Why? Why do the Terrible Two for a second time, 200 miles, brutal heat, 16000 feet of climbing followed by dangerous and technical descents. Why? We asked ourselves that question numerous times before, during and after the ride. We asked that question of other riders. Richard Moon, "so I can eat at Carl’s Jr. after the ride." Masoud Esnaashari, "because the ride calls and it would be lonely if I did not answer."

Training, preparation, anticipation, these are the must do’s before a challenging ride like the Terrible Two. Putting in the saddle time is the first and most important step in doing this ride. Lynn and I had logged 4000+ miles this year including the Sierra Century and Slug Gulch, the Davis Double and Resurrection, a tough ride from Fair Oaks to Woodfords (near Markleeville) climbing Mormon Emigrant and Carson Pass to Woodfords and back.

Preparation. We spent the week prior to the Terrible Two eating pasta dish after pasta dish after pasta dish. Forcing down gallon after gallon of water. Our normal routine of waking at 5:30 AM for a 20-mile training ride was abandoned for an extra hour or so of sleep.

Anticipation. This is the most difficult element of all to control. Here is where the captain and stoker must come to grips without the aid of the other with their thoughts and experiences. The one common concern was the weather. A heat wave had punished Northern California the week leading up to the Terrible Two. Starting with 107 degrees on Wednesday, 106 degrees on Thursday and finally 100+ degrees on Friday. The weather forecast web-site was bookmarked and accessed at the beginning of each morning and the end of each night. An agreement was made, if we reach the lunch stop at Lake Solano and the temperature is above 100 degrees we would consider abandoning the ride. Now all other elements of the ride are overshadowed by the weather. Have we trained enough? Have we eaten correctly? Are we hydrated? These are minor considerations now that the threat of 100+ degree weather is possible.

Willowside Elementary, a small school on the edge of Santa Rosa, is the staging area for the ride. A small parking lot accommodates the equally small group of riders (this year’s field is approximately 175 riders) and friends gathering for the huge challenge before them. Riders are milling about preparing themselves and bikes, picking up their numbers from the sidewalk where they are laid out for all to view. We make note of riders that will join us today. Jim Kozera, Ed Keller, Mike Rose, Karen Bonnet, Richard Moon, Roy Wilcox, Marilyn Laswell and Mike Shoemake, Tom Long, Houshang Mehranpour, Masoud Esnaashari and on and on. Names we know and names we will come to know.

Last minute instructions and admonitions regarding dangerous road conditions ahead of us precede the Start. Approximately half the field has never done this ride before. A SAG vehicle pulls out in front of the cyclists at the mass start time of 5:30 AM. The last time we did this ride (1998) we started at the back of the pack and lost the benefit of the SAG car tripping the lights as we went through Santa Rosa. Consequently we spent a lot of time waiting at stoplights. So we agreed to work hard to stay with the front pack and the SAG vehicle. This strategy worked; we were out of town without waiting at any stops.

Bennett Valley Road is the site of what would prove to be one of many crashes. In fact this would be the most destructive crash in a day of crashes. One of the riders in the lead pack was jockeying for position and crossed the yellow line around a turn just as a car was coming from the other direction. The result was predictable and violent. We arrived at the point of impact moments after the crash, 6-7 bikes were strewn about, the rider who hit the car laid in the middle of the road, blood oozing across the road. Another rider was sitting on the side with jersey torn and what appeared to be a bone sticking out from the collar/shoulder area. Riders in different degrees of pain and confusion walked, sat or lay along the road. Cars were stopped; cell phones were being used to call for help. We slowed and navigated our way past the carnage. Rather then stop and contribute to the confusion we pushed on wary and much more cautious of the day that lay ahead.

A bank of coastal fog provided cover from the sun as we climbed up and over Trinity Grade and down Oakville Grade into the Napa Valley. Normally the Silverado Trail is a stretch of road that allows riders to open it up and ride a pace line in relative ease along the Napa Valley to the first rest stop in Calistoga. Unfortunately the bike lane had been lined with orange cones for some other event. The cones became an obstacle course for riders to navigate. It contributed to the second major crash that we witnessed moments after it occurred. This time approximately 6-7 riders were down, apparently this group while working in a pace line ran afoul of a cone. A female rider lay on the road, another rider was being helped back up from a ditch on the side of the road and several more laid about on the edge of the bike lane. The sight of this again had its effect on our pace and approach to the ride. Caution was our focus.

The Geysers, a nine-mile twin summit climb, is where the sun finally broke through the fog to greet us. After a morning of cold fog we were happy to be warmed by the sun. Soon however we were ascending the second summit of the Geysers climb and the warmth turned into a heat that was to become unrelenting for the next few hours of our day.

Lake Solano at mile 109 is the designated lunch stop. The sparseness of the lunch menu (no salt items, i.e. potato chips, fritos, V8 juice) and the full noontime sun made this an unappetizing refueling stop. After putting down a plain sandwich and refilling our camelbacks with cold refreshing water we were on our way. A heat baked climb from the lunch stop leads to Skaggs Springs Road, 15 miles of relentless climbing up and down, false summit after false summit, sun baked mile after sun baked mile. A water stop at about mid-way is an oasis of relief with cold water and pretzels.

The WALL, a 1.7 mile 900 foot climb is one of two climbs that separate us from the ocean and relief from the heat. At mile 146 Stewarts Point and a fog-shrouded ocean are a welcome sight. Now we ride along the ocean for about 14 miles to Fort Ross. At the rest stop at the base of Fort Ross Road we are overjoyed with having reached the end of the Highway 1 portion of the ride. Now joy is replaced by concern about the formidable climb yet to come. Fort Ross Rd at mile 161 consists of 2.6 miles of 11% grades and two summits. It is here that I am first aware of how much the day has taken out of me, sweat pours off of every part of my body, pedal stroke after pedal stroke we move up the hill. Finally at the top we scream with joy, we are there, the end of the climbing, the end of the heat. The last miles to the finish are within reach. But nothing is ever as easy as it should be! The descent to Cazadero is laced with steep switchbacks, potholes, buckled asphalt, fallen rocks and narrow road. During this descent a Highway Patrol vehicle races past us, a rider has hit a section of buckled road hidden in the shadows and gone off the road. At this point in the ride the braking and navigating through the obstacles have taken a toll on us. We stop at the side of the road to let our rims cool and allow our bodies to stop shaking from exhaustion.

Monte Rio, the last rest stop is a welcome sight. Seventeen miles remain, seventeen miles to the end. The road now has become an ally. A difficult day of climbing has now become a gentle descent toward Willowside School and the end of the day. The feeling of joy and relief as we turn onto Willowside Road is almost overwhelming. The riders behind us join us in shouts of joy. We have done it, completed the Terrible Two for the second time! As we turn into the school the single bikes that have been on our wheel the last 17 miles are held back by Houshang’s request that the tandem be allowed to finish first. What a great feeling—first tandem in at 8:28 PM.

Why did we ride again? The exhilaration of completing one of the toughest rides in California. The fulfillment derived from finding one’s training and preparation to be up to the ultimate endurance challenge. Finally, for two pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy followed by a banana split at Leatherby’s!