Brevet Report - Mendocino Coast 600k reprise
Surya R
Longest ride so far, and will be getting my SR with this. I was surprised with myself that I was able to complete this ride.
With two 600k DNFs, both from SCR King City 600k attempts (one due to being too sleepy midway and fear of riding alone at night, second one aborted due to a bad fall midway, thanks again to RajaA for picking me up), I wasn't sure if I knew what I was up against. After reading some ride reports, I wasn't sure if it was a smart idea to attempt this at my current fitness level, let alone my sleep issues with night riding. I read this could be one of the hardest 600ks on a bad day due to the winds. I have ridden the stretch from SF to Cloverdale to Albion in previous brevets (SFR 400k and Santa Rosa SonoMendo 300k), so the terrain wasn't completely new. I was looking at Epic Ride Weather predictions at different speeds (9pmh - DNF speed, 9.3/9.5/10/10.5mph) to get wind and weather predictions, and tried to find if I had ridden under similar conditions, didn't seem too bad on paper at least. Learned from Sourav that wind predictions are a bit better a day or two before the ride, and on Friday morning, the prediction showed benign headwinds in the dreaded Navarro to Fort Bragg section. After some discussion with Venki, GokulR and Sourav, and some contemplation, I decided to give it a shot, mostly because this would be last attempt at a 600k (or maybe second last if I could attempt AZ 600k) before PBP pre-qual window closes, and the riding conditions for this 600k wouldn't get any better than this (based on Epic ride weather predictions). This would also most likely be my last brevet with my old bike (a lucky one that has never failed me). There was also the additional advantage of having drop bag availability (thanks to SFR and volunteers) without having to bother my friends to stayput in some remote place. Thanks to Sriharsha and Shriram for offering to pick me up if I DNFed at a remote place. Pestered Venki to get ridewithgps route ready with all food/water stops marked.
Went into the ride with a reasonably detailed bailout plan, I wasn't sure if this would turn out to be a brevet or a bike-packing trip :) (though wind prediction was good on paper, it turned out to be inaccurate for SCR King City 600k and the Asha bike group suffered through serious headwinds in Salinas valley). Except for the remote stretch from Cloverdale to Fort Bragg, it seemed there was some sort of public transit that could take me (and my bike) back to SF. And Fort Bragg had motels with rooms available where I could stay put till Monday when public transit resumed from Mendocino to Sonoma. Venki asked me if I had prepared a timeline sheet (like Mihir always does) to keep track of my progress, I felt that would add a lot of stress and told him "If I finish it's a brevet, otherwise it's a bikepack trip" :). My equation was 10mph elapsed speed overall, and a brief night sleep at overnight control at Philo may bring it down to 9.5mph, turns out my equation worked looking at my finish time. I also realized I needed new cleats when my old ones would come out whenever I tried to pull, started happening at Death ride (ended up pushing pedals mostly) but I forgot about the issue after that, and it became real bad the previous week when I realized it was bad cleats (and not something else). I also had to stop occasionally in this ride to check if my cleats did not loosen up (after what happened to Nikhil and Ashok in earlier brevets).
I was also determined that I either finish or DNF gracefully, rather than brave sleep riding or endure a fall and get injured again. Carried 3 bottles of water (stem bag for 3rd bottle), 4 sandwiches (3-slice ones with pbj+hummus), 5 bars, 2 gels, 1 nuun canister, ~20 salt pills, 5 caffeine pills, a few advil/aleve. Drop bag had a sleeping bag, mattress pad, one set of biking clothes (jersey/bibs/headband/socks, small towel etc.), food resupply (3 pbj sandwiches, 5 bars, 20 salt pills, 1 nuun canister), and other misc spares (chamois buttr, co2 cartridges, wrench, battery, powerbank, flashlight, finger warmers etc.).
Had reasonably good sleep throughout the week including 3-hour sleep night before the ride (kind of rare for me :) ). Was able to guilt trap Venki into waking up early and dropping me at GGB :). Reached at about 5.55am, rolled at 6.05am and spent some time at GGB as I got lost finding my way to the other side of the bridge (despite riding there several times, always started with the group and blindly followed them the first few miles till I got dropped). I felt mild rain when starting and it continued almost till Sausalito and I was praying it shouldn't rain all along. On the bike path going out of Sausalito, Wahoo said I lost route even when I was on route (probably lost signal for a bit) and I followed a group of bikers who took a certain turn. Turns out there were going somewhere else (and I have never seen bikers take different paths before in Sausalito), lost 5-10 mins in retracing back to the original route. Already close to 20-25 mins lost.
