Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Bass Lake Powerhouse Double do I need my triple

What can you tell be about the course? I checked the web site and it did not look to difficult. My legs I do not like 10 plus grinds after 100 miles, I rode my double on Knoxville and Cobb definately hurt

Thanks in advance

I have a profile of the ride at home, I'll try to post the grades this weekend.

Bikely has the route with elevation profile (under the "show" menu).

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Bass-Lake-Powerhouse-Double-Century-2008

How can you gauge how steep something is with changing x axis? The total elevation gain is not bad but what is percent grade?

Anyway thanks for all you help. Hope to see you there I will be the one muttering at the side of the road "should have brought my triple"

Try playing with this site, http://www.bikemap.net/route/83454

Basically I created the Bass Lake route on bikely (I did my own, should have searched first), exported the route as GPX, then imported the route into Bikemap. The site is really pretty and links the profile to the map. The site was developed in Germany and all distances are metric. I don't think you can get the grade.

I may try importing the route into TOPO which I know will calculate grade. If there is a section in particulare you are interested in let me know and i can post. If you have National Geographic TOPO try exporting the route and bringing it in there.

UPDATE:
So I imported the GPX from Bikely into TOPO.
http://i34.tinypic.com/2wqzm6p.jpg


http://i37.tinypic.com/167k2fl.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/1zceu61.jpg

I ended up with a little over 12,000’ of ascent last year. Most of the grades are in the 5-8% range. There are a few pitches of 10-12% on some of the climbs. The climb from the river to Bass Lake is around 14 miles with a short section of downhill in the middle. I use triples, for me they're welcomed. Last year I had a ride time of 14:09 and an overall of 16:00.

Thanks for the advice Dante,

I will ride my Calfee with the Triple! Never done Bass Lake before, but Knoxville was easy for me, so I should be able to suffer through Bass Lake. May even bring my camera!

Rick / OCRR

Thanks for all the information. I will be riding my litespeed triple with beat up decals. Say hello when you go by

Peter

Now you guys have me nervous. I just put on a compact double with 12x27 cassette and hope this will be enough gearing. I mainly train on hills but my ride from Pasadena to Ventura via Ojai (following the route several BFers have done) this past Friday really kicked my butt. I'm sure the heat and lack of proper fueling contributed but my confidence is not as high as it was a week ago. I hope Tour de Poway next weekend helps me regain some confidence.

Looks like the first 80 miles are flat with only one "bump." Then the pain begins!
Hope I'm fast enough to make the time cut!

Rick / OCRR

Time cut? What time cut?

Nevermind :) "All riders must leave the mile 126 Rest Stop by 3:30pm. If you do not leave by that time, you will be required to use one of the "bailout options." http://www.fresnocycling.com/powerhouse/2006/bailout.html

Update #2: If you start at 4:00AM, the earliest possible, and the only cut off is to reach mile 126 by 3:30PM that gives you 11.5 hours at an average speed of 10.95MPH. I've never ridden with you but I've seen the rides you do, I think you will be fine. :)

Looks like the first 80 miles are flat with only one "bump." Then the pain begins!
Hope I'm fast enough to make the time cut!

Rick / OCRR

Basically it's flat to the first rest stop, 37 miles. Between RS 1 and RS 2, there is 1,800' of climbing. Most of that is in a 26 mile section, not bad. After RS 2 the climbing starts. Between mile 72 and 170 it's either up or down, not much flats. You should have no problem finishing in time.

Basically it's flat to the first rest stop, 37 miles. Between RS 1 and RS 2, there is 1,800' of climbing. Most of that is in a 26 mile section, not bad. After RS 2 the climbing starts. Between mile 72 and 170 it's either up or down, not much flats. You should have no problem finishing in time.

Thanks Dante and MTBMaven,

Yes, I think I'll be okay, but whenever there are time cuts I feel extra pressure (mentally). However, with that slow of an average needed to make the time cut, I will have to balance my speed over the first 80 miles so that I'm fast enough to make the cut, but don't use up a lot of resources before I hit the major climbs.

Plus, of course, I have to make sure I don't waste time at the checkpoints!

Rick / OCRR

Rick you made it with time to spare, great job!!!!!!!

In short it was ugly out there for me. I drove up to Fresno after a Friday full of last minute surprises. The battery in my car died in the morning so I had to replace that. Then while loading my vehicle I notice the tags expired in June (yeah like 3.5 months ago) which required a trip to the DMV without an appointment on the way out of town. I arrived at my hotel around 9 and got to bed sometime after 11. Needless to say 3:15AM arrived way too soon.

