RR: Mulholland Double (Long winded roadie content)

[MTBMaven]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

I have no doubt people will start leaving her rides and joining other rides that will soon becoming up. In fact a few of us are trying to get it together where we will offer some doubles. Problem with that is, then some of us wouldn't be able to ride as it takes a lot of work to put one of these together. Still going to find out about it. None of the other double people can stand her.

I notice that PU does volunteer rides the following day allowing the volunteers the opportunity to ride the event as well.

I look forward to seeing what you guys put together. Let me know if I can help out in any way. Planning or volunteering. It would be cool to be part of a new thing getting started.

[dirtmistress]

Yeah, I think a little more empathy is in order on her part!

["WU"]

I think the main problem with PU is that it is run by a husband and wife for profit. They are not a bike club, so they don't have the resources of a bike club as far as sponsors or volunteers.... so everything is spread too thin.

I've been doing doubles for a long time and am pretty self-sufficient... I think for me to get into this kind of difficulty and having 52 out of 140 registered riders DNF says a lot about how thin things are. Especially considering the ride. I would think the majority of the riders are pretty experienced, fast, etc.... When Tony and I were at Check-in on Friday... he says to me.... man there are so many fast guys here. My response... do you think a ride like this brings out the slow guys.

Believe it or not, PU has come a long way. I was on their first organized ride. It was Tour of Two Forests (2001?). They were so disorganized and it was a similar day of 100+ heat. Luckily for a lot of the riders, my cousin Tony was there to SAG me (before all their rules) through the major climbs. I was on a tandem with my neighbor and the first part of the course was easy.... we miscalculated.... and did the first 100 miles in less than 5 hours and hit the climbs earlier than anticipated and before the heat. We never saw Tony. Tony wound up spending the day driving up and down the climbs getting water for everyone. He said he felt like a medic in a war zone. PU SAG wasn't in sight, partly because the ride organizers were on the first half of the ride! My neighbor's wife was volunteering and was stationed at the rest stop in Ojai. Well, they forgot about her, so she was left alone in a park in a strange city until nearly 10pm at night.

[WCD]

Originally Posted by Bergsteiger

, I would have told her to take her 80 dollar Subway and chips and shove it up her &$$.
their website how offensive and harsh the instructions are? I think a wake up call for this organization is in order. Such as people not showing for their events.

Dude,
I don't want to eat the food the had your dirty hands in it, they had scoops to use. She was standing up for the riders that don't see you sticking you grubby hands in their food.

Your response is offensive and harsh, maybe you should look in the mirror before you judge other people. I volunteer for many PU events and it is no picnic dealing with all the people that come out of the wood works for these events thinking "i can do it" and not training sufficient for it.

A wake up call is that PU events continue to grow because they are so hard and people like to push themselves beyond. I had a tough day out in that heat as we all did but you don't see me here complaining about the organizers.

[JustRiding]

I did the century ride Saturday and found the support very good. The stops were well stocked and the choices were adequate. The food was typical ride fare: PB&J, bars, salty pretzels, even the muffins are seen at the majority of rides I've done. I found plenty to eat and had plenty to drink as there was plenty of water and additives as well as gels for all. Heck, you didn't even have to fill your own bottles if you didn't want to, as the volunteers were filling bottles with water and ice.

I would have liked to see an additional water stop at the bottom of, or part way up Stunt Road this year as it probably was needed due to the weather. But that would be my ONLY complaint about the ride.

All the volunteers at the stops were very nice and in some cases beyond helpful.

I have to agree with WCD that I don't want to eat food after people have stuck their grubby, disgusting paws in it. The scoops are there for a reason.

For some reason, when cyclists do an organized ride, they lose all decorum, doing things I would hope they would never dream of doing if not on the bike. For example, how many of you would be out with your families in your car and just stop on the side of the road in a neighborhood, in plain view of houses with kids/families and just whip it out to take a leak? Or would you just reach in and grab food with your hands at a buffet or All-You-Can-Eat type eatery? NO! You'd use the utensil provided.

As for the rules, I understand you have to have them. I also understand that the few will ruin it for the masses. (I already mentioned the public urination issue in the previous paragraph. I understand this came from store and home owners becoming very upset at the last PU ride. Sure PU shouldn't have to post rules like that, but I fully understand why they did it. Because of a few low-lifes that forget how to use a bathroom or at least be discreet by going behind a tree or bush in the more rural areas.) When you have timed rides, you also have those that are so competitive, they may want to cheat if they are familiar with the area, so I understand having to get all the stickers. The same thing with running red lights and stop signs. I'll be the first to admit that when I'm out riding on my own, if it is an area I'm familiar with and there is little to no traffic, I'll slow down but go through the stop signs/lights if it is safe to do so. Is that wrong? Yes. But again, it was an issue at a previous ride, and apparently a serious safety issue, not just folks going through ones that were safe to do so, but running them in front of cars. However I read the rules and knew that this was an issue for this ride so I made sure to stop at each and every stop sign, including the ones out in BFE with no riders or cars in sight, and each and every red light (there weren't that many) as it just wasn't worth getting DQ'd over.

