Double Caesar 600K Brevet

Wow, a 600K!  Even I don’t quite understand why I do these things.  Randonneuring is exhausting and even painful sometimes, but at the same time it’s so fun and rewarding.  I was psyched to complete the Double Caesar 600K Brevet last weekend.  It was the longest single bicycle ride I ever did, and it was my last step toward this year’s big cycling goal, completing a Super Randonneur Series, which is a 200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K all in the same calendar year.

Six of us started the ride.  We rolled out of a Publix parking lot in Evans, GA at 4:00 AM.  I savored the first few hours of riding when I felt fresh, knowing that the hard work was to come.  (See my preliminary ride report from 4/27/16, All That Is, Seen and Unseen, for a fuller description of the first part of the brevet.)

We all rode together for a while.  Although we didn’t talk much, our group was quite companionable.  We passed a small sign pointing to a YMCA.  Not trusting myself to ride in the group with no hands, I did the obligatory gestures with just one arm.  Robert Newcomer, who was riding behind me, was confused for a moment but then knew exactly what I was doing.  More than anything, he was thankful that I didn’t sing, too.

Eventually the group spread out, and I was riding with Brian and Ken.  I was glad to be able to draft off of such strong riders, but I was also a little concerned about going too hard too early.  Not having done a 600K before, I didn’t have a reference point, and we had a lot of hours to go.  After a while, I decided to drop back a little, but they eased it back a notch so that we could stay together.  That was really nice of them.  Thanks, Brian and Ken!

Our third control (second stop because the starting point counts as the first control) was a Subway in Pendleton, SC.  Woo hoo!  Lunchtime!  Ken and I went through the line and got our sandwiches at the same time.  I sat down to start on mine while he went back outside to his bicycle.  When he joined me at the tables, we discovered that I had accidentally eaten half of Ken’s sandwich – d’oh!  He was very nice about it.  We simply split my sandwich, too, so that we each got half of each other’s.  He didn’t even mind risking getting cooties from me.  By the way, his sandwich was better than mine.

We had been back on our bikes for only about an hour when Brian’s rear derailleur broke off of his frame!  This was a major mechanical that he couldn’t fix on the road.  Therefore, he DNFed and had to call Kevin (our Regional Brevet Administrator, or RBA) to pick him up.  Brian was terribly disappointed, and Ken and I knew we’d miss his company on the rest of the ride.

At the next control, a convenience store, I bought myself a souvenir (Arrr!):

Paddling and pirates.  The only thing better is dog paddling:

Shelly the beagle, one of my beloved polyhounds

The titular section of the brevet was approaching: climbing Caesars Head not once, but twice!  (because riding 600K isn’t hard enough on its own…)  It’s more than 1,800 feet of climbing in seven miles from the base of Caesars Head to the top.  I generally do well on such mountainous climbs because I have a relatively high power-to-weight ratio (approximately 4 W/kg at threshold).  However, it’s not often that I do a climb like Caesars Head with 161 miles already in my legs.  But I felt good.  Actually, I crushed it:

Kevin and Brian passed me in Kevin's car and cheered me on!

I reached the top before Ken did and continued on toward Brevard, NC without stopping at the top of Caesars Head.  The next control was at Huddle House in Brevard.  Huddle Houses make great controls because they’re open 24 hours, and they don’t mind if you prop your feet up while you eat.  Not to mention, a waffle, bacon, and two eggs over-easy taste great after riding 184 miles.  As I lingered over my meal, Ken arrived.  We were ready to go at about the same time, and I was glad to have his companionship again, at least until the second climb.

Although this was my first Double Caesar 600K, the Audax Atlanta Club has had this brevet a number of times before.  Previously, the second climb over Caesars Head has been simply going backwards on the same route.  This year, however, the second climb was a different route because the road on the descent of the first climb has deteriorated.  Technically, I don’t think last weekend’s second climb was over Caesars Head, but we had to get back over the same ridge.  I had mapped the route ahead of time to upload to my Garmin.  As I built the route, I was fascinated by the map.  (I’ve always loved studying maps.)  The North Carolina/South Carolina state line caught my attention.  It consists mostly of straight segments except in the region around Caesars Head, which is a squiggly line that runs roughly southwest to northeast.  When I noticed the squiggly line in that area, my first thought was that a river forms that portion of the state line.  I looked more closely and discovered that’s not the case, though.  The state line follows the mountain ridge.  Even more interesting, you can see the drainage pattern of the creeks flowing from the ridge, to the north on the North Carolina side and to the south on the South Carolina side.

The second climb wasn’t the long, steady effort like the first one over Caesars Head, but it definitely had some steep sections.  It also had a highlight of my ride – a black bear!  It was that beautiful, crepuscular time of day.  I was grinding up a steep slope and spied the bear about 40 meters ahead of me on the side of the road.  I think it was a juvenile – definitely not a cub but not as big as I’d expect a full-grown adult bear to be.  It must have seen or heard me coming because it ran off into the woods.  It wasn’t scary at all.  The whole incident lasted only a few seconds, but that was the coolest wildlife experience I’ve had on my bicycle!

The last part of the descent had relatively mild slopes.  The route was just beautiful as it followed a winding creek.  I was tired, now being about 200 miles into the ride, but my spirits lifted in the day’s last rays of sunlight.

The route as a whole was mostly out-and-back.  Following the two major climbs, it rejoined the earlier route at the control where I had bought the magnet/bottle opener.  I really wanted to stop there again for a Coke, but now the store was closed.  Instead, I stopped on the side of the road for a snack break with the food and drink I already had with me.  A few minutes later, here came Ken.  I was especially glad to be back with him now that it was dark.

