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I reached Gavilan College shortly before 7 AM and went straight to registration. I got my wrist band, hit the restrooms, and headed back to the car to change. I wanted to start the ride at 7 AM with the ambitious plan of finishing in 7.5 hours, and be back home by ~3:30 PM. It was a cold morning so I had to adorn the whole shebang - arm/leg warmers, head band, two layered jerseys, windcheater, and toe covers. Armed with a CLIF bar, a bunch of GUs and Sportlegs, I started at 7:30 AM.
I started off easy warming up for the first 5 miles or so. After that I tried to remain in my low steady zone (~150-160W), going to tempo (170-180W) on the first hill. The first hill is quite short, roughly 1000 ft of climb. I was passing people left and right, but that didn't mean anything since most riders at Tierra Bella are recreational cyclists. I also passed a woman and a man who were riding tri bikes as well. As if to justify me passing them, the lady said to the man, "Are you still warming up? Yeah, me too." And a few seconds later, "On the ride last weekend, I wanted a bigger chain ring so bad. Bigger gear pleaseee." If she already needed a bigger gear, she will be going backward on Henry Coe. Anyhow, the first rest stop came to me after the first climb. After a quick restroom break, a PBJ sandwich, trail mix, and banana bread I got back on. After some rolling hills, some flats, and battling some head winds, I would reach the next rest stop 25 miles later, at the bottom of the Henry Coe climb. That is if I stayed on the correct path. I took a wrong turn and ended up half way up the first climb again. People who started late were still heading up so I didn't realize soon enough. The landscape and the scenery seemed familiar to me, so I asked a lady if she had already passed the first rest stop. She said she was eagerly looking forward to her first rest stop at the top of the hill. I was like F$@^, I just put in over 2 extra non-flat miles.
Henry Coe felt much longer than it felt 2 years ago. Last time I thought it go over relatively quickly as I was prepared for the worst. That was my frame of reference this time around, which made the climb feel ENORMOUS, but rightly so. I was making sure I was fueling constantly and hydrating. Rest stop at the top was a good respite. Again a restroom break, quick refueling with the delicious race food and on the saddle. The next 25 miles were some downhill and a lot of riding against the wind. Damn wind. It is very typical in that region for winds to blow in excess of 15 mph. I paired up with someone my speed and took turns slipstreaming for a few miles. I made the fourth and the last rest stop at the 6 hr mark. There were still hopes to finish in 7.5 hours. Decision to use the port-a-potty at the rest stop was wise, even though it cost me 10 mins. I filled up the bottle and Camelbak and the jersey pocket with trailmix, and got back on the saddle. Legs were feeling pretty tired by now. Power was down to 130-140W, but with some tailwind I was moving at a decent speed. But not for too long - we hit a hill at mile 91. Are you serious??? After the hill I think I took a wrong turn again and ended up spending ~10 mins finding my way on Google Maps. I had entered a Downtown-like area, so took quite a few traffic light to get out. With ~10 miles to go, I was suddenly feeling energized. Gentle tailwind was definitely helping, even mentally. After a final hilly bump at mile I made it back to Gavilan College after 7 hrs 55 mins.
I headed straight for the food and hogged down 2 full plates of pasta, veggies and garlic bread. Stretched a bit, took a leak, hopped back in the car and headed home. I really wanted to do a transition run, but I had already exceeded my time quota for the day. My goal going in to this ride was to benchmark myself for Full Vineman, so in spite of a very fun and satisfying experience, but I was still a bit disappointed by my time. Great day overall at an amazingly organized cycling tour.
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