Mammoth Fall Century 2012

Sue and I drove down to Mammoth Lakes Ca. and I rode in the fall century.  The drive there took longer than expected, but was partly offset by the drive going through Yosemite via the Tioga pass rode.  Took us up to 9900 feet and left us a bit breathless and overwhelmed by the granite expanses of the place.

The ride was definitely challenging and I was happy to have completed in 5 hours 25 minutes, over 95 miles or so.  The actual elevation is just over 6000 feet but my garmin posting shows it a bit less.  Some sneaky hills on the back side of this ride along with some headwinds which were reminiscent of nevada and times past.   I found the early part of the ride to be great, but once we turned onto highway 120, heading east, it felt much like the barren landscapes of Nevada.   Evocative, but generally not the kind of riding I enjoy any more.   The visit are definitely spectacular, and so are the boring long sections of road.  Guess it will be a while before I am motivated to ride across such vast landscapes, especially in a group.  Strange experience in many ways, looking back, as this was the first organized century I have done in many years.   I walked away feeling, how do I say, happy to be done... reflective on the number of miles I felt like I was struggling through (physically and mentally), and somehow a bit out of whack on the whole bike gang concept.  Not sure what that means exactly, except for the reality that everyones focus is clearly on surviving the ride and finishing, and there was a general lacking of overt friendship and joy on this ride.   Don't get me wrong, people at the rest stops were pretty great, but there was very little emphasis on whipping up the energy of the ride and there was actually no completion celebration at the time I finished.  Granted, I was very early to finish, but never the less, it was odd.   Food smelled good, but after such an event, pulled pork and french fries weren't hitting the spot!   The complimentary beer, on the other hand, settled nicely.   I spoke to as many people as I could and was intentionally overt on the ride, and during the breaks.  Some strange responses from people, as expected, given the tendency for the challenge to set in and worry you.. creating full absorption in your fear and pain.. someone walks by and starts chatting you up and it must feel like you are awakening from a dream or something.. wandering around makes.. OH!!  was often the reply.    But, Im sure that in coming days, the edge of the ride will be forgotten and it will be replaced by the fond remembrances and the becoming of challenge and achievement.   As usual, this is my pattern.   Ouch, then..  Ahhhh...  

One last thing:  it would have been best to get up there 2 days early and get better acclimated.  The reminder that when you get altitude stressed, the body doesn't perform as well.  Also, it would have been good to have done a difficult and challenging ride just a day or two before to help my body adjust.   The first days of an epic series of challenging ride days are always the worst for me.. mentally and physically.  Very little in the tank after 60 miles, and this feeling of sort of diminished reserves (and reliance upon brute force and stamina) creates mental uncertainty that plays out in a bunch of different ways.   To have that out of the way via an early "suffering' training ride is always wise.   Im sure that if I climbed on the bike today, I would hammer the crap out of it.   maybe I will do that.

Oh, and one last thing 2: modular clothing is AWESOME.. I bought a windproof vest which is by Mavic and is totally opened in the back, and combined it with some insulated knee and arm warmers.. It was GREAT.   Very little sweat, and just warm enough.  My hands were a bit chilly, but I was really pleased to not be dragging around my typical riding jacket and popping that off later as a sweaty mess underneath.   Love the modular idea, contrary to my pal Tom Mann who likens it to being a big west coast pussy...  Gotta admit feeling a bit like madonna out there, but who cares.. doing a century in comfort and in 5.5 hours at age 51 aint bad at all.  Call me whatever you want.... as I go right on by!

Mammoth Fall Century September 8 2012..

