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03-04-07, 06:38 PM
Death Valley, a very strange place indeed, however, a fantastic place to enjoy a weekend ride.
Eric (CynCarvin32) and I left Sherman Oaks Friday at 1pm.... With the lead foot of CynCarvin, we arrived in Death Valley at Furnace Creek Ranch 4 hours and 15 minutes later at 5:15pm. Fast pace, especially considering we stopped off in Palmdale for a bathroom break and to pick up a Camel Back at the Sports Chalet for Eric.
All I kept thinking is what in the world are we doing out in the middle of nowhere. And I mean total BFE !
The landscape was beautiful however.
We checked in at the ranch, got our way OVERPRICED room and unloaded our gear. Went over to the education center to check in for the ride and received our bib #'s, registration papers, water bottles, and commemorative pin.
Took a drive up to the Furnace Creek Inn, which is touted as a four star resort. Both Cyn and I looked at each other and wondered who in the hell decides how many stars to hand out because this dive was no four star resort.
Went back over to the ranch for dinner at the steak house on the premises. Carb loaded and off to bed we went for a early wake up call.
5am, the alarm goes off, were up and out of bed and in line to roll at 6:40. I met up with some Friends of mine, Ralph and his son Tucker that had originally told me about this century.
6:40 and were off on our way to the first checkpoint/rest stop at Badwater 17.7 miles up HWY 178. We took in the gorgeous landscape and expansive mountain ranges. Temperature was a cool 60 or so and felt great. Spoke with some of the riders on the way up and found out many of them are from the Los Angeles area. Anyone on here ?
About 5 miles from the rest stop I see a Cannondale System Six pass and scream, "JPCONRAD"... JP, John, slows and I introduce myself. John is setting a good pace to get to the rest stop ASAP as a bathroom break is needed from the pre-ride hydration process.
Arrived at the first check point within an hour and filled up our bottles. I had a energy bar while Cyn and John check out the restrooms which I must say was a sight indeed. The odor from the restroom cleared my sinuses better than any anti allergy medication ever invented although I don't recommend this.
While at the stop I see MarkAJ in his So Cal Jersey and we stop and talk. Mark introduces us to his riding partner for the day, Steve I believe it was.
Were off on the road to nowhere heading toward checkpoint #2 at Ashford Mills (Mile Marker 45.4).
About this time the sun has started to peek out and the air temperature is warming up nicely. The road seems to go one forever. Every turn and all you see is miles and miles of pavement. The roads were awesome. Almost perfectly smooth 95% of the time. Either Cal Trans is spending way too much of our tax dollars up in Death Valley or no one is using these roads.
After several rollers and almost 30 miles we make it to rest stop #2 which is positioned just a little before our climb of the day. Again we all load up on fluids, energy bars, fruit, electrolyte pills, etc. I consumed a PB&J for good measure. Cyn is again over at the local porta potty as he seems to have a very small bladder or maybe he has a weird fetish with these structures. ?!?!?!
The rest stop was off the HWY in desert sand which even with my cleat covers on has now found its way into my cleats. Sand and Speedplay cleats = NO GOOD ! I did my best to clean the sand out while Cyn checked out a cute rider in her early 30's.
John, Cyn and I were again off and headed toward Jubilee Pass which sits approx 1300 feet above sea level. The rest stop was at approx 250 feet BELOW sea level so we were ready for a 1550 foot climb over 6 miles.
The climb wasn't too bad and I passed the time chatting it up with the cute girl Cyn was eyeing. Hi Molly if you happen to ever read this. This was Molly's first century and she was doing great, almost to the halfway point.
Molly was trying to catch her speedy friend Meagan who was on a Fixed Gear. Meagan could ride ! I came to find out she did the Furnace Creek 508 on her Fixed in the past as part of a team. Way to GO !
I arrive at the top of Jubilee Pass where Cyn and John were waiting for me. Quick stretch and were were off on a long descent. John and I went flying down the hill hitting 40+ while re-energizing for the rest of the ride which we had yet to know would be a real battle.
