# Devil Mountain Double 2013



## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

Who else rode it?

I rode it as my first double in 2011 with ukbloke, again last year, and decided to take another crack at it this year and try for a sub-14 hour finish, squeaking in at 13:57 hours in 21st place.

It got pretty hot out in the San Antonio Valley, my Garmin hitting over 100F, although Garmins to get overly excited in direct, hot sunlight.

My full recap is here.

Very much looking forward to hearing others' stories!


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## djconnel (May 7, 2006)

Nice! I read a bit of your report. I'll look at more later. Mine is here. Funny how you sit down to write a quick report and it goes on and on.... 206 miles is a long way.

I finished 13:47, so virtually the same time as you, but started in the 6 am group and was almost instantly dropped on Diablo. The pacing worked well for me, though, and I finished strongly.

My Strava here.

Congrats on the great ride! I think at some point it's good to just feel good about a ride well done, and not obsess too much with time. It's always nice to finish higher in the rankings, but in the end what you remember is the experience, how you felt, and the people you encounter.

On stop time, I see I was stopped less than you. I'd say the following: 1. approaching the rest stop, rehearse what you need and what you're going to do. 2. While there you should always be doing something, never standing around. 3. When you're done, say thank you, farewell, and leave. No procrastination. 4. Never sit down.

Ironically a moment of semi-panic was when I got back to the hotel I couldn't figure out which entrance to take! I didn't see any navigational aids after the arrow on Bishop. But I managed to come in the back door and run across the building to the salon. This apparently caused me to fail to match the "DMD2012" Strava segment, though.


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

Nice Dan! I knew you were doing the DMD from your blog, figured you'd start with the 6am crowd and was looking out for you once they passed me on the back side of Mt Hamilton. I figured I must have missed you!

Your advice for rest stop minimization is excellent - I'm going to use that. I also suggest not making friends with Jeff Gould - the guy can talk!


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## djconnel (May 7, 2006)

Jeff's a nice guy, for sure!

Joel Sothern, an accomplished ultracyclist, set a hard pace from the base of Diablo: he knows what he can handle for this distance, which isn't a big deal for him. Alan Nevin followed him, along with some others. Alan, for whom this is the only double of the year, eventually broke away to win despite fading on the later climbs. I knew some of the big guys would hit it hard on Diablo, but I was hoping for another group aiming for a more even pace splitting off and cooperating, but instead a lot of guys dug themselves into a hole trying to keep with this rapid start. This ride was close to twice the distance and twice the climbing of my max this year in each, and there was simply no way I was going to red-zone it in the first hour. But I had a good time and, like you, made my 14 hour goal.


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

What's super-impressive about Joel & Alan (and many others) is their ability to keep riding through the rest stops. How do you ride 12-14 hours and take only 14 mins of stopped time? Crazy!

I rode with Janet Christiansen a bit.. she had her RAAM 2012 solo finisher jersey on so I was immediately in awe.


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## look566 (Aug 19, 2011)

*DMD ride report*

Did the ride, somewhat slower than you guys. I've enjoyed reading both your ride reports over the years (Dan from rec.bikes on usenet) but this is my first time posting one. I've always found it helpful to read these reports, and pick up a lot of tips, maybe someone will pick up something useful 

Prep for this ride is tough as has been mentioned, early in the year to be in peak form. Did 120 mi -- clockwise Mt Ham century (with Welch Creek and Sierra added in) 3 wks before the event, and 130 mi -- start of DMD through Mines and hook back into the end of the course 2 wks before. So I knew the course and about how fast I could ride it. From this I had a goal of finishing by 8:00 (start at 5). This assumed I could keep stops short and offset any fatigue by pacelining on the flats.

Decided to stay at the hotel to get that extra hour of sleep. I think it was a good call for me. Joined the starting group and said 'Hi' to Patrick, thanks for the shout out! For the record, I was riding the Western Wheelers ride as a guest, and the second letter in my last name is 'u' -- a strange variant on the Scottish spelling.

When the group took off, I decided I wanted to follow someone I could trust -- much safer that way. Patrick, you navigated very smoothly through the pack and thanks for that! Except for that one pot hole you bunny hopped, I was off to the side at the time, lucky for me.