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Late August Rides

I've been home from Angola for a week now.  After a month at work following the completion of the joy ride.   A number of things have come up for me, but I must admit sitting in the retained beauty of the vastness of this ride.  I admit missing the open road and the beauty of not knowing what is just over the next hill.  Or seeing the full extent of what is to come.  Both of beauty and requiring in patience and faith.  The essence of what life is about..  Beauty, patience and faith.. in whatever you want to have faith in.  For me, the return to my bike and riding here in the waning summer days has been different.  While I still want to go balls out 100%, I think that I've somehow redefined what that means to me and how I am being on the bike.  Strength comes and goes and the job I see for me to find joy is to couple the reality of my physical situation with the level of output I am willing to have.  Too much, and Im depleted.  Too little, and I may as well be at home working in the garden.  The nature of the bike is to continuously remind me to choose and to be present and aware of that choice.  To always admire and appreciate that which is around me, and that which I am.   Powerful, demure, in relation and vigilant.   A meditation.   And one especially awesome when I am in balance.   and it doesn't hurt to have some blasting music on periodically.  

I rode Diablo to the summit on 2 out of the past 3 days.  A new dance both times and interesting change in style and pace for me.  More of appreciation for the style of riding that Bob does.  In balance and more of an appreciation of the riding rather than the goal of completion; which is often my motivation.   So, Bobby; thanks for that inspiration, and thanks to you Steve for speaking the word Patience on so many mornings when we were looking into the days ride.  Patience, peace & beauty.    Awesome.

d

Finito

Wow. Sitting at home having delivered steve and Gabe to the airport and dropped bobs bike off in Benicia on the way home yesterday. An amazing journey that we will refine, replay and repeat endlessly as we get ready for next year! The mileage was around 750 and figure we climbed something like 7 miles straight up and we are still alive! My lovely partner saguela did an amazing job of keeping the group fed and watered and we owe our success in large part to her kindness, perseverance and patience. Next year, we will hook her up with some awesone new ride and have a great time getting there and back. Were thinking of a truck that is the total sag vehicle.... Nice. Meanwhile, we appreciate the loving support from everyone who wished us well, called us nuts and otherwise checked in on us from time to time. We couldn't have done it without you. I'm eternally grateful for your kind support and loving encouragement. It held us through times of great trial and beauty. Till next year... doug

Finito

Wow. Sitting at home having delivered steve and Gabe to the airport and dropped bobs bike off in Benicia on the way home yesterday. An amazing journey that we will refine, replay and repeat endlessly as we get ready for next year! The mileage was around 750 and figure we climbed something like 7 miles straight up and we are still alive! My lovely partner saguela did an amazing job of keeping the group fed and watered and we owe our success in large part to her kindness, perseverance and patience. Next year, we will hook her up with some awesone new ride and have a great time getting there and back. Were thinking of a truck that is the total sag vehicle.... Nice. Meanwhile, we appreciate the loving support from everyone who wished us well, called us nuts and otherwise checked in on us from time to time. We couldn't have done it without you. I'm eternally grateful for your kind support and loving encouragement. It held us through times of great trial and beauty. Till next year... doug

Day 3, more pictures

Day 3, July 10th our first climging day

Placerville to Silver Lake - the finish of this ride was a great downhill to the Kit Carson lodge...about 3 miles at 40 MPH+. This was our first real day of riding alone as we all found our own pace. As a result, I am the only one in most of the following pictures. More to come from this day, an awesome day.

More pictures

July 9th, Day 2..Sacramento to Placerville... Placerville is a cool little town with a great old downtown. I got there and thought I was done riding (a small climb compared to things to come) only to find out the hotel was on the other side of town up a big hill.

The Joy Ride 2012 is complete but the memories will last forever

I am now home thinking of going to work tomorrow and all that comes to me is the memories of our daily breakfasts', Doug's coffee, anticipation of the upcoming ride, Sue's neverending attention to our wellbeing and the nights at the wonderfull little fleabag hotels. I would not have changed anything, the entire trip was perfect and I am already getting excited about next year. Some days were better than others but in the end we all made each day from beginning to end one way or another and nobody got hurt. Honestly, winding up in the car unable to ride each day was my biggest fear going into this thing. Thank you Doug, you are my hero and I love you to death. Bob, you are a rock and a great man. Gabe, you have so much going for you and have such potential...it was an honor getting to know you. Sue, well... you held us all together and really made this whole adventure possible, I will never forget what you did for us on this trip..Thank you and I Love You. Ok, with that said I need to post some more pictures because I didn't do much durin the trip as I did not take a computer and by the time everyone else was done I was sleeping. Saturday, July 7th - warm up day across the Golden Gate Bridge over some hills and through some valley's then back to Doug's house. Don't seem to have any pictures of this day???? Sunday, July 8th - Bob's house to Sacramento, mostly a really nice ride but blistering hot as we approached Sacramento.

