A
cold morning would later turn into a bright and sunny day (and then back
to a somewhat cold night) on the January 2005 edition of the Winter
Solstice Double Century. This very nice ride has historically
been an "invitation only" event, but look for it to show up on
the California Triple Crown
calendar next time around. The scenic and challenging course (click
here for a route sheet in Word format) leads from San Jose,
California, through Gilroy on the way to the Pinnacles National Monument
and then back. Parts of the course are included in the SoCal
Epic, an unsupported "fast tour" from Davis to Southern
California--click here to see
photos from last year's "Epic" adventure.
For 2005, Campy Only's Eric Norris was joined by Michael "Mojo" Cosgrove for a fixed-gear ride. Yes, that's 200 miles (actually more; we got lost at the end) in one gear with no coasting. Not that bad, really, but definitely a bit harder than on a "regular" bike. (BTW, Campy Only's fixed gear Soma is geared with a 50/20 combination, for about 68 gear inches.) To see a record of our exploits on another fixed-gear DC, click here. And now, the photos ...
A few notes about the finish ... Mojo and I (unwisely) decided to diverge from the route sheet with about ten miles to go, and promptly got lost in Silicon Valley. While we were lost, Mojo's bike suffered a double flat (both front and rear wheels) crossing a set of railroad tracks--he tried to ride on the flats, gave that up, and ended up waiting about 5 miles from the finish while we fetched a sag wagon (Thanks, Graham, for driving!) Total time for Campy Only's fixed WSDC was 16.5 hours--not bad, figuring that it included several ad hoc rest stops (like a stop for Starbucks with about 20 miles to go). More Ride Photos | Previous WSDC | The One Before That | Campy Only Home
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