep early pitches of Coleman Valley, having trained and raced up them during the local Grasshopper Adventure Series races. I felt strong and steady, standing up on the pedals in the perfectly cool and overcast conditions.

At the Coleman Valley Check Point at mile 131, I re-fueled and hydrated after learning that I was in forth place. Damn!

I continued on down the incredibly fast Joy Rd., back into the wind along Freestone Rd. and then one more time past the Valley Ford Aid, slowing only long enough to call out my bib number as I motored by.

On toward home, resigned to my forth place position, I held a steady pace down HWY One, up and over Marshall Wall and then ran into my final aid stop at Walker Ck. I still felt steady, despite the inevitable fatigue and reduced power output.

Cruising past the Nicasio Aid at mile 184, I knew that I had sufficient water and fuel to make the final run for the finish. To my surprise, I caught and passed Gary as we entered Lucas Valley. He looked beat. Knowing if we worked together, we'd both have better finish times, he and I traded leads up past the Big Rock at the crest and down the long flat section of the valley below to the intersection with Las Gallinas, where I decided to make my final move at mile 195.

Pulling ahead up the gentle grade, I could see Gary falter. Without looking back, I put down what I had left, blasting back into the Vallecito High School yard in third place with a finish time of 10:58. Gary came in right behind me. Max and Dave rolled across at the line at 10:50. More than an hour passed after we all ate ample quantities of delicious food, before the next 200 mile rider would roll across the line. I guess the four of us tore it up out there with sub-11 hour pace on a course with over 16,500' of climbing.

Lessons learned for future doubles: stick with the fast riders; don't get dropped or separated (the benefit of working together far out weighs going it alone); everybody hurts (ride through the pain in good company) and carry an extra empty H20 bottle to fill as needed when planning on skipping Aid Stops to save time!

Not sure what might be up next...just found out that the Sierra Tahoe (my last planned race) was canceled this year. Damn!