d2r2 madness
ok so, gary and i drove 7.5 hours to mass this weekend, arriving after many wrong turns and too many tanks of gas at meg’s house @ 2.30 AM. we closed our eyes and listened to our hearts beat loudly for 2 hours, woke up at 4.30 AM and meg amazingly got up too, and made us some cast iron eggs. we arrived at the start point about 30 minutes late, completely dooming our chances of finishing. as soon as i took my bike of the trunk rack, i got a front flat: bad omen. .5 miles into the ride, my front tire started to bulge off the rim, but i saved it before it burst. .1 miles later it did it again. the holy spirit of the freewheel was trying to tell me something, but i wasnt listening.
it was warmish, misty, and the air was thick. the climbing and dirt started almost immediately. i was running a higher gear than normal, but still, it wasnt too bad.
gary and i even started to pass a few groups.
then the climbing started for real. the temps rose, the shady mist disappeared, and the sweat started to pour into our eyes and mouths. i went through 2 water bottles in 16 miles. by the first rest stop about 20 miles in, i was exhausted. 20 miles after that i was annihlated. 20 miles after that i felt ill, and 10 miles after that i got my second wind and started to big ring everything. i ate so much gu and shot blox that my teeth need a comb, the fuzz was so thick. my brooks saddle was drenched. one of the two guys we latched onto, adso or anso, i’m not entirely sure of the spelling, got really bad cramps and started to walk the climbs. i gladly joined in.
27 percent grades are no joke. the 11,000 feet of climbing that was supposed to take place over 116 miles happened in the first 68 miles. the vague directions threw dozens of riders miles off course, adding 1000s of feet of climbing to their ordeal.
the ride was scenic but pointlessly climbing intensive. you could have halved the climbing, still done insanely large amounts of dirt, and actually seen better scenery.
according to routeslip, we did 88 miles and 10,800 feet of climbing. meg, who rode 65 miles, lost over 5lbs in water on her ride, and she was better hydrated than us. thats almost a gallon of sweat, not counting what she lost and successfully replenished. i drank 13 bottles of water, roughly 3 gallons of water, ate 3 cliff shots, a pack of cliff blocks, a bag of apriocots, a pb and j sandwich, 2 larabars, 24 cookies, 12 fig newtons, and i was still losing fuel faster than i could replenish it. but: 88 miles in all wool w/ a leather chamois and birkenstocks. ha.
full photo set here. routeslip climbing and mileage info here.
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i’m quite sure you got in closer to 3 a.m.–but eh what’s a half hour?
and, we should be related–we both took a self-potrait of suffering. . .
crazy shit, for sure.
glad you came, but you left all your beer!! ai!
xoxo
m
Wow. I’m not sure if it’s impressive or crazy. I’m leaning more towards impressive and it’s a massive accomplishment to have done a ride with that much climbing.
I have two questions though…where do you get a leather chamois these days and where are the before and after pics of your ass?
i scored some santini wool shorts at a swap that are definately pre-80s. the leather chamois is (IMO) nicer and softer than the compressible foam. it butters up well (bag balm special blend) and never chafed. my ass was just as good at the beginning of the ride as at the end. no worries. the heat was really the kicker, according to stu, a fellow we were riding with, temps above 93 degree disallow the body to effectively cool itself via sweating.
that plus the super high dew point made it a muggy nasty nast day.
How come 88 miles- did you bail at the lunch stop and go back along the river ? Like I did. I too did it on 2 hours sleep and a bunch of driving. Saw you and thought the weather a bit stuffy for wool…
you got it. the wool was only a bit hot in the direct sun, but that would be anything, except maybe a linen suit or some seersucker.
Crazy ride, but thanks for the report–I’ve been curious about this one.
FWIW, I did much a shorter, easier ride in about the same weather wearing seersucker, and it wasn’t cool. Past a certain dewpoint nothing helps, I guess….
scott, i think the answer is to ride while dowsed from a helicopter with cheap light beer.
a helicopter fitted with a tow rope for those 27% climbs…
Wow. Epic.
So, if you don’t mind me being anonymous for a moment while I solicit your opinion: why didn’t you try the 100K or 35 mile rides? The former has half the climbing (as you seem to indicate you wanted), and the latter is flat with many little offshoots if you want. Were you coming for a challenge, but the web reports were not clear on just how hard the 100-mile is? Just curious - I mean, I hope this sounds like the objective question that it is, not offensive in any way…
ok maybe its time i put this ride in perspective. stu, one of the guys we rode it with, wrote this:
‘Hey fellow randonee sufferers, … I lost 33lbs in water
weight that day. Amazing the body can take back in 28 of it while it is ongoing!’
Ok so that how much water was lost. People threw up from the heat. Ride mates were going delirious from being unable to eat and replenish fast enough. It wasnt the climbing, or distance that made the ride hard. it was the heat+the climbing+the distance that combined to make it really hard. Also, we drove almost 7 hours through the middle of the night to go to the ride: 7 hours of driving for 35 miles? ha. it was retarded enough as it was. I heard that average times were an hour longer than last years race: how to account for that? the heat the miserable heat.