Julian Death March ride report

"You probably shouldn't ride for the next several days." This was my doctor's advice on Friday, the day before the Julian Death March. Almost two weeks ago, I crashed at Bootleg Canyon, landing with a football-sized rock under my lower back. The soreness hadn't improved since, but riding hadn't made it worse, either. But during the last few days, I'd experienced some mild tingling and weakness in my legs and feet. Diagnosis: soft tissue bruising and swelling. Prescription: rest and steroidal anti-inflammitories (could I get some EPO w/ that?). Does that mean six hours in the saddle is a bad idea?

I shelved the pills until after the race. Saturday morning was clear and cool, and about a hundred riders gathered at Frank Lane Park in Julian. The start was extremely fast, running steadily downhill over several miles of pavement and a further eight or so miles of dirt road before turning onto a more rugged fireroad. A lead group pulled ahead, but I stayed in a loose pack of about six riders. The initial dirt road descent was classic loose-over-hard, so the turns were harrowing and no one wanted to ride too close to anyone else. Small gaps quickly closed once we turned uphill around mile 13.

The first climb, up Cedar Creek (fire) road, was steep and it was difficult to settle in after the fast-paced, downhill start. But the grade moderated, and I got my HR down to a high but sustainable zone. I passed a few riders along Boulder Creek Road (dirt), including a woman on an Air 9 with the beautiful Niner carbon fork, and a guy named Jens who I would see throughout the day. We rode together to the first rest stop, having done 21 miles with 2700 ft of climbing in about 1:30.

I stopped to fill my bottles and mix more Perpetum, while Jens rode on. I had opted for two bottles instead of a Camelbak, stuffing everything into my saddle pack, handlebar-mounted Feed Bag (highly recommended), and jersey pockets. This setup kept the weight off my back, but meant I needed to fill up water at every stop. Someone asked if I had a spare 29er tube, but I was only carrying one and felt I needed the insurance for the 3 canyons section. I felt bad as I rolled out, but there were a lot of riders yet to come through; hopefully he found someone with a spare.

The volunteers were helpful, and I was back on the road quickly, turning onto (paved) Engineers Rd and beginning the 1300 foot climb up to and over the shoulder of North Cuyamaca Peak and down to Hwy 79 and the lake. This section was a real drag during my preride, so I put on the tunes and tried to catch Jens. The RIP9 is a little too much bike for this course, but I had put a little extra air in the tires and locked out the suspension on the dirt and paved roads. It was climbing well, and I did eventually overtake Jens before the short downhill to Hwy 79.

Facing a stiff wind, I tried to stay low and keep pressure on the pedals as Hwy 79 curved around Lake Cuyamaca to the Stonewall Mine turnoff. I was glad to get back on dirt and familiar trails. Around Soapstone fire road, down Soapstone Grade, and up Upper Green Valley to the second rest stop at Fages Monument on Sunrise Hwy - 35 miles and 4800 ft of climbing. I think the race time was about 3:00 at this point.

Refusing offers of Kit-Kats and peanut butter cups, I filled bottles and let a little air out of my tires for a better ride through the canyons. A short singletrack section led to Mason Valley, a fast, rocky downhill, and Chariot Canyon, a fast downhill fire road with occasional cross-cutting ruts to keep you honest. Chariot was the only section I hadn't preriden. After descending about 1400 feet, I reached the turnoff to Rodriquez Canyon and an optional side loop.

The course had several distance options: loop 1 only - 50 miles with 7k ft of climbing; loop 1 with an optional side loop through Rodriquez and Oriflamme canyons - 64 miles with 9.2k ft climbing; and loop 1, the side loop, and loop 2 - 86 miles with 12.4k ft climbing. After preriding most of the course, I had decided on the 64 mile option, so I took a right turn and began climbing out of Chariot Canyon to the top of Rodriquez Canyon. Around this time I realized my rear tire was loosing air. I was running tubeless and carrying two CO2 cartridges and a tube. It looked like the Stan's sealant was working, so I used most of a cartridge to re-inflate and see if it would hold. Jens passed me at this point, asking if I needed help. I declined, put the remaining cartridge in my jersey pocket, and headed down.

Rodriquez Canyon descends about 900 feet in 3.5 miles and is mostly smooth, fast, and sandy. You can put it in the big ring, lightly touch the pedals, and skim over the sand - except when you slew sideways, which luckily only happens when you try to turn. There are a few rocky sections mixed in for variety. The RIP9 really shines on this kind of trail, and I caught and passed Jens again.

You have to pay for the fun, though. A right hand turn onto the Mason Valley Truck Trail begins a 3.7 mile, 1500 ft climb up Oriflamme Canyon on a loose, rocky fireroad. But before I could start the climb, I had to deal with my tire. It wasn't holding air, and I didn't have enough CO2 to mess round hoping the Stans would finally seal up. So I put in my only tube - grateful I hadn't given it away back at mile 21. I took time to check the tire for anything that would puncture the tube, and anxiously inflated it with most of my last cartridge. Everything seemed solid, so I started out again, having lost almost 10 min. I had been riding for about 4:20 at this point.

The climb up Oriflamme was tough, as expected. I was worried about my tire; with no more air or tubes,  I was out of luck if I had another problem. Also on my mind was the final climb up the old Banner Toll Road. But mostly I just tried to settle in, conserve when I could, and push when I needed to. The climb took about 40 min, then I was back at the top of Chariot Canyon again for a fast descent past the Rodriquez turnoff. This time I continued on down to Hwy 78 at Banner and rest stop three.

Jens was there, as was another rider who I think had crashed and looked shaken up. I loaded up on fluids and Jens followed me onto 78 for a paved mile before a turnoff onto Banner Toll Road. This was the old road up from the desert, but now is a singletrack trail. There are about 3.25 miles and 1100 ft of climbing to get back to Hwy 78 - a which point it's just another couple miles of pavement into town. I had come down this way during a preride with Scott, and I was expecting the climb to hurt. An early segment called Waynes Trail was the toughest, and included a few hike a bike sections. Again, I conserved where I could and powered on the sections that demanded it. As I passed some abandoned mining equipment, I knew I was getting close to the old Banner Toll Road, which had a more moderate grade. I wasn't flying, but kept a steady pace. Mostly it was just a matter of gutting it out. I hadn't seen Jens for a while, and later passed a couple of riders pushing their bikes. We were almost six hours in, and no one had much left. Eventually, though, I saw pine trees, and knew I had climbed out of the high desert.

At the end of the climb I came up to two riders walking their bikes. They remounted as we started the up last few miles of pavement into Julian. One of them pulled away. The wind was blowing hard, and I didn't have much to chase with. After a bit, my legs came back, so I got low and tried to go after him. He wasn't pushing too hard, and I made up ground through town, but he finished just ahead of me. Final stats: 64 miles, 9k feet of climbing, about 6 hrs 15 min.

I was happy with the ride: great conditions, success dealing with the flat, and a beautiful setting. I went pretty hard but didn't bonk, ate well, and my back held up fine. About 15 min after I finished, as I was enjoying a cold drink, the race leader came back from finishing loop 2, doing 86 miles in the time I took to do 64. Something to think about for next year...