More to come on next post.

Day 11: Milford,Ut to Cedar City,Ut.

Milford, Utah at 5,000 feet does offer some interesting views of the stars.  The night sky was clear and black which offered a great view.  I am thankful for that.
The wind and temperature cooperated for the day heading south.  58 miles total with one big pass in the middle.  It seemed like it would be easy but it turned out to be extremely tiring.  The difficulty was not the same as other days but there is something about the sun glaring down on you all day that just drains your energy.  I spent the remainder of the day trying to rest and get something stored for the climb tomorrow. 
We are heading for 10,000 feet on a 19 mile ride.  This is going to be the starting point for the ride next year.  We'll see how that goes.
One thing I noticed today after staring at the ditch for 700 plus miles is the huge number of cooler lids there are littering the highways.  These must be from igloo coolers tied on the outside of peoples cars and the speed and wind just lifts them right off.  All I could think is what a waste of ice.  Fitting because ice was very precious to me on this trip.  Thank god Sue was always there to replenish the water bottles.  Could not have done this without you.

Day 11: Milford to Cedar City

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Day 10 Baker, NV to Milford, UT

WIND, WIND, WIND and three mountain passes. That was the name of the game.

The day started out with a clear blue sky, which was a relief given the last 3 days of iffy weather. Unfortunately, it was either head winds or cross winds the whole day. We turned off Highway 50 onto Utah 21. As Bob said, much lonlier than Highway 50. It was so remote that it gave me a little pit in my stomach. With no cell service and no one for miles, I realized that getting stuck out there would not be pretty. So as not to bury the lead too much ... YES! They/we made it into their third State on day 10. WOO HOO!!

There was an 8 mile long stretch of road in a basin about 18 miles from the end of the day that was just too windy. It was laying down the grass along side of the road. It was hard to keep the car in the lane, let alone stay upright on a bycicle. Well, the picture of Steve below explains it all! By the end of the day, everyone looked stunned from fighting the wind all day.

We were talking about the trip in general lastnight at dinner, and I had to share that the most telling toll of the trip was my view as I drive up behind each rider. More than 50% of the time, they are each standing up to quickly adjust their bums on their bike seats. That's all for now!

Day 9 Eureka to Baker, NV

We have experienced much "road" adventure the last two days. The cool surprise of the day was that our dear friend, Tom Mann, showed up at breakfast! He was on his way to California and dropped by for a quick hello. We will meet up with him again before we complete. It waas hugs and laughter and a great boost to see his shing face!

Monday, Day 9, Eureka to Baker, was RAINY! "Walk between the raindrops" was not an option. About 3 miles out of Eureka, the sky opened up and a curtain of rain fell. Rather, it dumped! Semi trucks passing me in the car sent rain up over the hood. Imagine what happened with the bikers! By the time I got back to each of them, they were drenched. Raindrops were the size of quarters. They each will have their own version of how that was for them, and from my perspective, I'm impressed that most of them just stuck with it. Bob, always the optimist, said "it has to quit sometime!". And eventually it did. It was a rouch 8 miles or so, but the weather improved. I left them to go ahead 10 miles and wait, only to find two Sheriff's cars in the road stopping traffic. I thought "flood", but there was a wide load headed our way that took up both lanes. So we sat for about 30 minutes waiting for an odd GIANT tank to go sailing by on the bed of a truck. And, we were off. More riding, driving ahead to wait, driving backward to deliver rain coats in case the weather turned bad again ... then, about 8 miles outside of Baker, AGAIN WITH THE WEATHER! Bob and I sat on the side of the road waiting for a curtain of rain to pass over Baker. And for enjoyment, we watched lightening strikes and counted the time to thunder. Mostly, the lightening was about 9 miles off, but there were two strikes that were pretty local. Baker, population 0. Really. There is a grocery store owned by a grumpy person so we stayed clear. Our hotel (The Electrolux Motel and Cafe) was actually pretty cool (pictures below). It was a surprisingly nice experience in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. Okay, except for the food. Not so great. But HEY! What can we expect???