Going out of Sausalito, even before Corte Madera, I was able to feel some mild headwinds. I wasn't sure if I imagining as I didn't see wind prediction for this section but the perceived effort felt more than usual, but the forceful gusts were real. The mild headwinds continued all the way till Cloverdale, hissing in my hears, though felt a bit stronger winds in Nicasio (I didn't push even a bit as I thought the worst was yet to come). Tried to keep my stops to a minimum, mostly stopping at 7-11 or gas station or Starbucks (for a quick sandwich, wanted to save mine for remote section from Boonville to Fort Bragg). Cloverdale ended up being a long stop, partly due to Cloverdale Taco Bell, and partly due to some random noise I heard from the bike (last thing I want is a broken bike in a remote section). I found, upon inspection, that the rear wheel had a spoke that had some play (didn't look dangerous but I didn't know), but then figured the noise was from some cable movement (maybe due to being externally routed with a lot of bags placed on it). Ignored it and continued pedaling, was thinking of stopping in Boonville bike shop but realized they would close by the time I reached there. Wanted to roll from Cloverdale at 3.10pm but ended up rolling at 3.40pm. I also packed a burrito from Cloverdale to eat at Fort Bragg (Denny's there was supposed to close at 11pm, wasn't sure if I'll reach there by then).
Climb out of Cloverdale felt super hot for some reason (though as per weather prediction, it wasn't supposed to be that hot). The headwinds were back, started feeling them when descending into Yorkville. Folks had mentioned there's always some headwinds from Yorkville till Fort bragg and it could even start from Petaluma on some days. At this point, I stopped counting on wind prediction from Epic ride weather and kept riding, ready to finish or DNF :). Quick refill at Boonville fire station, filled up 3rd bottle and purchased some bananas/coke/0.5liter water at Mi Esperanza in Boonville, and carried the 4th bottle in jersey as I was cutting it too close to the closing time of Lemons Philo market. Managed to reach Philo at exact 6pm and the market was still open but I continued riding. Stopped occasionally to eat bits of sandwich and drink water as I felt weak and started wondering if I was bonking. Riding from Philo to Navarro, I crossed 4 bikers - one 3-biker group and a single biker (must have been Adam I guess) heading back.
Then came the pleasant surprise. Philo to Navarro to Fort Bragg, the section that I was dreading (much talked about section, and also where Epic weather showed wind predictions), had zero headwinds. A welcome break from the constant headwinds till then. Looking at Epic ride weather earlier in the week, I realized the headwinds started dying down late in the day, and I figured I would endup with more winds if I pushed myself to reach earlier, so thought I'll ride at my own speed and face lesser winds later :). It was either that or I got lucky. It got dark when I crossed Navarro, I turned on Life360 tracking (for the Asha group and my family to track me, who were wondering why am I doing all this :) ). I was happily taking the rollers (slow) from Navarro to Fort Bragg appreciating the lack of headwinds. Near Mendocino, I crossed a group of 2 bikers (or maybe 3?) that had stopped on the side, quick check to see if they were ok and I continued riding. Never thought I would pass anyone. Later, learned that it was Arnel and his friend and they had 2 flats with slow leaks that had slowed them down. The drivers on CA-128 were amazing, the ones on CA-1 were mostly amazing except a few who were not happy with me (and some even honked) when I was riding as close to the right as I could.
By this time I realized my Wahoo directions pop-up was a bit off, the map showed the correct route and elevation profile while the upcoming directions were off by 1mile initially (lagged by 1.3miles towards the end) but I didn't bother since the route was fairly straightforward till Cloverdale. The food/water stops were off but since I had researched them earlier, a ballpark indication from Wahoo was sufficient. Reached Fort Bragg at 10.55pm, thought of grabbing a burger at Denny's but realized almost all the tables were taken and it may take me forever if I waited. I ordered a hot chocolate since I needed to use restroom and wanted to warm myself a bit, Even that took quite a bit of time with the number of people waiting for their orders, and Denny's looked super busy even at 11.30pm. It was this time I noticed Arnel and the other rider making a quick stop at the opposite gas station, and they rolled in less than 5 minutes. Had my cold burrito in the parking lot, and rolled. Spent 35-40mins at Denny's in total.