Our next check point and rest stop was only 7 miles down the hill again at Ashford Mills. Once down the hill both John and I start to realize that we are in for some trouble. A STRONG headwind was now blowing north which just happened to be in our face for the next 50 miles.
Once at the 3rd check point the wind was so strong the SAG crew had to hold onto the tent that was erected. The wind was trying to take the tent and up heave it into the Death Valley desert.
It was now that we started to see the sheer terror in other riders faces. One lady told us that back in 1996 on the ride the winds were so strong that riders had to lay their bikes down off the highway and lay down next to them in order not to get blown away. The SAG vans had to position themselves with their rear ends to the wind because the wind was blowing sand into the windshields causing a sand blasting effect.
I sure hope 2007 isn't going to be a repeat of 1996 !
We all refill and off we go into the wild blue yonder. We have almost 30 miles to ride back to Badwater for the 4th and final check point / rest stop. Were all pedaling hard but not moving very fast. My mind starts to calculate the data and I tell Cyn that at this pace we won't hit Badwater for 4 hours !
We all went into survival mode and churned out a pace that we could live with. Along the way we say many interesting things. People were walking, sitting, cussing, etc. One man was knelt down and praying to a bush ! The wind was so loud that I was screaming at John and he could not hear me. Later John had said his Ipod's earbuds on FULL were inaudible with the buffeting wind blasts. Now that is deafening.....
The wind was blowing 20+ MPH in our faces, however fortunately for us, the temperature in Death Valley this day was hovering about 80 degrees.
Around every turn the roads seemed to go on forever. John had a good pace set and took off leaving Cyn and myself. 10 miles from Badwater I had found a good pace and left Cyn hoping the vultures didn't get to him. I caught up to a group and we all pulled each other as good as we could into Badwater. I was so happy to see those god forsaken smelly restroom roofs. We were finally there ! YES !
I pull in and find John eating a Subway sandwich. I grab one too and sit next to him under the tent to get out of the sun for a while. My face was already lobster red and covered with salt crystals from both the desert wind and by my own perspiration.
I'm just about done with lunch and we see Cyn roll in still alive and not missing any limbs. Cyn grabs lunch and we sit down. Molly rolls up about this time and takes refuge under the tent as well.
John is ready to roll so we tell him to go on and we will see him up ahead or at the finish. That was the last we saw of you John. Hope you made it back safely and it was great meeting and riding with you.
Cyn finished lunch, re-applys his sun screen and were off for the final 18 miles back to Furnace Creek Ranch for the finish line.
The wind is still blowing however now we are energized and fueled. I'll tell you, 18 miles has never seemed so far to me. The desert has a weird way into tricking you with mirages and such.
I made sure to drink liquids every 10 minutes and was looking forward to a hot shower ! About 15 miles from the finish I broke away from Cyn for a bit however he chased me down in the last 8 miles. Cyn kept saying, "I see the turn point. There is the Inn over there". I think he was hallucinating as I didn't see squat. Just a lot of sand and rocks.
Roller after roller, mile after mile, this was getting tiresome. Finally I see it... Off in the distance there is the Inn where the turn point and the final mile DOWNHILL will be found. We both persevere and before we knew it we both were crossing the finish line.
I thought I was hallucinating again when this gorgeous tall blond woman comes over and checks our bib #'s in. She had an Australian accent. I later confirmed that I was not hallucinating and she was indeed tall, gorgeous and Australian.
Great ride overall. SAG was excellent. The accommodations could have been better, however, as I kept telling people we are in the middle of Death Valley where they can charge anything since it is BFE and your screwed. Don't want to pay $170 a night for a room, OK, go sleep in the desert. Don't want that $3.97 gallon of gas, no problem, run out in BFE and see what happens. Oh, by the way cell phones don't work in Death Valley either :)
Would I do this ride again ? Yes, if there was a good size group going I would.
