(Long Distance) Ramblings

Davis 12-24 Hour Challenge

I often get asked What's your next big ride?"

Seems that my friends expect me to continue to do "big rides". Well, they know me well. My next big ride is the Davis 24 Hour Challenge, a 24 hour time trial. This will be my second 24 time trial. But this one is different.

First of all, it happens much earlier in the year. I rode the Ring of Fire in September last year, near the end to of the cycling season. Davis is in April, near the beginning of the season.

Secondly, the Davis Challenge does not have half the elevation gain that Ring of Fire has. Elevation gain on the Davis 162.5 mile day loop is about 7000 feet. And the night loop has only 50 feet of gain. In contrast, the Ring of Fire 156 mile day loop has nearly 14,000 feet of gain and the night loop has over 1,800 feet of gain. In the 307 miles I rode at Ring of Fire, I had over 20,000 feet of elevation gain. I expect to have less than 10,000 feet of gain at Davis.

Lastly, the number of entrants at Davis greatly exceed Ring of Fire. At Ring of Fire, I rode most of the time alone. I did see others, as they passed me or during the out and back on Bakeoven Road, but during the night loop, I was alone. I expect this not to be the case at Davis. I expect I will feel move involved in racing others, not just myself. None the less, a time trial is a "test of truth".

Goals:

1) To ride 24 hours
2) No more then 45 minutes off of the bike
3) 385 miles

I did 307 miles at Ring of Fire, but with over twice the elevation gain.

Davis 12-24 Hour Challenge night loop map

Davis 12-24 Houre Challenge night loop elevation graph

Posted 5:51 AM by John Henry