Ride back from Fort Bragg started out painful, I had completely cooled down, lost my momentum, started to feel sleepy even after the meal and hot chocolate, took a caffeine pill, still felt sleepy. Stopped for a bit till I recovered and continued riding. There were zero tailwinds but I wasn't complaining since I had no headwinds going out. The ride started to feel awesome when traffic started dying down, with sounds of waves from ocean and only stars in the sky (a bit of light pollution from nearby Inns/hotels though). It was also in this stretch that Arnel & co and I passed each other on and off. After turning into CA-128, the traffic was even more sparse, maybe a total of 5-6 cars till I reached Indian Creek park for overnight control. Rolled into overnight control at about 3.30am. Had finished only 2 bottles and 1 coke from Boonville to Fort Bragg but used up 2.5 bottles of water from Fort Bragg to Philo, reached overnight control with only 0.5liter bottle in jersey and 0.5 bottle in cage.
Shoutout to the SFR volunteers at overnight control (Mateo, Angela and John? Sorry, I was so engrossed with myself then). Had a warm welcome with Pasta and tomatoes ready for me while pizza was getting baked (thanks to Angela). I was also chatting with volunteers and Adam, another ride who was getting ready to roll after finishing his sleep. While I wasn't feeling sleepy, I was completely zoned out, I almost ended my GPS ride pressing random buttons and couldn't find my way to restroom (thanks to the vols for leading me there :) ). I wanted to crash right away and sleep as much as I can. My estimate was to roll at 5am initially (I had seen strong headwind prediction along the coast on the way back). After reaching at 3.30am, I thought I'll roll at 5.30am (15mins to unwind, 1 hour sleep, 15 mins to get ready). I was totally inefficient with my packing/unpacking and could sleep only at 4.20am. I had packed my own dinner in dropbag but didn't bother with it since the food they had was great and I would be inefficient with my fiddling anyway :). Set an alarm for 5.30am and the vols assured to wake me up at 5.30am if I didn't wake up to the alarm. I couldn't sleep for a few mins since my back and arms were in pain, and I was feeling cold despite the sleeping bag and pad. I recall seeing my phone at 4.30am, and next thing I knew was alarm rang at 5.30am. Surprisingly, I was able to get up without any blues. Had amazing serving of coffee and a quick selfie with the amazing vols, and I rolled at about 6am. They assured me I had a lot of time to complete but I had my own doubts (coastal headwinds and my tiredness). During all this drama, I just managed to change my bib shorts, head cap and head band, charged my phone with the powerbank in dropbag (wanted to save the powerbank I carried on the bike), refilled the bars and sandwiches. All this should have taken only about 5-10 mins in total but I spent 1+ hour fidgeting. Rolled with the same jersey and socks, didn't want to spend anymore time.
The morning ride felt pleasant, twilight was out when I rolled and soon the sun was out. Took off my jacket, and Arnel, who had rolled a bit later than me, passed me during this time. Caught up to him in Cloverdale descent. The climb from Yorkville to Cloverdale had surprisingly steep pitches, I was thinking that section would be much easier (or maybe I was tired?). Stopped at Cloverdale starbucks, had a sandwich and packed one (hoping my food supply to last till the end), had hot chocolate too. Arnel arrived just when I was leaving.
And once again, I was able to feel headwinds from Cloverdale (is it possible to have winds in both directions? Didn't I have winds the previous day coming from the other side? Maybe time of day or is it my imagination? No idea) but nothing much to complain. It was from here that I felt the pain of Wahoo's misdirections. I had to look at elevation profile to see if I should power through a roller or take it easy, and also look at map to see where I have to head (since the directions were off by 1.3 miles). I tried deleting/reloading the route to no success, finally started to use ridewithgps voice navigation on phone (and turned off life360 tracking to save phone battery). Didn't want to miss control points (for brevet card questions as backup) or crucial water stops since I wasn't too familiar with route from this point. It was also this time that Arnel passed me.
Stopped at Healdsburg starbucks for a quick hot chocholate (and promised to myself this would be the last one till I finished :) ). The Bohemian Hwy climb to Guerneville felt steeper than expected but I was glad it wasn't Joy road atleast (the brutal climb in SFR 400k). Had marked MD Gas&Food in Guerneville for water stop, turns out there are two, spent sometime figuring out which one was which. The one I had marked was opposite to 76 gas station (Guerneville control). Quick refill and a coke, continued rolling.