Pix to follow soon.
Eric (CynCarvin32) and I left Sherman Oaks Friday at 1pm.... With the lead foot of CynCarvin, we arrived in Death Valley at Furnace Creek Ranch 4 hours and 15 minutes later at 5:15pm. Fast pace, especially considering we stopped off in Palmdale for a bathroom break and to pick up a Camel Back at the Sports Chalet for Eric.
All I kept thinking is what in the world are we doing out in the middle of nowhere. And I mean total BFE !
The landscape was beautiful however.
We checked in at the ranch, got our way OVERPRICED room and unloaded our gear. Went over to the education center to check in for the ride and received our bib #'s, registration papers, water bottles, and commemorative pin.
Took a drive up to the Furnace Creek Inn, which is touted as a four star resort. Both Cyn and I looked at each other and wondered who in the hell decides how many stars to hand out because this dive was no four star resort.
Went back over to the ranch for dinner at the steak house on the premises. Carb loaded and off to bed we went for a early wake up call.
5am, the alarm goes off, were up and out of bed and in line to roll at 6:40. I met up with some Friends of mine, Ralph and his son Tucker that had originally told me about this century.
6:40 and were off on our way to the first checkpoint/rest stop at Badwater 17.7 miles up HWY 178. We took in the gorgeous landscape and expansive mountain ranges. Temperature was a cool 60 or so and felt great. Spoke with some of the riders on the way up and found out many of them are from the Los Angeles area. Anyone on here ?
About 5 miles from the rest stop I see a Cannondale System Six pass and scream, "JPCONRAD"... JP, John, slows and I introduce myself. John is setting a good pace to get to the rest stop ASAP as a bathroom break is needed from the pre-ride hydration process.
Arrived at the first check point within an hour and filled up our bottles. I had a energy bar while Cyn and John check out the restrooms which I must say was a sight indeed. The odor from the restroom cleared my sinuses better than any anti allergy medication ever invented although I don't recommend this.
While at the stop I see MarkAJ in his So Cal Jersey and we stop and talk. Mark introduces us to his riding partner for the day, Steve I believe it was.
Were off on the road to nowhere heading toward checkpoint #2 at Ashford Mills (Mile Marker 45.4).
About this time the sun has started to peek out and the air temperature is warming up nicely. The road seems to go one forever. Every turn and all you see is miles and miles of pavement. The roads were awesome. Almost perfectly smooth 95% of the time. Either Cal Trans is spending way too much of our tax dollars up in Death Valley or no one is using these roads.
After several rollers and almost 30 miles we make it to rest stop #2 which is positioned just a little before our climb of the day. Again we all load up on fluids, energy bars, fruit, electrolyte pills, etc. I consumed a PB&J for good measure. Cyn is again over at the local porta potty as he seems to have a very small bladder or maybe he has a weird fetish with these structures. ?!?!?!
The rest stop was off the HWY in desert sand which even with my cleat covers on has now found its way into my cleats. Sand and Speedplay cleats = NO GOOD ! I did my best to clean the sand out while Cyn checked out a cute rider in her early 30's.
John, Cyn and I were again off and headed toward Jubilee Pass which sits approx 1300 feet above sea level. The rest stop was at approx 250 feet BELOW sea level so we were ready for a 1550 foot climb over 6 miles.
The climb wasn't too bad and I passed the time chatting it up with the cute girl Cyn was eyeing. Hi Molly if you happen to ever read this. This was Molly's first century and she was doing great, almost to the halfway point.
Molly was trying to catch her speedy friend Meagan who was on a Fixed Gear. Meagan could ride ! I came to find out she did the Furnace Creek 508 on her Fixed in the past as part of a team. Way to GO !
I arrive at the top of Jubilee Pass where Cyn and John were waiting for me. Quick stretch and were were off on a long descent. John and I went flying down the hill hitting 40+ while re-energizing for the rest of the ride which we had yet to know would be a real battle.