As the climb up Diablo started, I let people go, knowing I couldn't keep with the fastest guys and didn't want to over extend myself. A lot of fun seeing all the lights in the fog, ahead and behind as the road snaked up the mountain. Then some gorgeous views of different hills sticking up above the ground fog as we got higher. Quick stop at the top for water and drop off the lights, then that great descent. 

Ended up grouped with a couple of guys all the way down and pulled them most of the way up Morgan Territory. They weren't much help, I don't think they were the most experienced cyclists, but we chatted a little as we rode. Lost them towards the top of the climb, got food and water at the rest stop, time for another descent. Here I did hook up with a guy who had passed me on the Diablo climb (and maybe on MT also). We two-manned it for a while and then picked up some other riders. Had 5 guys as we hit Altamont Pass road. There was a group of 3 women from the Wente race working together up the road, we stayed out of their way until the courses diverged.

Up to Patterson pass. Nice having some help on the lead in, but the group shattered as things got steep. Quick stop for water (probably not necessary) and then finish the climb. Much less windy then 3 weeks previously, that was miserable: 20+ mph headwinds winds and 15-18% grades together. Descend back to Livermore, a couple of Wente packs come through, first one passes me while I'm eating a bar, I sit in on the back and then they slow down. Then they hug the right as a faster pack goes through. Left turn on Mines. 

Quick stop and then off again. I'm feeling good and have succeeded in keeping the stops real short for me. On my own on Mines then about half way to the Junction, I start getting some leg cramps -- which almost never happens to me. I was stupid and wasn't carrying Endurolytes or Nuun (which I always carry, but since the support on the ride is so good I figured I could pick them up on the way -- duh!). A group of 4 came by, I joined in with them and we worked together for a while. They slowed a bit and I thought I felt good and picked up the pace. Not a good idea, cramps came back and they passed me before hitting the junction. 

Did the quick sandwich, lots of pickles, and Endurolytes. Had to take off my shoes for a bit to get rid of hot spots. Got back on the road in 22 min. not too bad. Heading for Hamilton, it did start getting hot. My Garmin recorded over 100 deg -- clearly bogus, I'd guess it might have hit 90 back there. This climb wasn't as bad as I thought it would be with all the miles in my legs. I didn't push it but ended up going up only a couple of minutes slower then on my training ride.

Grabbed water at the top and hit the descent. Felt good here and descended well (for me) PRs on the first two descents. On the last section of descent, I usually work a bit to keep speed up, as it is less steep then the others, but not today! Awesome rest stop on Crothers, thanks again to the generous person for making that available!

On to Sierra. Not as bad as I had feared, no more cramps and I just kept going up, not pushing too hard, but feeling good, all things considered. On to Pet-the-goat -- no goat, asked for my money back, but didn't even get a laugh from the rest stop workers; one of whom gave me my drop bag, which I had completely forgotten about. Thanks again for that!

I really like the Fetzer descent and the Calaveras part of this course, and it was great again. Rest stop in Sunol. Food, even Perpetum had lost appeal by now, but I knew I needed to eat, so I had a potato and grabbed a bar for my pocket. Finally threw out the leftover 1/2 sandwich from lunch which I had intended to eat on the run-in to Hamilton but had forgotten about. How anyone would want a chilli dog at the point in time is beyond me, but I guess it takes all kinds.

Down 84 worst part of the ride given the road conditions and traffic. Was glad it was still day time!!! On Palomares and Norris Canyon I couldn't seem to get my heart rate up, either I wasn't motivated to go faster (knew I'd make it in by 8:00 baring a mechanical) or my legs didn't have that much left. Anyway, I kind of enjoyed both of those climbs more than I expected. 

Threw on my jacket and descended into town. At a long light a guy I had passed descending Calaveras caught up and we rode in together.
Just caught the turn off Bishop into the service entrance, but missed the next turn, either the guy didn't yell to me or I didn't hear him, I ended up at the hotel laundry. First wrong turn, or even navigational doubt, at 206 mi!

Unofficial finish time 7:45 (13:34 riding time per Garmin). 
Great ride, great support.

- Mike


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

look566 said:


> Did the ride, somewhat slower than you guys. I've enjoyed reading both your ride reports over the years (Dan from rec.bikes on usenet) but this is my first time posting one. I've always found it helpful to read these reports, and pick up a lot of tips, maybe someone will pick up something useful


That's exactly why I started documenting these rides. Dan's blog was extremely useful when I started doing doubles.



look566 said:


> Joined the starting group and said 'Hi' to Patrick, thanks for the shout out! For the record, I was riding the Western Wheelers ride as a guest, and the second letter in my last name is 'u' -- a strange variant on the Scottish spelling.


