King Ridge 400k - photos
Eric Walstad
Patrick Herlihy
This was my first volunteer gig for SFR and quite fun! It's an interesting experience to see everyone roll in after such an epic experience, some all hyped up and some all dazed out! It makes me think of being the only sober person at a party! Anyway, the workers ride + volunteer was a whole different way to enjoy the event!
I took some photos at the finish. I was lucky that my wife, Brenda, was running the SF Half Marathon right past the finish control so some photos of her in there too.
https://plus.google.com/photos/106734738449712481100/albums/6040943474755068801
Enjoy,
Patrick
banksdebra
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Mike Gao
Metin Uz
Bryan Kilgore
My ride report:
So, I missed this ride last year, but this year there's a full mixed terrain series?? And a medal??? Ok, gotta have it. So my season goal was to complete Max's Adventure Series. I had done the Old Cazadero 300k twice and it is one of my favorite brevets, so I figured a whole series would be amazing! After completing the Orr Springs 600k route last month and not feeling completely demoralized afterwards, I was pretty confident I could gut out the 400k. I knew it was going to be a hard ride no matter what, so I guess I was as ready as I was going to be. The only real wild card was the weather, which had been hot the week leading up the ride, and forecasts called for mid to upper 90s during the middle part of the ride. I can usually tolerate heat well enough, although staying hydrated can be a challenge as I sweat like a pig.
Eric M stayed the night at my place on Friday night and we ate dumplings and fortune layers (pig’s ears) for dinner with several beers. We went to bed around 10 and were up at 3am, had coffee and some toast, and headed out the door. We arrived at Lincoln
at Storey around 4:30 and I was surprised at the number of riders. Last year only 5 riders finished, and this time there were like, 18 or 20 people lining up to start this thing! Cool! We signed in, chatted, and after a bit of confusion at the parking kiosk, we were off! I somehow found myself leading everybody out! I rode a comfortable pace, and as we reached the climb up Hwy 1 towards Mt. Tam, things began to split up a bit. A few riders went ahead and (I think) nearly missed the turn onto Panoramic hwy, but I shouted up to them "RIGHT TURN!!" and we regrouped. I was riding with Brian Chun, Alex Brede and Andrea Achilli and a couple others who I’m forgetting now. We made it over the top of the climb past Pantoll, took a mental note of the info control, and proceeded to bomb down towards the ocean. It was exceptionally clear and the views were great and the roads were dry! As we reached the bottom and headed North, it was Alex, myself and Andrea heading up the coast, keeping a good strong pace, chatting and pacelining as we headed towards Pt. Reyes. We stopped there for a nature break and to refill bottles and continued. At this point we weren’t sure if there were riders ahead of us or not, but as we got onto Middle road, we caught up with Vidas, Megan, Metin, Jon B and others whose names are escaping me. We all pulled into the Bodega country store together, spent maybe 15 minutes tending to our various needs, eating, peeing, filling bottles etc. We then started up the next big climb of the day, Joy rd. This one is a real leg breaker, but I felt pretty good and got over it. We then descended Willow Creek rd, which is a dirt road that leads to the coast. The descent was a lot of fun, although we did have to climb over a large tree that had fallen in the trail. I was chasing Jon Beckham on the descent and doing my best not to lose it through the corners. My trusty Panaracer T-Servs did their job very nicely.