Originally Posted by "WU"

Bars and pretzels don’t seem too appealing when you’re dehydrated and it’s 100 degrees out.



Soda! I ask… nope. They had water, ice, and stuff I couldn’t eat. Pretzels, bars, PB&J’s, muffins, etc. I probably spend 20 minutes there to eat a quarter muffin and a quarter bottle of water.

got me some noodles and a Mountain Dew.

I'm curious, as you've complained about any and all food offered to you. What would you have liked to have been offered?

[mp3]

Originally Posted by MTBMaven

I love it. I have a few ideas I posted here: New Endurance Event Ideas

24 hour road ride, 24 hour MTB style, for instance. I've got a 100 mile MTB route through the Angeles as well. Solo or team relay could work.

How does one pull something like this off?

Although a mtb ride would be my first choice, I think a road ride would be easier to start out with because I don't think permits will be an issue. Support would also be much easier, no inaccessible areas.

I'd be up for volunteering for a ride.

Mike where we you thinking? Glendora Mountain Road, East fork and a little of the 39 climb?

["WU"]

Originally Posted by JustRiding

I'm curious, as you've complained about any and all food offered to you. What would you have liked to have been offered?

Reading what I wrote, I guess it can come across like complaining. I was just trying to express what I was going through, that I was getting sick from heat exhaustion, and I couldn't stomach anything. My only real complaint would to have some extra water stops in between the rest stops in the more remote areas.

[Abui]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

I've been riding Debbies events, (Planet Ultra) for a while now. This lady ( and I use the term loosely) treats her customers like we were a problem. I've never seen anything like it. She literally yells at customers and calls them names. She has some of the best rides, so I do them, but I'm not a fan of hers by any means. I approached her and she layed into me about how stupid people are and if they can't follow the rules she didn't need them on her rides. I walked away. I also volunteered once for one of her rides and her instructions to us had me floored....She told us to watch to make sure people didn't take more then their share of Hammergel, endurolytes and anything else. Tell people they couldn't have a cup. I had to go and buy more water as we ran out. And we were also instructed not to give anyone anything if they came in to early. Unbelieveable, but true.



I had been training for this ride and thought I was all set to go, but when I looked on the registered riders list my name wasn't there. I registered thru Active.com. I had a receipt and sent a copy to Debbie telling her what Active told me. The credit card they had on file for me had expired, but the number was still good as they just renewed the expiration date. Active told me they sent me an email, but I never got it.

Debbies response...Not my problem. Registration is closed!

I've never seen somebody lacking so much in customer relations. I have no doubt people will start leaving her rides and joining other rides that will soon becoming up. In fact a few of us are trying to get it together where we will offer some doubles. Problem with that is, then some of us wouldn't be able to ride as it takes a lot of work to put one of these together. Still going to find out about it. None of the other double people can stand her.

On the other hand you could probably find a reason for every rule. If you give riders cups the litterbugs will just toss them somewhere down the road - bad for community relations.

The organizers of the Solvang double had their strict rules too. A friend was half-way through when his GF decided to drive out and take pictures. When she asked for help with the route slip the director said that was SAG (forbidden) took his number and said you're DQ'd. Period.

[WCD]

Originally Posted by Bergsteiger

Did you ever notice on their website how offensive and harsh the instructions are?

Fyi, the offensive and harsh instrustions were mostly written by Chris Kostman. He used to run Planet Ultra. Notice the same use of words on adventurecorps website.

[dirtmistress]

Originally Posted by "WU"

Reading what I wrote, I guess it can come across like complaining. I was just trying to express what I was going through, that I was getting sick from heat exhaustion, and I couldn't stomach anything. My only real complaint would to have some extra water stops in between the rest stops in the more remote areas.

Not everyone thought your RR was just a complaint rant.
I felt your pain as I read it and although I didn't agree with a couple observations, I understand why you had them. I thought it was pretty good in letting people know what you and others went through and only confirms that I'm sure glad I wasn't there. (i was sick)
I also think you're entitled to your opinion.
It's clear that the rest stops open at 8 (or whatever it is) and the riders need to be prepared for whatever the weather does. She only need to make sure the stops are well stocked. If they aren't and they ran out of water or food then she has failed the people that were counting on her as a promoter. That's unacceptable and she should know that.
I also feel a bit more empathy/sympathy is in order here. You can be in terrific shape and ready to conquer the world but for whatever reason, you have a melt down and being slightly dehydrated with glycogen stores almost depleted, even though you ate and drank enough..or you thought you had, you stick your filthy microbe laden hand into the Dorito bowl only to have some fire breathing,red eyes glowing demon screech at you in front of others that didn't suffer nearly as much as you did and that energy surge of "what I will do to her" fantasy is enough to get you up Latigo!!
It was tough on everyone!! Breathless Agony anyone??

