Saturday, July 24, 2010

BATBOD... finally did it. (200+ mile bike ride)


Here's the approximate route


That doesn't give a great cue sheet FYI... based most of it from this
There's a link to the cue sheet that I used there.

Started around 4 am... ended at 9 pm... took about 2 hours in breaks. By far the longest ride I've ever done in a day.

The Good/Highlights:
  • Most of the riding is actually pretty scenic (skyline, paradise, china camp, san pablo dam)
  • Passing 1000s of cars on 37 as traffic was bad.
  • Mostly flat (only 11,500 ft of elevation)
  • Plenty of shops to get snacks along the way
  • Never been so happy to see the Mormon temple. (could be in the latter category as well...)
  • Listening to some podcasts "limits" on radiolab was particularly appropriate.
The Bad/Lowlights:
  • Almost colliding into a deer then nearly running over a skunk within 30 seconds on the first 10 miles of the ride.
  • Riding down Hayward to Fremont... that's a pretty boring stretch
  • Getting lost numerous times (one time had to back track 5 miles... ugh), following the cue sheet from ridewithgps.com
  • Riding on the freeways (101, 37, and 24) were a little tense... not too bad once you get used to it (there's a HUGE shoulder on most of them)...
  • Never rode with anyone... didn't get to draft at all...
  • Riding across the Golden Gate... too many tourons there all the time...
  • Sucking down the 15th GU.
  • The last hill
Here's my SPOT track from the day... batteries died once I got on 37.

2 comments:

  1. Ksenya pointed me here. Cool, glad to see there are other crazies! I went to Petaluma and Napa to avoid 37 because I really didn't want to go over Black Point bridge again. Plus it is more scenic. http://www.strava.com/rides/132956

    I almost hit a deer too very early in my ride. Hope the skunk didn't spray you. One got me over a year ago and people still talk about.

    I'm planning on going around the bay again in Sept. Anybody who can go 100mi without too much strain and wants to join can contact me for details.

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  2. Nice... yeah I like your route. Avoids that section from Hayward down to Fremont as well (probably the most unscenic section). Keep me informed, but my Sept is quite full.

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