By 12noon, I had 90 miles to cover with 10 hours remaining. I decided to race against the clock and tried to maintain 10mph elapsed, hoping to reach 1 hour before cutoff or using the spare time for a flat, if at all. I gained a bit of time from Santa Rosa to Occidental. It was all going well till I reached Valley Ford. Spotted Arnel, and I stopped at Valley Ford Store for water.
And then came the unpleasant surprise of this ride, Valley Ford to Point Reyes was quite bad with heavy winds and steep rollers. Had to take some climbs at 3mph due to being slowed down by winds, and I was going at 9mph in some descents due to the winds (I later realized I rode this section as part of Dillon Beach 200k but had no memory of how good/bad it was then). Without gusts, the winds by themselves were kind of ok but the gusts were real bad and far too frequent. Any amount of crouching or assuming aero position wasn't helping, and once I got tired, I couldn't be in aero position anymore. The cars weren't too cooperative either, passing and cutting quite close sometimes. My elapsed speed fell quite a bit, not sure if I was tired/bonking/dehydrated/whatever, didn't feel like riding anymore and was wondering if I was going to DNF at my current pace. Just kept pedaling with minimal stops. Was quite tired, trashed and zoned out when I reached Pt.Reyes fire station for water refill. Refilled all bottles and rolled with 4 bottles hoping to stop only at Crissy fields. I again spotted Arnel at Pt.Reyes riding a bit ahead of me when I stopped for water.
Rolling from Pt.Reyes control at 5.30pm, I was a bit relieved since I had done Sir Francis Drake climb a few times and didn't have any bad memory to recollect, and it seemed like I could make it after all. Turned on life360 tracker, and by this time Shriram assured that he would be at finish point to pick me up. Felt strong till Larkspur (probably a mental thing that I could complete in time). Had some winds in Corte Madera but I didn't care anymore, stopped briefly to eat and drink (or maybe even overeat, didn't want to bonk in the final stretch). Stopped for a brief bit in Sausalito to check which side of the bridge I should be taking. I was also feeling tired and weak but I didn't care anymore since the end was in sight :). Shriram had arrived and was calling me a few times to check. Finished at 8.55pm with 2 bottles of water and 2 sandwiches remaining but met the finish control vols at 9pm. Had some trouble finding the finish control volunteers but was able to find them with help from Rob and Shriram. Thanks to them for waiting in the cold. Learned that Arnel finished 20-30 mins before me. I was just glad that I could finish this.
- Shoutout to Venki (for helping me with route and early morning dropoff), Shriram (for picking me back, and getting me dinner), and SriHarsha/Shriram (offering to pick me up from anywhere if I DNFed).
- Thanks to Sourav, GokulR and Rob for valuable inputs.
- Shoutout to overnight control volunteers, they took care of my dinner and sleep. And, I would've been totally cooked if I had to get to Cloverdale to sleep.
- Shoutout to finish control volunteers who were waiting for the last person to arrive (me🙂 ).
- Shoutout to the Asha group for their general support. They were tracking me on Life360 and Whatsapp group, and giving encouraging comments and shouts till then, kept me going during boring stretches or when I was feeling weak.
Post ride feeling:
- Could still hear the constant hissing of headwinds in my ears that even the sound of wind from a running fan bothered me the next day. Still have no idea how the Asha folks tackled River road headwinds in SCR King City 600k.
- My search for good bib shorts may have ended :). Pactimo (first day) and Rapha (second day) bibs both worked out fine (Rapha felt a bit better though). Chamois was fine, a bit chafing in the legs (nothing too bad).
- Dehydrated quite a bit, burning sensation in throat and some bloating.
-Â Â Legs/glutes are sore (used to get this feeling when I used to squat/deadlift heavy after a long break)
- Back is quite sore and tight. Feel quite a bit of pain in elbows (need to strengthen upper back I guess).
- Pinky side of right hand is somewhat numb.
Summary/TLDR:
Though I finished with an hour to spare, it was a close call. Headwinds in Navarro to Fort Bragg section, or a bit stiffer winds in Tomales Bay or elsewhere, or maybe some mechanical issue, any of these could have posed serious trouble. In retrospect, I guess I got a bit lucky, could've gone worse easily on a bad day but I'm happy end of the day :).
"
Regards,
Surya