Fixed! Glad you found me! I had no idea you were with me as I moved forward and sorry about the pothole  I forgot one time as I was moving forward when I got sandwiched between two riders somehow and accelerated to get clear of them, surprising them. I apologized and felt shame! Hope you weren't right behind me then!

Congrats on the great ride, Mike!


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## look566 (Aug 19, 2011)

ratpick said:


> That's exactly why I started documenting these rides. Dan's blog was extremely useful when I started doing doubles.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I was off to the side at the time, so effect on me. I was impressed by your hop, though. I'd probably put my back wheel right on the trailing edge and dent my rim!


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## bddbb (Dec 8, 2001)

Well, here is my ordeal, for what it's worth:

Devil Mt. Double, commonly referred to as DMD.
4/27/13
5:00 am start
206 miles
19,500 + feet of climbing
214 Riders
Weather: Hot. Up to 100 on the Garmin.
Course: Big loop, Mt. Diablo, Morgan Territory, Patterson Pass, Mt. Hamilton, Sierra Road.

I almost cancelled out of this one, but my pride got the best of me and I decided to do it. I last did this one 2 years ago and I guess I forgot how hard it is.

Started with the early birds at 5:00 am. They have a 6 am start for the fast guys, but I thought the earlier the better. Plus it was going to get hot. We started climbing Mt. Diablo right off the bat and I decided to take it easy up this first climb and settled into about 20-25th position. I felt pretty good up this climb and after a fast descent we were off to the Morgan Territory climb. I fell in with a good pack and sat third wheel all the way up the M.T. climb. We had the eventual women's division winner with us and another woman with a jersey that read "2012 RAAM Solo Division Finisher". I felt like I was in good company with this group. We got to Patterson Pass and my climbing legs left me. I still felt good, but I couldn't keep up with the majority of the pack, so I just settled into my own slow pace.
From there we headed up Mines road towards Mt. Hamilton. It seems like it's mostly uphill, but I am sure there was some level road in there somewhere. Before the Hamilton climb there is a lunch stop, so I refueled and headed towards the big climb. I heard a rider saying it was a 6 mile climb. I think we had about 130 miles in at that point and each one of those 6 miles was brutal and hot. I barely got over that one still alive, descended, and hit the Crothers road rest stop.
After that stop it isn't long before you start climbing the famous "Sierra Road". This climb is a beast that goes up 1946 feet in 3.74 miles. At this point in the game it's an out of the saddle climb pretty much all the way up.
Just survived that one and rode the final 45 miles (with a few more climbs)to the finish. I actually felt fairly good after Sierra and felt strong at the end, but I felt like quitting on Hamilton and Sierra. Those 2 will knock the crap out of you!

I finished in just over 16 hours and I don't know what place I came in. I sure was happy to complete it though! The DMD is the hardest ride I have ever done.

If anyone is thinking about doing this in the future here are a few tips: Do not make this your first 200 mile ride. The DMD is a monster double that deserves the utmost respect. Do not carry any extra body fat going into this ride. You can not be too thin or too strong for the DMD!
Will I do it again? Maybe, once the memory fades.

P.S. I hope to regain some of my fitness as the season progresses. I sure didn't have much for the DMD.

bddbb


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## Bostic (Nov 17, 2008)

In 2009 it was my first double century, on Saturday it was my 15th, five years in a row doing DMD. Not a good year, slow, hot, had to stop three times on Hamilton and Sierra after feeling weak on Mines and HW130. 

One thing I don't like about DMD is layering. I'm slow so I start at 5 and need the arm and knee warmers until Morgan Territory. There is time there spent taking things off and putting on sunscreen. The smell of spray on sunscreen gets me ill so the quick way doesn't work for me. 

14:43:20 ride time and 16:30:59 total time. The popsicle at Crothers was awesome. The volunteers are awesome. My friends Marco & Ruth were at Mines and driving Sag. 

I'm doing the Stage Race this year. Who else is doing Terrible Two and Alta Alpina for it this year? It's going to be tough to be strong for TT then rest up enough to tackle Alta Alpina, which last year was the hardest ride I've ever done.


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

Preliminary results are up if you want to check your place!