The next control was our sleep stop.  Usually, the sleep stop on the Double Caesar 600K is at some cabins at the Clemson Outdoor Lab.  However, they were already booked when Kevin called.  Therefore, he reserved a few motel rooms at the Quality Inn in Anderson, SC.  It was farther to get to Anderson than the cabins at the lab, but it also left fewer miles to ride on Sunday after the sleep break.

The hardest part of the ride was those last couple of hours before the motel.  I was so tired.  I had been awake since 1:15 AM and had been riding practically nonstop since 4:00 AM.  I tried some of my usual tricks, like singing to myself.  Mostly, however, I just mentally willed myself to keep going.  A stop for a Mountain Dew didn’t hurt, either.

Around midnight, Ken and I finally made it to the Quality Inn – hallelujah!  After bumbling around for 10 or 15 minutes, we figured out which rooms to go to.  Kevin had sent Ken a text with a room number and told us to look for the flashing bicycle light in the window.  We must have been too tired to see the light the first time we circled the motel.  Ken bunked with Brian, and I went to find Kevin, who was waiting up for everyone on the other side of the motel.

Kevin recommended that I sleep in the room adjoining his so that I wouldn’t be disturbed by other riders coming in after me.  He also said I would need less sleep than I thought.  A REM cycle is 1 ½ hours, and so he suggested 3 to 4 ½ hours of sleep, 6 if I really wanted it.  I had already planned on 6.

Kevin had brought everyone’s drop bags.  How luxurious to have my toiletries and clean clothes!  After a wondrously restorative shower, I put on my Elvis pajamas and went to sleep immediately:

Thank you.  Thankyouverymuch.
(Photo taken several years ago when I got these pajamas in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis's birthplace.
Best.  Souvenir.  Ever.)

By the way, Jim, who had abandoned the ride when he got to Brevard, was already asleep in the other bed when I turned in.  He was snoring, but it was the politest snore I ever heard.  It didn’t keep me awake at all.

Although I had set the alarm on my phone for 6 hours, I suppose three REM cycles were enough because I woke up after only 4 ½ hours.  I put on my clean kit.  I really wasn’t hungry, and I definitely didn’t feel like going to the McDonald’s next door, but I knew I needed calories.  So, breakfast was an apple and some trail mix from my bike bag.

It was about 6:45 AM, just late enough to ride without a front light.  I prepared myself mentally for the remaining 110 miles, knowing that I would be riding them alone.  Ken had said that he planned to sleep only 1-2 hours(!), and so he was already out on the road.  Robert Newcomer arrived at the motel just as I was about to leave.  He made it 10 minutes before the control closed!  He had ridden all through the night.  Talk about determination!  He had time only for about an hour of sleep because he would be pushing it to make it to the remaining controls (one more convenience store and then the end).

As I continued my ride, I was pleased to discover that I felt adequate.  Not exactly great, but I felt like I had enough energy to complete the job.  Normally, I can ride 110 miles in maybe seven hours.  It was a relief to know that I had until 8:00 PM to finish the brevet, although I certainly didn’t intend to take nearly that long.

I passed Ed.  He had arrived at the motel after me but not slept as long.  He was riding more slowly than I was, but then I hadn’t done a 1200K the previous weekend – whoa!  Yes, Ed did a 1200K one weekend and a 600K the next.  He’s a mo-chine!

I actually leapfrogged with Ed a few times because I needed an extra food stop.  Sitting on the curb outside of a convenience store, drinking chocolate milk and eating Cheez-Its – how quintessentially randonneur-like.

I never doubted that I would make it to the end.  It was simply a matter putting in the miles and hours – and managing the fatigue and pain.  Cycling, like life, certainly has its difficult parts.  I don’t ever want to deny that about either, but at the same time, there’s a lot to be said for choosing the good and positive.  Some self-help stuff is too woo-woo for me, but certain tools really do work.  I came up with one that helped me finish my ride.  My eyes pretty much stayed glued to the number of remaining miles on my Garmin.  (This was an indicator of how tough it was for me because that’s not my M.O.)  Starting at 45 miles to go, I thought about the best thing I could remember at the corresponding age.  I wouldn’t let myself think about negative things, and my best memories had to be things that I still consider to be good – nothing that I thought was good at the time but later turned out to be not so great.  I even did my best to remember things from my youngest ages: cupcakes for my 4^th birthday at pre-K, learning to swim when I was 3, dressing up as a leopard for Halloween when I was 2.  I really couldn’t remember anything from when I was 1, but I was grateful for the people who loved and cared for me.  When I considered my best memories as a whole, it helped me see what’s most valuable in my life: my husband, our animals, experiences, and the things I’ve learned.

Even though I was smelling the barn, the final miles weren’t easy.  Some of the roads had heavier traffic than I expected, probably because of a detour.  Also, where did all of those hills at the end come from?  They sure didn’t seem so big at o-dark-thirty the previous morning.  Then there were the hot spots that showed up on my feet about five miles from the end.  I wiggled my feet and toes as much as I could and kept talking to myself: “C’mon feet!  Hang in there for just a few more miles!”

At last I rolled into the Publix parking lot.  I did it!  379 miles in 34 hours and 53 minutes.  I texted Kevin, who showed up a few minutes later with my drop bag.  (He lives just a few miles from there, which is why a number of our brevets are staged from this location.)  Thank you, Kevin, for your phenomenal ride support!  You make it possible for the rest of us to do this sport we love.

Besides working for the Super Randonneur Award, I was glad to successfully complete this 600K to show myself that I could do it.  I’ll be doing more long brevets over the next few years to get ready for my next big cycling challenge: Paris-Brest-Paris 2019!

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