The temps were cool but not that bad. I had on 3/4 leg warmers, two pairs of sock for layering, wind covers for my shoes, my new Pearl Izumi wool arm warmers, wind jacket, and riding gloves with windproof fleece North Face gloves over them. Departure time was 4:30AM. From the start I realized I had several gear issues that were not helpful, 1) I did not have a battery pack to charge my stupid Garmin (which now has a battery life of 5.5 hours), and 2) my new helmet headphone set up would not work. I tested everything at home but no thing worked the day of. So I couldn't listen to my new audiobook Cryptonomicon. Luckily I brought along my Shuffle and second set of headphone but waited to start using it as 1GB of music gets old pretty quickly on 13+ hour day.

Ok so whatever I say let's get riding. The ride out of Fresno/Clovis was very uneventful. Small roads, pretty much no one out there but darkness and cyclists. I hooked up with a group of people for a while and drafted for a bit then offered to pull. I put in maybe 3-4 miles up front but realized the pace was a bit much for me so I drifted back and was once again alone in the darkness.

About 30 miles in we hit our first rest stop just after sunrise. Up until now the temps were cool and I needed all the clothing I had on. There was a slight breeze and it was cold but not freezing. Just before reaching the first SAG I noticed frost on the roofs of homes and steam rising from agricultural aqueducts. The temps were dropping even as the sun was rising. Once at the SAG it became apparent just how bloody cold it had become. Everyone was shaking. Talking was hard. Motor skills were suffering. My core temp had really dropped. I heard several reports that temps there were hovering right around freezing. Back on the bike my body was shaking uncontrollably, my jaw was shaking uncontrollably. My fingers were so numb I missed shifts a few times. Just staying on the bike was hard. I hooked up with a nice guy for a few miles and we talked as we slowly warmed up. Luckily we hit our first grade of the day and life began to return to my body.

Once in the rolling hills of the western Sierra foothills the scenery became quite beautiful. The road was narrow but traffic was light and motorists were polite. Or maybe sympathetic to our plight. Either way they gave plenty of space when passing. The climb lasted for several miles with minimal reprise. Even with the sun out and 6%-7% there was no need to shed any cloths. Eventually we popped out on a highway (the one that takes you to Kings Canyon). I enjoyed a nice descent that end on a flat road with a nice little head wind for 8 miles. This kind of sucked.

The climbing out of the next SAG went on for what seemed like days. By this point I start to realize that I had passed no one all day and had been passed by what seemed like every rider in the event. Towards end of the last major stretch of climbing I seriously contemplated bailing out. It was 12:30 and I had not even completed 100 miles. Sadly that's 8 hours of riding and not even 100 miles. I asked a passing SAG driver if I was the last rider. Turns out I was not, which gave me a little boost.

At the 3rd SAG and lunch stop I was able to recharge my body with some calories and liquids. I saw many of the riders who passed me so I felt like I wasn't that far behind. I put in my headphones and pulled away after a nice break. The music helped tremendously. Something to take my mind off all the endless hills. The next leg was pretty short with a great descent into the 4th SAG. I felt pretty good actually. There was hope. I might actually finish this thing. Good thing I didn't quite earlier I thought.

Well not so fast. The climb out of this stop went on for miles. Grade was double digits reaching 13% at one point. Sometime after this I took a wrong turn (which I learned latter). It really didn't matter I was close to my breaking point. I had no power left in my legs, I was spinning in my bailout gear (30x27), and making pathetically slow forward progress at 5 MPH. SAG 5 closed at 6PM and it was 5:30PM, I was unknowing off course, it was getting dark, and I knew I still had a hellish hill still to climb. I finally decided to throw in the towel...to abandon my goal of the Triple Crown, and return to SAG 4, which was mostly all downhill. There I could get a SAG vehicle back to the start and end this torture fest.

I met my SAG driver at SAG 4. We had just started our drive back to the start at about 6:30 then he got a call. We ended up sweeping the course for the next several hours. I got a chance to see what I missed out on and felt even better about bailing out. There was plenty of climbing still left to Bass Lake, let alone the murderous climb up Powerhouse Grade (6 miles of 4%-8%) starting at mile 165. I arrived back at the start/finish at 10PM. There were at least 20 riders still out there. 7 of which were still not even to the Powerhouse Grade. Those folks probably finished sometime today.

Am disappointed I was unable to finish and potentially win the Triple Crown? For sure. That was my only cycling goal for the year. I really wanted that jersey. I finished Solvang so strong. I think it was a combination of not enough long term training and too much short term training. I didn't have the base needed yet was not fully recovered from my short term training. I can't blame this one on lack of nutrition, water, or electrolytes. I feel like that stuff was in order. It was simply a lack of power in my legs. They just didn't have anything to give, even from very early on in the ride. At the end of the day I rode 130 miles with a total time of 14 hours.

