Frazier Park California
It is 4.30am I hear the sound of Susan’s’ car roll into the drive way, we load my bike and set off for the 90 minute car drive to Frazier Park. There is little traffic at that time in the morning and we soon arrive at our destination….only one thing was wrong; we were the only ones in the car park! It did not take long to realize we were 2hrs and 30 mins early! By the time the other cyclists rolled into the starting area I was already tired! My light breakfast a thing of memory, I grabbed a bagel to starve off hunger pangs!
I had signed up for this century to keep my girlfriend Susan company, last year I remember it being very cold and windy with snow still on the hill sides. This year was complete opposite; a warm day ahead of us with very little wind would make for a great day of cycling! We might have been the first there but as is always the case we were nearly the last to leave the start line! The route map was small so easy to follow not that we needed the map as there was plenty of cyclists on the route. The game plan was simple, to have fun and enjoy the ride as Heartbreak is the final century in the King of the Mountain Challenge and as I had not done the first two challenges there was no need to exhaust myself!
As soon as we turned onto Hwy 38 we began climbing, nice! For 20 miles it was a nice steady climb, I sipped on my Perpetuem and kept up with hydration, there was a few tricky descents and the road thinned in some parts were you did not want to over take the cyclist in front as you would get hit by a passing car!
At Apache Saddle I waited for Susan refilling my water bottles, there was a lot of cyclists relaxing but I knew that the next 33miles were downhill or rolling, so as soon as Susan was ready to roll we set off for what I can only describe as breathe taking scenery as we cycled through high desserts, alpine forests and gentle sloping mountain roads! I went ahead to take photos, and soak up the scenery, it was comparable to cycling through the Grand Canyon! This section was almost void of traffic and was eerily quiet yet this was California! 21miles on this beautiful section was replaced by Hwy 33, a sharp turn to the left and 8 miles to the next rest stop. I arrived at the rest stop and felt great, there was a good selection of my favorite Hammer Fuels and chatted with some of the veteran 200 miler cyclists, Less than 47 miles to go nearly finished! A great day and a climb ahead I pulled Susan along the next stretch telling her to pretend we were prison guards and chase down the escaped prisoners! It just was a great day to be cycling the climb for which the 100 miler is named was approaching I was so busy chatting with another cyclist I hardly noticed the grade or climb and soon was at Heartbreak summit, which really is a false summit as still a little bit of climbing left!
At mile 76 I took more endurolytes and while waiting for my friend I started spraying down my shoulders and legs with Kool n Fit, it felt great and the plus side smelt good too! Chatting with other cyclists there was a lot of commotion happening as a helicopter and ambulances went by, when we finally left the rest stop we had not gone a mile when the police had the road closed off, a helicopter landed and I think a cyclist was airlifted, by the time they allowed the road to reopen we were a big group of cyclists and it was a rolling downhill with a few sharp turns. I do not particularly like riding in a pack and soon worked my way to the front were I could navigate better and not be wiped out by another cyclist! This section was 17 miles long and felt like 40!! I cycled hard to get past these last few miles on this quiet stretch of road, fire trucks and ambulances past us and I thought it really is up to the individual cyclist to keep to the right of the road, not to cycle 3 abreast and consider the consequence of riding as if you owned the road!
The final 7 miles were all downhill and I had Susan and another cyclist on my wheel, we flew down Frazier park road only slowing down once for an intersection! My Polar cycling monitor showing 35miles an hour! Which is fast for me (my step son does that on the flats!) Gratefully I rolled into the Best Rest Inn on Peace Valley road, the journey was complete I had no flat tires, felt great and Susan had had a good time! We signed in and I took a bottle of Recoverite! In two days I would be standing on the line for the LA Marathon so good recovery was important. It was time to take off the cycling shoes and share the stories with other cyclists!
My thanks to my friend Susan for getting me to the start on time! Hammer Nutrition for keeping my body in working order!, Polar USA for their great cycling CS600 Monitor, Profile – Design for a great handle bar that I love, Serfas for their bullet proof tires, Kool N Fit for the refreshing and conditioning spray, Fuel Belt, Brooks USA, Rudy Project for Helmet and Glasses, my husband AL for letting me participate; but most importantly to AVON of Puerto Rico as this ride I raised $700 for the fight against Breast Cancer.