[WCD]

Originally Posted by Bergsteiger

Breathless Agony anyone??

In!

[Abui]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

It was tough on everyone!! Breathless Agony anyone??

I expect the doc will let me start riding on the 21st. Whoopeee - I'll have about 10 days to train.

[FFW]

I feel your pain but...

I've done all the PU doubles at least once and had experiences ranging from wonderful to friggin awful. Deb and her hubby Brian make enough money to pay the expenses and rely on volunteers to do most of the work. They donate the profits to the CAF. They both have regular jobs as well - very demanding jobs. I agree that Deb's bedside manner leaves something to be desired but she is actually pretty cool if you get to know her a bit. Brian is just a great guy.

Because they rely on volunteers - volunteers get a free ride at a future event - you'll see a wide variation of assistance from event to event and from one rest stop to the next. My first double, it was 111 going up heartbreak and the volunteer who was supposed to bring water and ice flaked and didn't show. I had a hydration pack and was fine up to the next full stop; many weren't so lucky. I did the Butterfield one year where it was almost a full-on typhoon yet the rest stop and SAG support were spectacular! I think if you read all the info on their web-site carefully, and keep in mind that doubles can go "epic" at any time, PU does a pretty good job. I might add that the Mulhulland always has a high DNF % - it's downright difficult and the weather is completely unpredictable.

All that said, I prefer to do unsupported doubles where the event promoter is certain to let me down

[dirtmistress]

Originally Posted by FFW

I feel your pain but...

I've done all the PU doubles at least once and had experiences ranging from wonderful to friggin awful. Deb and her hubby Brian make enough money to pay the expenses and rely on volunteers to do most of the work. They donate the profits to the CAF. They both have regular jobs as well - very demanding jobs. I agree that Deb's bedside manner leaves something to be desired but she is actually pretty cool if you get to know her a bit. Brian is just a great guy.

Because they rely on volunteers - volunteers get a free ride at a future event - you'll see a wide variation of assistance from event to event and from one rest stop to the next. My first double, it was 111 going up heartbreak and the volunteer who was supposed to bring water and ice flaked and didn't show. I had a hydration pack and was fine up to the next full stop; many weren't so lucky. I did the Butterfield one year where it was almost a full-on typhoon yet the rest stop and SAG support were spectacular! I think if you read all the info on their web-site carefully, and keep in mind that doubles can go "epic" at any time, PU does a pretty good job. I might add that the Mulhulland always has a high DNF % - it's downright difficult and the weather is completely unpredictable.

All that said, I prefer to do unsupported doubles where the event promoter is certain to let me down

Not to challenge you but last year when I met Deb, she told me she had been a lawyer and quit because she didn't like it. She said she does this full time now and PlanetUltra supports her and her husband.
Maybe he works(i don't know) but I have been invited to plenty of day rides with her because she has the time free to do that.
Maybe she works now but she made it sound like Planetultra keep she and her husband very comfortable! Not all proceeds go to charity.
If you know something I don't then that's fine but in conversation with her...I wish I had her job!

[FFW]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

Not to challenge you but last year when I met Deb, she told me she had been a lawyer and quit because she didn't like it. She said she does this full time now and PlanetUltra supports her and her husband.
Maybe he works(i don't know) but I have been invited to plenty of day rides with her because she has the time free to do that.
Maybe she works now but she made it sound like Planetultra keep she and her husband very comfortable! Not all proceeds go to charity.
If you know something I don't then that's fine but in conversation with her...I wish I had her job!

I haven't done a PU ride for over a year - which is the last time I saw Deb - so you have better info than I do. I stand corrected but I'm surprised and disappointed!

After one or two organized doubles, there's much more fun and suffering to be had riding unsupported with a couple good friends. Plan, train, pray, and ride!

I've been unable to ride much this year due to a worsening movement disorder - got to the point where I was crashing on every ride, even on the road. I'm beginning to ride again with help of some new medication and hope to be doing doubles again some day. Moral is; get out and ride while you can and enjoy the shiat out of it!

[dirtmistress]

Hope the meds will help for good!! Best of luck!!

[Mdm. Dabalot]

I did the MC this year and last year. I can't speak for the organizers' personalities but I thought both events were very well supported. This year, there was ice at all the rest stops, I had no trouble filling up and never ran out of water in the two small bottles that I carry (okay, I did pour on bottle on me going up Decker so I was a bit low there). I appreciated the water set up they had so you could douse your head if you wanted. I liked that there was food at the finish. I prefer that people use the scoops to get food but I am guilty of not doing so last year!

I think it was a shame the rest stops weren't set up for the double riders. That is inexcusable unless you started early. I recall the website was very strict about start times. If they are there to time you out, they ought to have a good idea of when the rest stops should be open.

I hope all who rode have recovered! See you at the Breathless Agony!