My take away from this weekend (at least for right now), is that I need to still train on the week days for general fitness and stress relief but I need to focus on having fun when I ride. Days like yesterday are not fun. Cycling should be fun and I need to start having fun again.

MTBMaven, sorry to hear about your day.

Well, 3:15am came early. I made it to the start line buy 4:00am and it was cold 45 degrees. I saw Rick (Rick@OCRR) and Terri (?) getting ready and leaving. I met a couple of other riders I know and left with them at 4:30. I was dressed in ThermaFleece bibs with knee warmers underneath, arm warmers, base layer, jersey, vest, skull caps with ear flaps, long fingers gloves and toe covers. I was a little cold, but I figured it would get warmer as it got closer to sunrise. By the time I got to the first rest stop, mile 37, I was cold. My fingertips were very cold, I almost couldn’t feel them and my face was stinging. I looked at the temp on my Polar, 30 degrees could that be right? I asked one of my friends what his computer showed and his was 30 also, no wonder I was shivering. I was trying to get my lights off my bike and fill water bottles, but I was having trouble getting my fingers to work. I won’t even go into trying to use the port-a-potty with ice cold fingertips. I don’t know which one was worst, riding the bike or standing at the rest stop, it was miserable.

Ok, back on the bike and it is cold. Within a few miles I started climbing and it did warm up a little. The first climbs of the day weren’t bad, just enough to catch your attention. Now I had to go to the bathroom and a tree wouldn’t do. Where is a port-a-potty when you need one? I finally found a feed store open and used their restroom. Back on the road and felling a lot better. I found a tandem and tucked in behind them and made up some ground.

At RS #2 the sun was up and we were about to start some serious climbing. So, I took off the leg warmers, vest, skull cap, toe warmers and bagged them to be picked up at RS#5 for the ride back downhill to the finish. It’s 27 miles between RS #2 and RS #3 and I gained a little over 3,100’. RS #3 was the lunch stop at 100 miles and it had the high temp of the day with 64 degrees. I sat and had lunch with Rick and Terri, then it was time to get back on the bike.

On to RS #4 and a great downhill to the RS. Opps, we are going to have climb back up the hill on the way back. After RS #4 was probably the hardest climb of the day, 5 miles with pitches to 12%. The ride to RS #5 it was 25 miles with 4,000’ of climbing. I picked up clothes, had a cup-of-noodles and it was back on the bike and the ride home. One more major climb for the day, ahh the nice downhill I had earlier. After the RS at the bottom of the hill it was time to climb it, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Now it was almost totally downhill to the finish, just a few speed bumps ok small hills, along the way. I was in a pace line with Rick, Terri and a few other riders about 3 miles from the last RS when we had one of the chip boys buzz us. Chip boys are the guys who put power chips, computer programming, into the diesel pick-ups to make them go faster. Unfortunately one of the side effects is they product tons of black smoke. This guy figured it would be cute to get behind us, stomp on the accelerator, produce as much smoke as possible and buzz us as close as possible. He did a great job if you’re on his side. He almost hit a rider and produced so much smoke you couldn’t see or breathe, thank you very much.

RS #7, the one I’ve been waiting for all day. Was it because there was only 16 miles left that made it special, no. The RS was sponsored by the Filipino Cycling Association, had valet parking and homemade chicken adobo with rice, what a feast. I didn’t eat too much because there was still 16 miles left.

Finally the finish line, what a beautiful sight. I checked-in, put my bike away and had some of the dinner the club was serving. I sat with Rick and Terri and discussed the day’s events. I was tired, it had been just a little over 17 hours since I left and I had been on the bike for 14:48. I ended up with 200.1 miles, 12,280’ of climbing, burned 12,425 calories and battled temps down to 30 degrees, what a day. The Fresno Cycling club does a great job of putting on the Bass Lake Powerhouse Double as usual.

I think I’m still coughing up black smoke.

Wow, you guys are alert! I drove home from Fresno, had lunch with my wife, then went right to sleep! I haven't even thought about writing up my Bass Lake report and you guys are all done! Taking a short "awake break" here at 7:30 PM!

Great job with your reports . . . I guess I need more sleep that the average bear. So maybe I'll get around to it on Mon. evening.

Sorry you didn't finish MTBMaven. It was a long day with a lot of climbing, and with all the climbing "back-loaded" that made it more difficult too. Dante and I were discussing . . . why not reverse the course so you climb when you're fresh (and warm up quicker), then you could always plod along on the flat bits if you were wasted nearer the end.