Day 10: Baker to Milford, Utah

Today we turn south.  This of course now means the wind that was helpful pushing us eastward becomes a crosswind and sometimes headon.  There is nothing more discouraging than pedaling into a headwind on a level road.  Well maybe pedaling uphill with a 20 knot wind in your face.  Needless to say it was too much to put up with and I barely rode 60 miles of the 83 mile day.  Road construction forced one ride from Sue and then again after crossing a valley with the wind trying to make my bike change lanes gust. 
I do believe that Utah Route 21 is lonlier than Hwy 50.  There were many times that I did not see another vehicle for 45 minutes to an hour, except for Sue stopping by to check our progress.  I would stop in the middle of a valley 8 miles from either side and wait to see something appear.  On top of this cell phone service is non-existant out here.  Truly desolate country.
Now we're in the megapolis of Milford.  Population: 1400.  Located in a valley where the wind doesn't seem to ever end.   There are about 40 windmills outside of town harnessing this energy so it is not all lost.
Tonight is the last chance to check out the night sky.  Tomorrow we end up in Cedar City and it is a bit too big for this kind of show.

Day 9: Ely to Baker

After loading up with pizza the night before and taking a rest from the bike seat, the start from Ely was like starting the trip all over again.  The clouds on the start from town were ominous.  It is interesting watching the storm clouds from a plateau at over 6,000 feet.  We were fortunate to miss most of the storm for the first 20 miles and then my luck ran out.  Hard rain and then hail from a group of clouds I thought I could outrun.  Once the rain was over it warmed up a bit so it wasn't too bad and I dried out quickly.
We all met up again before the start of the first climb.  The police stopped all traffic for a rather large pressure tank on a truck that took both lanes of the road.  This thing was so big that a second tractor was hooked on the stern for extra braking power.  When we started the climb up this pass, I understood why they needed extra brakes.  This one topped out at 7,720 feet.  Just keep pedaling and you get to the top.  Eventually!!
The rest of the ride was spent dodging thunderstorms that were lined up and drifting down the valley.
Today we said good-bye to Highway 50, the "Lonliest Highway in the US".  Six miles from the Utah border we turn off on Route 487 to our stop for the night in Baker, Nevada.  Population 30?  Maybe! 
Sue came out to meet me about 3 miles from town and we stood on the road and watched a storm move over town.  Complete with massive lightning strikes and thunder booming across the valley.  Quite a show.
The stop for the night was a small 4 room hotel.  We had 3 of the rooms so of course we acted like we owned the place.  Good time for all.
I was very interested in seeing the stars at night because this valley is at about 6,500 feet with very little surrounding background light.  The heavy clouds remained for most of the evening so no luck.  Too bad!

Day 10 done, 2 to go

I have to say that this experience has been one of a kind for me. The nighly anticipation of the next days ride knowing that the next day is most likely going to be a grind and hard as hell is something that I have been through before but not for 11 nights in a row. This has been a real challenge and up till today it has gone well. Today I crashed and the wind got me. Todays ride was planned for 80 miles with 4 summits over 6,000 feet. After 50 miles of pushing into a 20-25 MPH head/cross wind and up some major hills I quit. It wore me out, very disappointed. Tomorrow will be another challenging day, most likely windy, but I will finish. Thursday will be a fun finish going from 6,000 foot elevation to 10,500 elevation then downhill for many miles, steep and fast. This will be great, I feal very strong on the climbs so this should be a good day. Thanks to Doug (an amazing rider, man and person), Bob (mr. steady) and Gabe (a young kid who has a lot to offer the world) and Susan (who has done so so much to help us with this challenge, she has worked her ass off and I love her to death). Here are some pictures from the first 10 days.