We regrouped at the bottom and rode into Jenner and refueled before the real crux of the ride: Meyers Grade, King Ridge and Old Cazadero rd. I was making sure to take in lots and lots of fluid, as we were entering a stretch on the ride where there were no services for a while. As we began up Meyers Grade, I fell back from the group. I wasn’t sure if I would catch them again, but I pressed on. After what felt like a long stretch on Seaview Rd, There was another dirt descent; Kruse Ranch Rd. This one was a lot
bumpier than Willow Creek. I had to slow down and pick my lines carefully, so as not to pinch flat on one of the big rocks poking out of the trail. I reached the bottom and headed north on Hwy 1. Luckily, the wind was mild, so this stretch wasn’t too bad riding solo. I pulled into the Stewarts Point Store, and everybody was there! I guess I wasn’t that far behind them after all. We had sandwiches and soda, refilled bottles, etc. As we were leaving, the second group pulled in. It was Tom, Metin, Roy, and Megan. We then began up Skaggs Springs rd, opposite the Terrible Two direction. In fact, most of this ride was the reverse of the way I’m used to riding any of these roads. That section of Skaggs is easier going the other direction for sure ;) We then went up Tin Barn then onto the namesake of the ride, the gorgeous King Ridge rd. Jon Turned on his Go Pro camera to capture the awesomeness. We cruised along mellowly, taking in the scenery and talking. It was starting to get pretty hot as we headed inland. I was drinking a lot, but sweating like said pig and trying to conserve the little water I had left. We soon dropped into Cazadero. At this point, I was out of water and extremely thirsty. We got to the store and I bought 4 different drinks including a Coke, V8, 1 liter of mineral water, and 20oz Gatorade as well as an ‘It’s It’ (or is it?) and proceeded to consume just about all of it. I didn’t even feel full afterwards. Jon was not feeling so good and opted to stay back and wait for the next group, which was a surprise because it seemed like he was riding strong the whole way. I later heard that he DNFed.
Bummer.
So then there were four; Myself, Andrea, Alex, and Vidas. We headed toward the last dirt section of the day: Old Cazadero Rd, a steep, loose climb that leads us to Guerneville. There is a creek crossing before the second part of the climb (again, the reverse direction I was used to riding) I had ridden across the creek once before (once unsuccessfully), so I decided to give it a go again, and I made it across the rock garden and through the creek without dabbing a foot! Woo Hoo! The rest of the climb was steep and loose. I was able to ride most of it, but I did have to get off and walk a few sections. My low gear is a 34/36, so I was able to turn it over OK, but Andrea had a 34/27, so he would have to power past me on flatter sections to keep momentum, then have
to walk on other sections when it got too steep. We regrouped at the top then descended in Guerneville. There was only one major obstacle between us and dinner: Sweetwater Springs rd, a steep, paved climb that puts you onto Westside rd. I was feeling pretty crappy at this point. I needed to eat, but I couldn’t stomach another Clif bar or gel. I needed real food. We were all talking about what we were going to get at Safeway, and the consensus was Sushi. We joked that we had better hurry, as it wasn’t getting any fresher. We finally arrived at the Healdsburg Safeway and, let me tell ya, crappy sushi and stale potato wedges never tasted better. We sat for maybe 20 minutes, wondering if the next group would pull up. We realized there was probably a pretty big gap between us and the next group. It would be getting dark soon, and we sould stick together, because if one of us was dropped, there wouldn't be anyone to ride with for a while. Hopefully I would feel good enough to hang on.
We started at a mellow pace and enjoyed a beautiful sunset as we rolled south down Eastside rd. From here, we had about 80 miles of a few small climbs and rollers left. We hit Bohemian Hwy in full dark, and I was bogging a bit. I regretted not stocking up on energy bars in Healdsburg. As we passed through Occidental, I saw an open convenience store, and wanted to stop, but I was convinced to press on to the control which was seven downhill miles away. We arrived in Valley Ford and were greeted by Ryan Thompson who was working the control at the post office. He fixed us coffee, gave us food and we hung out and chatted for a bit. A little caffeine and some sugar did the trick. I was renewed! We started rolling, and then the pace started ticking up! We were working really well together, everybody taking pulls and keeping the tempo high, but sustainable. Wilson Hill was a grind as usual, but it was over quickly enough. Then it was just the usual suspects on the way back; Nicasio, White's Hill, Camino Alto etc. As we were getting closer, calculating our arrival time at the bridge, we realized we might be able to make it in before 2am! The closer we got, the more we upped the pace, but we didn't quite make it. I think we rolled in at 2:10 or so. WAY faster than I thought I would've done this ride. Patrick and Brian greeted us at the finish with Cup-o-Noodles and chips and guac. I then slept in my car for a few hours till Eric got in and woke me up.
It was a really great ride. I'm glad I rode with Alex, Andrea and Vidas, all excellent riding partners and super strong to boot!
-Bryan