There must be some good reason why they don't do that, but it escapes me. I'll try to check with the Fresno club!

Overall a great day though! I took a few photos, so will try to post them soon (I'll just edit-add them to this post).

Rick / OCRR

My first photo, at the summit of Maxson Hill (the first really steep bit!)
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1335.jpg
Here is a photo of Terri at the top of Maxson. She was only a couple of seconds behind me.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1336.jpg

Next we have The Amazing Dante (this goes with his report above) relaxing at lunch, aka, Checkpoint 3 at Sierra Elementary School.
Gotta love Mountain Dew on these rides!

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1337.jpg

Here we have Terri at lunch, enjoying the potatoes (baby russetts with lots of salt!) especially.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1338.jpg

This is the very famous Karin Huber, experienced and Very Fast Ultra-Distance cyclist. If she was at lunch when we were, she probably started an hour or two after we did!

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1339.jpg

Here is the lunch set-up at Checkpoint 3, lovely setting, lots of great food, no worries!


http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1340.jpg

Backing up for a background shot, you see we really are surrounded by the Sierra Mountains! Lots of bikes along the fence for some reason . . . must be some cyclists about.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1341.jpg

This is a shot of the lake, upon the shores of which we found Checkpoint 4. This was at the base of the great descent, and also the base of the Powerhouse Climb, arguably the toughest climb of the day. Lovely setting, yes?

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1342.jpg

And here are some happy Checkpoint workers at the same location, and Terri walking back toward her Litespeed.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1343.jpg

A better shot of happy Checkpoint workers at #4, with their table of food, both "real" and "funnel food."

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/DSCF1344.jpg

Dante we actually spoke at least once on the ride. We have never met so I didn't know it was you. We talked about elete water at stop one when we were both freezing cold.

Rick I not sure if I saw you or not, there were several Calfees out there. Were you by chance using some tools at the Powerhouse stop before you climb up the Powerhouse Grade? If so you were WAY ahead of me. You made it there before me and I never even made it to Bass Lake.

Glad you both were able to finish the ride. It was sure a long day out there.

Hi MTBMaven,

No, that wasn't me since (thankfully!) my Calfee worked perfectly all day. I did see three other Calfees out there, but there could have been more! I was wearing my yellow OCRR jersey (the one with the cartoon eagle), but I had a blue Sugoi jacket over the jersey in the first and last part of the ride.

Rick / OCRR

Dante we actually spoke at least once on the ride. We have never met so I didn't know it was you. We talked about elete water at stop one when we were both freezing cold.

Rick I not sure if I saw you or not, there were several Calfees out there. Were you by chance using some tools at the Powerhouse stop before you climb up the Powerhouse Grade? If so you were WAY ahead of me. You made it there before me and I never even made it to Bass Lake.

Glad you both were able to finish the ride. It was sure a long day out there.

I remember that. It was cold, it made it hard to do anything. I don't think I've ever been that cold. Since the club had to change the route, because of road closures, the ride has become more back loaded. Having ridden Bass Lake before I knew Powerhouse grade was a quad buster. I took it easy for the first part so I could survive Powerhouse.

Wonder what happened to longslow, the OP? Did you finish longslow and what's your story?

Rick / OCRR

MTBMaven, your SAG driver back, was he driving a white van and was his name Roehl?

Wow, you guys are alert! I drove home from Fresno, had lunch with my wife, then went right to sleep! I haven't even thought about writing up my Bass Lake report and you guys are all done! Taking a short "awake break" here at 7:30 PM!

Lucky dog!!!!! I got home at 7am, helped my wife setup and take down for 2 health fairs she was involved with for the American Lung Association. By the time we got home yesterday it was 3:30pm, then I was tired (Starbucks was my friend yesterday).

Lucky dog!!!!! I got home at 7am, helped my wife setup and take down for 2 health fairs she was involved with for the American Lung Association. By the time we got home yesterday it was 3:30pm, then I was tired (Starbucks was my friend yesterday).

Yeah I'm lucky and I know it!

My wife rides some doubles too, so she knows the post-double feeling. I called her when I got back to the motel in Fresno (about 11:00 PM) expecting to leave a message, but she actually answered (up reading a book, she :love: books).

Then I phoned her when I was about 1/2 way home (Flying J near Lebec). When I got home, she asked, "Are you more tired or more hungry?" Since I was more hungry at that time we went out for Italian food (Frantone's), had a great lunch. When we got back home I was definitely more tired!