Day 10: Baker Nevada to Milford Utah... omg.. wind wind wind wind

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We are in Utah now.. Wow AND, what a painful ride into this lovely state... wind everywhere and in all directions except the one which would help us!   Just relentless 20 mile per hour head and cross winds.   Oil on the roads created the spike in speed as Sue carted us across a 3 mile freshly oiled section of weird road.   Today was surprising in many ways.   Vast and open spaces and MAYBE the hope of something other than ridge, valley, climb, ridge, valley and climbing..  we are looking at the weather for tomorrow.. sunny, windy and oh.. windy..  We are almost done.   Its actually amazing to think that we are nearly done.

Day 9: Ely to Baker!

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Day 8 - Thunderstorm Warnings Eureka to Ely

So the risky part of the day was that there were thunderstorm warnings with 90& chance of precipitation. A breakfast meeting resulted in the decision "this is the day we will rest" ... except for Steve. So Steve road out about 15 miles, then we picked him up after a leisurely breakfast (and a stop at a cool coffee cart called The Roost). We drove him another 20 miles, then dropped him off and he hit it again for about 40 more miles. AND the sun decided to shine on him the whole way, even though storms were floating off in the distance. The fuzzy car photo is of the other three, in the car as we headed toward Steve. A slight packing mishap meant a drive backwards of 70 miles to retrieve a forgotten cell phone, the lifeline of the lonely rider. But it's all good. The scenery was spectacular, Steve enjoyed his ride and everyone else took much needed naps. As I sit here, we are all piled into one hotel room watching tv and eating pizza. Well, I'm about to eat ... the guys are looking forward to the last 4 days of riding. More later campers!

Day 7 Austin to Eureka

The day started out slightly cool and we were, umm, a little worse for wear from the night before. You know, partying about the 112 mile day that was finally over. Here are the guys starting out. It was lots of up and down AND quite literally trying to avoid the weather. The first hurdle, however, was a 3.5 mile climb ... I think they climbed 1,500 feet. The picture below of Gabe is the celebration that occurs when one accomplishes a great feat first thing in the morning. And yes, they were ALL smiling when they got to the top! The endless Lonely Highway 50 is truly that ... lonely. Pictures below prove it! Thunderstorms were threatening the last part of the day ... some people got wet ... I'm saying who. There is a picture below of a double rainbow that I could see from our hotel room. The second one is a bit hart to see, but it was there. We got into Eureka and were headed out for dinner, only to find a sweet old dog chasing cards in the street, as if to say "are you my owner?". Anyway, we picked her up and took her to the Sheriff's office who had already located the owner. We suspected this was a regular occurence. Winnie was a sweet heart and I almost kidnapped her to be my side kick. The night ended at the Owl Club Casino for salad, beer and much laughter about how numb certain body were ...

Day 6 Fallon to Austin

Steve left early to get a jump on the long, long day, so our starting out picture is less one rider. 112 miles with nothin in betwteen ... well there IS the promise of the "Best Burger Ever" which we think is in Cold Springs but ends up being in Middlegate. So Steve and Doug missed out, but Bob, Gabe and Susan stopped for their basic burger and it was delicious! The place itself looks like a stage coach died and just started collecting old stuff. A small shcak sits there with greasy dollar bills stapled to the ceiling, marked with the cities of visitors. The owner looks like a skinny bent over cowboy from a spaghetti western ... really nice guy. I was too nervous to ask for a picture in case he wasn't just a character :-) Ultimately, between the desolate highway and making sure riders were hydrated, Stella (our SAG vehicle) put on some extra miles. All in the name of safety and health. I had many opportunities to sit along side the highway, soaking up the peace and quiet. Not too many cars on Highway 50 to disturb the serenity. It was a long and satisfying day for everone and we ended up at the Cozy Mountain Motel which, unfortunately, is in the middle of a steep hill (photo below of Steve making the last climb after a LONG day). We sat in the parking lot with a drink and lawn chairs before heading to pizza (Bob talks about this). We blew off some steam and celebrated the ongoing journey. Here's to enjoying all of the long roads along our journey ...