Westchester 200K (125 miles)

Race Report: Westchester 200K (125 miles)

Westchester, CA

With the recent events and the spread of COVID – 19 I’m grateful for the ultra-endurance world tightening down as well and cancelling/postponing all upcoming events for the next few months. Even though in ultra-sports there are very few people on the routes and we tend to keep a natural distance from people anyways in the current environment minimizing our travel and contact with others is not just the socially responsible thing to do but is a clear example of caring more about each other than events or finances. People over things.

After the Joshua Tree 200-mile ride last weekend I was wondering if they would cancel the Solvang 200. If they didn’t cancel it should I even go in the midst of what is going on. As the week rolled out and as a country and world, we tightened up our contact with each other at an ever quickening pace the idea of going to the race faded as well. After the race was officially cancelled for a day I considered heading up to Solvang and following the .gps data points that we were given and cover the course solo. My thinking being that if I drive up by myself, have my own supplies, and not make any stops for the 200 miler it really didn’t add any risk or exposure to myself or others. After talking with my wife I decided this was not the best idea for many reasons, 1) setting a poor example – if I did it, others would likely do the same and wanting to respect the wishes of the race organizers who had cancelled the event 2) Time away from home – It takes about 2 in a half hours to drive to Solvang, 14 hours for the ride, and then the return trip, I would literally be gone the majority of the day and would leave before the kids got up and returned after they were in bed.

Thinking through alternatives that were socially conscious during this time I came up with the idea of doing the event starting at my doorstep. I ran the idea by Kristin and after walking through logistics I realized there is no reason I need to do a full 200 miles and my goal is to put in some heavy mileage for training and I like to stay in the ultra-distance which I felt 125 miles or (200K) is a nice entry level ultra-cycling event. The other added benefit of 125 miles vs. 200 is I can take multiple long breaks, still engage with the kids for chunks of the day and it doesn’t take away from our routine dramatically.

The start of the Westchester 200k was at 4:00am with my good friend Christopher from down the street. His family make up is very similar to mine with a wife and two young kids and we naturally have a great deal of similar life experiences and belief systems which make for great conversation, from a distance. We headed down to the waterfront and stayed on the main road as we passed by the eerie quarantine zone at Dockweiler beach where they have close to 200 RV’s set up for COVID – 19 positive patients. From there we passed Redondo beach, Manhattan Beach, and then rolled onto our chosen destination of the hills of Palos Verdes. The ride was about as easy and comfortable as can be up until mile 20 which is where we entered Palos Verdes. The last 5 miles before our turnaround had numerous hills, a slight headwind and was enough to make the time slow down dramatically. My friend Christopher was a major trooper and pushed to the 26-mile turnaround like a champ on his way to his longest ever bike ride!

After the turnaround on the hillside you could see the outline of Catalina Island to our left side and the half dozen lights of Avalon the major harbor. The ride out of Palos Verdes was much more comfortable and we realized why we had struggled so much on the way out. Once back on the beach road the traffic finally started to show up. I think we saw less than half a dozen cars the entire first half of the ride which made for some of the most carefree riding of my life and a nice break from the overall feelings and weight of our present age.

As we rolled back through the main path past the beach cities the numerous stars in the sky faded into the dawn and the sun rose over up to an incredible sunrise. I’m always blown away by the emotions that flood your body as you see the sunrise after a few hours of excursive and immersed in the overall experience. We road 51.2 miles in 3 hours 43 minutes with 15 minutes off the bike. 1962 feet of elevation gain and made it home just before 8am for breakfast with the kids.

An couple hours later I headed out for ride 2 of the day and chose the Westchester parkway as my route of choice. It’s 4.5-mile loop that parallels the Los Angeles airport and if you do nine loops sure enough you’ll end up with 40.82 miles with a very modest 843 feet of elevation gain. The first few loops Kristin, Hudson, and Kalea came out to the roadside and I took a few breaks to talk with them and share the joy of being outside after so much time inside this past week. Hudson has been super helpful and turns my rear red blinking light on before each ride and is very interested in my Bacchetta bike. We did a little riding together with him scootering on the sidewalk and me pacing him up and down the road for about 10 minutes. It was so nice not being in a rush, just putting in miles and spending time with family. This section of today’s ride actually felt very similar to my normal ultras. There were about 20 other cyclists on the loop and as is our habit we were pretty far away from each other but would take the effort to wave or signal to each other as we passed by acknowledging each other’s existence and efforts being out on the course.

After finishing up on the parkway I headed home for lunch and then took the kids out for a few hours for their stroller ride / mid afternoon nap. Then I relaxed at home and had dinner before heading out for a sunset ride.

I decided to head out the same way as this morning’s ride except for the last little bit in Palos Verdes. I covered the 33.08 miles in just under 2 hours and 20 minutes with 479 feet of elevation and the last half of the ride in the dark after watching the sunset along the coastline. I made it home just after the kids were asleep at 8:45 and settled into a nice relaxing evening at home. Total mileage for the day was 125.02 or just over 200 kilometers.

It’s not my intention to make light of the current situation and my family is taking it as seriously as we can and practicing every aspect of social distancing possible, but our life has quickly shifted from the business of the city to a rhythm very similar to that of a small town. This day was pretty close to how I would design my perfect day which I have mixed emotions about. Great coffee, good friends, time with the kids and my family, a long bike ride, a walk/run, great food and a peaceful evening after a full day. I’m grateful for my family, and my hobbies but also feel the weight of how this situation is effecting those less fortunate and in upcoming weeks will seek to find ways to continue to reach out to people and help where I am able with my time, talents, and resources.