Maybe this evening I'll get around to writing my Bass Lake Powerhouse report!

Rick / OCRR

No we were in a Tacoma truck. Not sure of the color.

Yeah I'm lucky and I know it!

My wife rides some doubles too, so she knows the post-double feeling. I called her when I got back to the motel in Fresno (about 11:00 PM) expecting to leave a message, but she actually answered (up reading book, she :love: books).

Then I phoned her when I was about 1/2 way home (Flying J near Lebec). When I got home, she asked, "Are you more tired or more hungry?" Since I was more hungry at that time we went out for Italian food (Frantone's), had a great lunch. When we got back home I was definitely more tired!

Maybe this evening I'll get around to writing my Bass Lake Powerhouse report!

Rick / OCRR

My wife usually lets me take it easy and she had planned to do just that. I knew she was short on volunteers for the health fairs so I came home early to surprize her and help her. She did take me out to a wonderful Mexican lunch and then cooked a great dinner. Today I'm taking it easy before I go to work at 2pm.

Good job Dante!

Yes, in a similar situation I probably would have done the same thing. Lucky for me all my wife had to do on Sunday was grade huge stack of AP Chemistry tests. I know zippo about Chemistry, so I took a nap instead!

Great riding with you on Bass Lake. I'm not riding any more doubles this year (except maybe the Hemet workers ride if that ever gets organized), so hopefully I'll see you on Butterfield. Tried to talk Terri into Butterfield (she's never ridden it), but no luck on that so far.

Rick / OCRR

Good job Dante!

Yes, in a similar situation I probably would have done the same thing. Lucky for me all my wife had to do on Sunday was grade huge stack of AP Chemistry tests. I know zippo about Chemistry, so I took a nap instead!

Great riding with you on Bass Lake. I'm not riding any more doubles this year (except maybe the Hemet workers ride if that ever gets organized), so hopefully I'll see you on Butterfield. Tried to talk Terri into Butterfield (she's never ridden it), but no luck on that so far.

Rick / OCRR

I'll be there. Isn't it amazing how we are talking about next year already.

I'll be there. Isn't it amazing how we are talking about next year already.

No, not really. We're addicted to doubles and have to get our next fix!

I guess we could blame Chuck Bramwell since he does such a fine job of keeping the whole CA Triple Crown Double Series going :).

Also, please note that I put my detailed Bass Lake Powerhouse report over on the 50+ forum because, as you noted, they all think we're crazy anyway!

Rick / OCRR

I found photos take during the event. Looks like these were all taken by the photographer at SAG #2.
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/6213207_CEagc#391756529_DFgbB (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/6213207_CEagc#391756529_DFgbB)

Here is me all bundled up
http://i37.tinypic.com/244o4ew.jpg

Good photo MTMaven! And thanks for the link!
Here's the photo of me and Terri coming into Checkpoint #2.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/RickandTerrionBassLake.jpg
And here's one of just Terri

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/TerriatBassLake.jpg

Alright...Longslow is a weenie. When you turned to the powerhouse loop I turned left. I did not listen to my wife and came for 60 degree riding. I froze but I got in 140 miles..Thanks for asking

Peter

Alright...Longslow is a weenie. When you turned to the powerhouse loop I turned left. I did not listen to my wife and came for 60 degree riding. I froze but I got in 140 miles..Thanks for asking Peter

Hi Peter,

Well in those conditions, 140 miles make for a good ride! For my report on Bass Lake, please go to the
50+ sub-forum. Also, please post your ride-photo here, so we'll recognize you on the road next time!

Rick / OCRR

I found a picture of me, thanks for the link.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w210/DanteBpb/BassLake08-1.jpg

I just got an email from Terri, and she's riding the Solvang Double this weekend. Not sure how she recovered so fast, but she did! What a woman!

I'll be on the club ride instead; I need some recovery.

Rick / OCRR

I just got an email from Terri, and she's riding the Solvang Double this weekend. Not sure how she recovered so fast, but she did! What a woman!

I'll be on the club ride instead; I need some recovery.

Rick / OCRR

Rick,

Terri did great, saw her at CP #2 and the final CP#5 near Lompoc. She looked like it was just another double for here.

Rick,

Terri did great, saw her at CP #2 and the final CP#5 near Lompoc. She looked like it was just another double for here.

Congratulations Terri!! Thanks for the info scvroadie.

Rick, Terri did great, saw her at CP #2 and the final CP#5 near Lompoc. She looked like it was just another double for here.

Thanks Lee,

I was hoping she would do great, so it's good to hear that she did! I just sent her an email, so I'll see what she says!

Rick / OCRR