White Mountain, Knoxville & Solvang Autumn 'Three More'

[Carl Sanders]

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 White Mountain Range. Never pedaled or raced in the vast empty desert before. Dry and hot. Only a slight breeze. Miles of road stretched out to horizon. No easy points of reference to gauge forward progress. Look up to see a mountain in the far distance at the end of the road, pedal for ten minutes, look up again and the mountain and surrounding scenery seems not to have changed. 

The last 40 miles back into Bishop, I rode solo across a long, seemingly endless straight road to a far distant patch of green in a valley below. The jagged Boundary Peak loomed to my left, the massive eastern Sierra escarpment, far to my right. Epic.

Finished second with a  time of 11:25. Pizza and coke by the hotel pool afterward was celebration enough for this low-key event.

Knoxville Double: not a race, nor even a timed event; just another excuse to get in another double with fellow endurance riders, then share season stories over breakfast with awards the next morning. Nice to get recognized for my third place CA Triple Crown Stage Race finish. 

Solvang Autumn Double: this one was on the clock, against mostly seasoned southern CA road riders on their home turf; a new course meant we'd all need to pay attention to the cue sheets and look for the green arrows on the road. This was a complicated course with many turns and loops on empty central CA coastal rural roads. We'd climb narrow twisty canyon roads, drop down to the coast and rocky, bumpy descents through rich agricultural fields, grind past oil dereks and then do it again around the next turn. 

My goal was to ride smart; no hero or ego attacks on the big climbs, conserve my energy early on, stay with the lead riders, work together... keep spinning!

Despite my best intentions, I broke free from the chase group near mile 130, trying to reel in Joel Southern, the lead rider and course record holder for most southern CA doubles. This brash move cost me almost 4 additional miles when, going it alone, I missed a turn, pedaling into Santa Maria before realizing my mistake, and then I had to double back nearly two miles in order to get onto the course again. Stupid move.

My gap on the chase group still held until around mile 160 when, I was caught at the last by the chase group of five riders. Sticking to the original plan, I stayed with this group up the final climb in Foxen Canyon and then back through Solvang and over to Buelton.

Despite the careless tactical mistake and with my rear wheel whobbling so horribly out of true from a hard pot-hole hit, that it rubbed the brakes and wouldn't spin free unless under power, I pulled off another second place win with a dramatic sprint finish across the line behind the Marriot Hotel.

One last double on the calendar: Death Valley in two weeks, should the Federal government shut-down end and let the Park reopen.