John, Dave, and I met early (5:00am) at John's house to pack everything into the minivan and get out to Ocotillo by 6:45am. Mission accomplished. The drive out was uneventful, just long. We got to Ocotillo around sunrise, but it was too overcast to see the sun. Got all the registration process and preparation taken care of, and we hit the road around 7:20am. Had some early trouble with my cyclometer but got it fixed and caught up with the others. The first 10 miles out are mostly uphill, with lots of gradual 2% climbing. At Sweeney Pass, we headed downhill for ~4 miles, some a little steep, then started climbing again. Stopped at the 25-mile rest stop and got everybody caught up and energized. Continued the climb, which included a steep section at Campbell Grade around mile 32. Another set of climbs, none as bad at this last one, until we got to mile 38, then it was downhill gradually to mile 44, where we passed through Scissors Crossing, then headed up San Felipe Rd, another gradual climb to the turnaround point at mile 50. Gathered up again at this rest stop and re-energized, then started heading back. More downhill on the return, although the uphill sections from mile 55 to 61 were most challenging, mostly due to tiredness. Nice long downhill back. At Campbell Grade, John and I were out in front and went downhill with no problems. We got to the bottom and didn't see Dave. Waited awhile for him, but he didn't show, so we started back to see what was going on. He showed up and told us that he had taken too much speed into one of the Campbell Grade turns and crossed the road into the berm on the other side, hitting rocks and other things. He thought he was going to go over the guardrail, and indeed his leg scraped it, but he was able to recover. His handlebars needed to be adjusted, and he banged his front wheel up pretty good, but we were able to get repairs made so that he could continue. We headed back to the rest stop at mile 75 and did a final refueling before the last nasty part of the ride. Starting at mile 84 or so, the road starts climbing, and it gets progressively steeper until we got through Sweeney Pass. This part of the ride reminded me of the Old Castle Rd climb, in that you have a gradual uphill, a steep middle section, then lots of false summits with gradual climbing until you finally reach the top and start heading downhill. I was pretty tired by this time, and the others still had the strength to keep the pace going fast on the gradual downhills and flats. I kept up, but barely. We caught onto a rough pace line near the finish and ended the ride with them. Finished in 5:37 of riding time, which was a good result for me. I had some cramping in my legs on the Sweeney Pass climb, but the rest stop helped, as did the downhill section to finish. At the end, I felt tired and sore (especially my butt) but overall pretty good, considering the length of the ride. We grabbed lunch and packed everything in the car to get back in time for me to help with the Bethlehem Walk Thank-you Dinner, which was that evening. All in all, a great day.
Average speed = 17.8 mph. Total mileage = 100.0 mi
Average heartrate = 155 bpm (riding only)
Total elevation gain = 4045'
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/ocotillo/110126374334752981
