I've been wanting to do a "Super 6" since RUSA introduced them last year. For those who don't know, a Super 600K is a 600K permanent with 30,000 feet of climbing that must be completed in 50 hours. There are several in the U.S. but I had my eye on the Lynn Kristiansen Inspirational that starts and finishes in Front Royal, VA and is mostly on Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'd been on both several times in years past and they are just beautiful, quiet roads with little traffic and spectacular vistas.
I had talked to several friends about perhaps doing a Super 6 together but due to the short notice I'd end up doing this one solo. I do 100% of my riding at home solo and have done long brevets including 600K's and whole days of 1200K's solo so I'm pretty comfortable riding by myself. Having said that, this effort was daunting enough that having company would really have been welcome but it was not to be.
I contacted the ride organizer, Gary Dean, who was really super supportive considering my short notice plans. Several emails and an express delivery later I had everything I needed and settled on a ride start date of October 20th at 4 AM. My wife Marcia and I made the long drive to Front Royal in two days of driving. Since no support is allowed on a Super 6 I needed to arrange for a bag drop at the overnight hotel in Raphine, VA so we drove straight there. This gave us a chance to drive the part of the route that would start off the second day - ouch! The climb from Raphine back up to the Parkway was really steep with a number of switchbacks and gradients in the 15%-20% range. I also realized I'd be doing this descent late at night, likely at 1-2 AM and it was pretty daunting.
We drove on to Front Royal and got everything ready to go. One last bit of drama: I normally wear Assos bibs on long brevets. A while back, I decided to give the shorts a try and ordered a couple of pairs. I didn't realize it but I ordered the wrong size. Didn't bother to check when they arrived, pulled the tags off and laundered them then put them aside for several months (well past any return date) before finally pulling a pair out for a ride. Way too big, not a chance, no way they were going to work so I put them aside. Long story short, they got mixed up with my bibs and when packing for the trip I managed to grab both pairs and stuffed them in my bag. Fortunately, on a whim I threw in a third pair of bibs and these are the ones I wore on the first day.
The night before the start I didn't sleep at all. OK, maybe I dozed for 10-15 minutes but I spent most of the night eyes wide open staring at the ceiling. Sadly, it isn't unusual for me to not be able to sleep before a brevet. I usually managed to "power" my way through the first day on adrenaline then get a good nights sleep after that. To cut to the chase: this just isn't possible on a Super 6. It's just too damned hard and you need to be in great shape and firing on all cylinders to get it done. I briefly considered delaying my start 24 hours but decided to go ahead.
The morning of the 20th dawned cold (38 degrees) with a forecast high in the mid-70's and light winds. You couldn't ask for better weather. Given that I wasn't sleeping anyway, I got up at 2 AM, dressed and had something to eat and my official start time was 03:45. Here was the tool I was using for the job:
The first 12 miles or so of the route are mostly uphill so I was dressed fairly lightly given the cool temperatures but it was spot on and I was very comfortable. I saw a lot of critters while climbing in the dark including a fox, two bobcats, a couple of skunks, several raccoon and numerous deer. I rode for a couple of hours in the dark then was treated to an absolutely glorious sunrise. The sight of the morning sun on the canopy of red and gold leaves on the mountainsides is one I'll never forget. I didn't bother to stop and take a picture as there was no way my point and shoot was going to do it justice. It may sound trite to say it but the image is etched in my mind permanently.
Not a lot to say for the next several hours. I was riding strongly and making good time, well ahead of my planned pace at each of the controls. I was mostly riding along enjoying the spectacular vistas and grinding up the long climbs. One thing of note was that given the time of day and topography it seemed like I was climbing in the sun and descending in the shade. This pretty much meant I was boiling while I was climbing and freezing going downhill. This took a toll.
I did take one "non-control" picture while I was stopped to eat an energy bar:
I reached the control at Humpback Rocks (photo above) at about 111 miles with a little over 10,500 feet of climbing and about 1.25 hours ahead of schedule. The problem was, the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with me. I didn't feel drowsy, I just felt tired. No energy at all. My legs were still turning well enough but mentally I was starting to feel really fatigued and every time I came to a climb I had a feeling of dread. Not good.
A word about the route. Here's a shot of the southern part:
See that jog to the left (west) that shows as mile 225? That's the overnight control at Raphine and my destination for day one. As you can see, you ride past the turn for that control on the way out, continuing straight on the Parkway until approximately mile 151 where you make a very long, very steep descent into the next control in Buena Vista. In the roughly 17 miles of the Parkway between what would be my turn down to Raphine and the exit for Buena Vista I found myself on every descent (and there were several quite long and steep ones) thinking "I'm going to have to climb that on the way back - 70 miles from now" - not good. I was feeling more tired by the minute.
When I made the turn down to Buena Vista and did that descent my average speed was well above 40 MPH. I don't know the gradient but I'd estimate it was a consistent 8% all the way down. I knew full well I was going to have to regain that altitude and then some before the very steep and very technical descent into Raphine. That's when I decided I'd had enough. On the last climb before descending into Buena Vista even though I was still climbing well I just felt drained.
I got to the control at Buena Vista 1:45 ahead of schedule but I was done. I texted Gary that I was abandoning and called Marcia at Front Royal to come and get me. I got something to eat while I waited for her and if I'd started to feel better I'd have called and sent her back but if anything I felt worse as I started to get sleepy in addition to just feeling like I didn't have the strength to lift up a french fry. Marcia arrived a few hours after I called her and we drove to Raphine where we spent the night.
My overall stats for the day were 155.89 miles in 12:11 for a moving average speed of 12.8 MPH with a corrected altitude gain of 16,361 feet of climbing.
Given my analytic nature, I spend a lot of time post-processing my rides to try and learn what I can. I've concluded several things:
- I wasn't so much physically done as mentally done. I realized driving home that I actually felt better after I decided to quit.
- The lack of sleep sapped my mental/emotional energy past the breaking point. Although I can go all day the first day of a 1200K on little to no sleep, this was just too damned long and hard to "power through".
- Other than feeling completely drained of energy, all other "systems" were go. Legs were fine, no real physical issues at all.
- I think having a simpatico riding companion would have made a huge difference. A solo Super 6 is pretty tough, it's just hard to be out there by yourself working that hard. I hope to be able to hook up with someone for a future attempt.
- One thing I thought about was whether or not listening to music would have helped. I've got a bunch of music on my phone and was wearing a hydration pack with a pocket near my head so I could have put the phone in there and jammed some tunes without having to wear earbuds (which I won't do while riding). It might have made a difference and given me something to focus on instead of how I was feeling and how much climbing remained to be done. Wish I'd have tried it and I will in the future.
- I need to do something about not being able to sleep before brevets. Since this has been an ongoing problem, I've already tried a number of things with little to no success. I might try getting some sleeping pills prescribed and try using them before brevets next year. I'm a little concerned about after effects such as grogginess upon waking but need to find something that works.
To end on a more positive note, the ride was absolutely beautiful. The weather was picture perfect and the vistas so stunning as to take your breath away. I am definitely planning to do this one (notice I didn't say "try") again in the future.