Our next check point and rest stop was only 7 miles down the hill again at Ashford Mills. Once down the hill both John and I start to realize that we are in for some trouble. A STRONG headwind was now blowing north which just happened to be in our face for the next 50 miles.
Once at the 3rd check point the wind was so strong the SAG crew had to hold onto the tent that was erected. The wind was trying to take the tent and up heave it into the Death Valley desert.
It was now that we started to see the sheer terror in other riders faces. One lady told us that back in 1996 on the ride the winds were so strong that riders had to lay their bikes down off the highway and lay down next to them in order not to get blown away. The SAG vans had to position themselves with their rear ends to the wind because the wind was blowing sand into the windshields causing a sand blasting effect.
I sure hope 2007 isn't going to be a repeat of 1996 !
We all refill and off we go into the wild blue yonder. We have almost 30 miles to ride back to Badwater for the 4th and final check point / rest stop. Were all pedaling hard but not moving very fast. My mind starts to calculate the data and I tell Cyn that at this pace we won't hit Badwater for 4 hours !
We all went into survival mode and churned out a pace that we could live with. Along the way we say many interesting things. People were walking, sitting, cussing, etc. One man was knelt down and praying to a bush ! The wind was so loud that I was screaming at John and he could not hear me. Later John had said his Ipod's earbuds on FULL were inaudible with the buffeting wind blasts. Now that is deafening.....
The wind was blowing 20+ MPH in our faces, however fortunately for us, the temperature in Death Valley this day was hovering about 80 degrees.
Around every turn the roads seemed to go on forever. John had a good pace set and took off leaving Cyn and myself. 10 miles from Badwater I had found a good pace and left Cyn hoping the vultures didn't get to him. I caught up to a group and we all pulled each other as good as we could into Badwater. I was so happy to see those god forsaken smelly restroom roofs. We were finally there ! YES !
I pull in and find John eating a Subway sandwich. I grab one too and sit next to him under the tent to get out of the sun for a while. My face was already lobster red and covered with salt crystals from both the desert wind and by my own perspiration.
I'm just about done with lunch and we see Cyn roll in still alive and not missing any limbs. Cyn grabs lunch and we sit down. Molly rolls up about this time and takes refuge under the tent as well.
John is ready to roll so we tell him to go on and we will see him up ahead or at the finish. That was the last we saw of you John. Hope you made it back safely and it was great meeting and riding with you.
Cyn finished lunch, re-applys his sun screen and were off for the final 18 miles back to Furnace Creek Ranch for the finish line.
The wind is still blowing however now we are energized and fueled. I'll tell you, 18 miles has never seemed so far to me. The desert has a weird way into tricking you with mirages and such.
I made sure to drink liquids every 10 minutes and was looking forward to a hot shower ! About 15 miles from the finish I broke away from Cyn for a bit however he chased me down in the last 8 miles. Cyn kept saying, "I see the turn point. There is the Inn over there". I think he was hallucinating as I didn't see squat. Just a lot of sand and rocks.
Roller after roller, mile after mile, this was getting tiresome. Finally I see it... Off in the distance there is the Inn where the turn point and the final mile DOWNHILL will be found. We both persevere and before we knew it we both were crossing the finish line.
I thought I was hallucinating again when this gorgeous tall blond woman comes over and checks our bib #'s in. She had an Australian accent. I later confirmed that I was not hallucinating and she was indeed tall, gorgeous and Australian.
Great ride overall. SAG was excellent. The accommodations could have been better, however, as I kept telling people we are in the middle of Death Valley where they can charge anything since it is BFE and your screwed. Don't want to pay $170 a night for a room, OK, go sleep in the desert. Don't want that $3.97 gallon of gas, no problem, run out in BFE and see what happens. Oh, by the way cell phones don't work in Death Valley either :)
Would I do this ride again ? Yes, if there was a good size group going I would.
Pix to follow soon.