Evidence of what I suspected - that this was a really fast year - last year I came 18th with 14:32 hrs, this year 21st with 13:57 hrs!

I was going to see how I did on DMD to see if it was worth doing the stage race again. I've done Terrible Two and it's a great ride - would love to do it again - and Alta Alpina has been on my list for a couple of years now so I guess this is the year!

Hopefully see you guys there!


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## chidonchea (Jul 14, 2008)

2013 Devil Mt Double CTC Stage race - YouTube
This was my first double century of the year. I was a little concerned that I had done only one ride over a hundred miles in the last six months. I think my New Years resolution to eat spinach every day played a big role. Finished it 14 minutes faster than last year for a PR.


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## C2K_Rider (May 1, 2013)

I did it and the goal was to finish feeling good. I did that but much longer than I wanted. Got two flats. Ride 1000's of miles with no flats, and then get them on a ride like this!

It was on the low 90's in Anderson Valley. It feels warmer because it is so dry back there. The 100 deg readings are just the Garmin over-read due to direct sunlight. I ride this course many, many times per year (I live in Livermore) and when it is in the 100's you know it and can barely keep going, especially on Hamilton.

I don't really get how those early guys get by with 10 min "stopped" time. They must have people filling bottles before they get there. I went through 16 bottles on the ride. No way I could spend only 10 min filling those! Plus a couple RR stops.


All in all though, a very good ride, found some good people to ride with and felt fine at the finish.

On to the Terrible Two!


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## Fr Ted Crilly (Feb 7, 2002)

I'm in total admiration of your guys who did this ride. I was doing the Mt Hamilton Challenge the same day, and while going in the opposite direction down San Antonio Valley Rd, I'd think of you guys anytime I found myself cursing the headwind. 
Maybe next year I will be going the same direction as you?


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

deleted


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## Cyclin Dan (Sep 24, 2011)

I'd love to do this ride next year.


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

I'm in total awe! My hardest ride ever was 103 miles with 7700 feet of climbing. I can't even imagine this ride.

Thanks for all the great ride reports and videos. I'm curious, what were the top speeds that were typically hit on the descents?


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## Bostic (Nov 17, 2008)

The plunge from Morgan Territory is the fastest descent and it would not be too hard to hit 50mph on it. I'd never do that though as it's not all that wide and there always seems to be at least one vehicle headed up while I'm descending. 

Other fast descents are after the OMG climb up Patterson Pass, the latter sections of Mines road shortly before the lunch stop, Felter road before the turn onto Calaveras, Palomares descent after the climb and finally Norris Canyon headed towards the finish.


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

JasonB176 said:


> I'm in total awe! My hardest ride ever was 103 miles with 7700 feet of climbing. I can't even imagine this ride.
> 
> Thanks for all the great ride reports and videos. I'm curious, what were the top speeds that were typically hit on the descents?


Once you can do 100 miles with 7-8K' climbing *comfortably*, extending to 200 miles isn't that hard (at least, in my experience). It helps to have a constant supply of food available or be comfortable riding with liquid food (Perpetuem, etc).

Having said that, DMD is a hard ride because of the climbing.

I get my max speed on the DMD at The Plunge, the descent off Morgan Territory - there's one section there I've reached 57 mph before but for this year's DMD, I only just crossed 50 mph (wind wasn't right). The only other descent steep and twisty enough to get > 45 mph is the back side of Palomares, that Bostic mentioned: I hit 47.3 mph there on the DMD.


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## djconnel (May 7, 2006)

I only reached 69.5 kph: I'm relatively light and don't descend quickly.


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

Bostic said:


> The plunge from Morgan Territory is the fastest descent and it would not be too hard to hit 50mph on it. I'd never do that though as it's not all that wide and there always seems to be at least one vehicle headed up while I'm descending.


LOL - it would appear that *ratpick* doesn't abide by that 50 MPH limit (see his post)!


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

JasonB176 said:


> LOL - it would appear that *ratpick* doesn't abide by that 50 MPH limit (see his post)!


Bosticman is a wiser man than me.. but I've come across cars ascending while I'm descending at the crucial point and managed to get around them with no issue... if they were on their phone at the time, or pulling a horse trailer, it might be curtains, of course.

I worry a little less when there's a group on the road as motorists will be (hopefully) on the lookout for cyclists. My fastest speed came on Murphy's Spring Classic when there were quite a few ahead of me.


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