The DD

So what is the DD you ask?? Well.................in the vernacular of great rides, hard rides, gran fondos, and pat yourself on the back the DD...............AKA the Diabolical Double................is a double metric century in Garrett County Maryland. The architect of this route is the legendary Kyle Yost................he of the many cycling ventures around the globe......................and a randonneur with few equals................at least in my circles where we don't get paid to ride.

The Queue before the start at 7am

The previous week I rode 148 at the B2B and I felt recovered for this event as I had not ridden much the last few days. After rolling out of DC with a bit of traffic I worked my way toward Appalachia and Garrett County. The three hour drive was not as bad as I had expected and it really only was about 15 min more because of the traffic but I was able to make it to the Wisp Ski Resort for check-in and pre-Fondo dinner.

Old pal Theresa was at the front desk volunteering so we chatted a bit. I then saw Legendary Amy (in town from Boulder)  in the packet pickup room as we had planned to ride part of the Fondo together the next day. During dinner we had the pleasure of listening to Saul Raisin as our guest speaker. He talked to us about his traumatic bike wreck during a professional race and the subsequent brain injury and recovery. I also learned that he would be a roommate for two nights in the guest house that I was in with the Gran Fondo Director Greg Safko.

Sam and Legendary Amy at Aid Station 1

Saul was great to have as a roommate and I could not help but compare his injury and recovery to that of friend Kevin (see post from last September) with whom I did the Nations Tri with as his Captain and guide. Both Kevin and Saul have suffered some short term memory loss and both cope with it in different ways. With Saul he knows he will forget so if he needs something or has to do something he will write it down on his phone or "ask for the $20" for a copy of his book right away so he won't forget to ask later. 

Me and Saul

Needless to say it was great to pick his brain about cycling, racing on the same team as Thor Hushovd and what it was like to race against others so well known in the sport around the globe. We also had several chats about doping in the sport and Saul will not mince words. He and his teammates were clean and there were a lot of guys he raced against that were not. He is unabashed that a lot of top riders were doping and if when I asked him if titles were stripped from riders in the grand tours how deep would they have to go to find a clean winner and his response "pretty deep".

Next day was an early wake-up for my standard pre-ride meal of oatmeal and almond butter with a banana. Gran Fondos are not races per se but they are timed and this one had timing maps on several of the tough climbs to award King of the Mountains (KOM) points.

Amy working it!

Okay....................so let's start talking about the route. There were no 20+ MPH pacelines with 110 in your legs at this ride like last week at the B2B. The climbs are steep and relentless and with temps in the 80s, humidity, and barely a cloud in the sky, the heat added another challenge. 

Needless to say I rode a good portion of the first 70 miles with Amy and around midday I was slowing a bit. I was just losing some pop and this often hits me in high heat conditions. So, I basically told Amy to keep moving and because she is an elite amateur road cyclist who dabbles in races against pros I know I was slowing her down. 

I kept the legs churning and was holding my own but definitely looking forward to the aid station in Westernport. I stopped on the way DOWN in to town on Westernport Road and stopped at the Wall to check out my brick from 2008. A brief reminder.....................the Wall is 31% gradient and to make it up without clicking out or using a triple ring is TOUGH!

My Brick in the Wall from 2008

 I caught up with Amy at the aid station and after waiting for about 15 min for a spare tube from a flat I had an hour earlier in a gravel road we were off and heading back-up! I was definitely slowing Amy down so I told her to take off and I rode on my own for the rest of the ride. 

The last 30 or so miles went better than expected. My legs were definitely tired but when the heat started to drop a bit and after some calories I started to feel better and this was just before the long schlep of about 6 miles up Kitzmiller road. While refueling another rider asked "who is that woman you were riding with?" So I went on to recount the Legend of Amy and her unwavering power and persistence on long rides, amateur racing career, and natural talent. This guy goes "She is really fast but you are not too bad either!! ;) 

Well...................I launched from the aid station, settled in, put the ego in check, and slalomed up parts of this to keep a rhythm. I passed a handful of riders and started to feel a lot better.

At Finish

I was able to link up with some riders for the last 15 miles or so and that made it a bit easier coming in to town. The last hill to the ski resort was no fun but I was able to keep a good pace and work it up the hill and passed another handful of riders but still slower than I thought I could go.

 

Amy and Theresa from the TriCATs era!

JOCMO: Riding with longtime cycling pals on amazing roads.................if you don't ride you won't understand.