Rick@OCRR

Eastern Sierra Double Century June 5th, 2010

Presented by Planet Ultra

Driving to the Start
I took off half a day of work on Friday to drive up to Bishop, CA for Planet Ultra’s Annual Eastern Sierra Double Century. Loyal Readers will remember that the 2009 version had turned into a Real Suffer-Fest with rain, snow, hail and near freezing temperatures in the morning, contrasted with Brutal Head Winds to fight in the afternoon. The drive up indicated it might be radically different this year, with temperatures in the high 90’s on the highway (CA 395) and a balmy 97 deg.F as I rolled into Bishop.

Early Start for Cooler Temps
I checked into the Motel 6, had dinner with Dante (who had just returned from doing intervals in this heat!), then walked down to Registration at La Quinta to pick up our numbers, route sheets, and talk with lots of other riders about the day to come. Many had decided to use the Early Start Time of 4:00 AM for the sole purpose of beating the heat and climbing to altitude before it got too unbearable. The Eastern Sierra Double (ESD) has three peaks over 8,000 feet, so there’s some cooling going on there, plus a bit of altitude effect for those of us who live and train (mostly) at sea level.

Rolling Down the Road
The wake-up call came at 3:00AM, so I was all dressed and ready to ride at about ten till 4:00, rolling down to the start to greet at least forty (maybe fifty) riders who had all opted for the Early Start. After the usual “Ride Rules and Ride Safe” speech from Debbie (Our Planet Ultra Hostess) we were off through the dark and absolutely deserted streets of Bishop, then quickly out into the countryside, none of which we could see apart from the bits of pavement lit by our headlights. I joined into a peloton of 20+ riders going what I considered to be a comfortable speed, and we actually managed to stay together (mostly) right up to the first checkpoint at Mile 29.6, Round Valley School.

Click on Photos to Enlarge


The first climb, still in the dark

Get Ready for the First Big Climb
We stopped for a short time, but I hadn’t really had much to drink (from my 70 oz. Camelback and one large bottle), plus I didn’t want to carry any extra weight up the first big climb, i.e. The Old Sherwin Grade. This climb starts out very gentle, but then slowly ramps up and maintains about 6% for 7 miles with one short descent at about three-quarters of the way to the Summit. I climbed with fellow Rebel David Slaton, dropped down into my 30t granny and switching among the 23t, 25t and 27t cogs in the back, trying to keep my cadence in the mid 80’s. We were drafting another much larger rider on the first part of the climb, but dropped him on the short descent (without really meaning to), and never saw him again all day. Funny how that happens.


Beautiful cloud just after dawn

Old Sherwin Summit
Topping out Old Sherwin about 8:00AM it was out onto 395 for a short time, by Tom’s Place, and a few miles further on into Checkpoint #2 at the Crowley Lake Park long about mile 48.7. A very friendly crew here, managed by Jesse from the Quack Cyclists, and staffed by lovely young ladies who were happy to fill bottles, Camelbacks and offer encouraging words. Having started early and kept up a decent pace, we were well at the head of the pack at this point. I was going perhaps a bit over what I wanted just to stay on David’s wheel, but overall comfortable enough, though I would live to regret it later in the day! Riding within my ability is a Huge part of Resource Management, and I knew it, but somehow the appeal of a wheel to follow blinded my judgement!


My friend David Slaton (62) getting ready for the Old Sherwin Grade

On the Way to Mammoth
It’s a lovely straight descent from Checkpoint #2 to the next junction of 395, then a few miles to the turn off to what eventually becomes the town of Mammoth Lakes, and our right turn onto the Mammoth Scenic Loop. Quite the climb to get there, bit of a slog really, but well worth the effort for the combination of the stunning view and the (eventual) descent that seemed to go on almost too long. At the bottom of said descent it was back to CA Hwy 395 yet again, up and down but mostly down to the base of the colorfully named “Dead Man’s Summit.” There must be a story behind that name but regardless I was feeling good along here and managed to lead both David and another rider (never got his name, but he was wearing an “Oat Bran” jersey) over the top, and down the descent to the left turn junction of the June Lake Loop. Fortunately there was also a Checkpoint here, number three this one, for those of you counting; right at mile 79.2.


Happy volunteers at the Lake Crowley Checkpoint


Resupply at Checkpoint 3 before June Lake


David leads us at the start of June Lake Loop

June Lake
It had been a downright Lovely Day for the last four hours or so, and June Lake was stunning in the brilliant sunshine. The checkpoint was staffed by Debbie Bowling herself, along some able volunteers, so it was refill time for the Camelback and bottle, rest-room break, munch a bit of Real Food, then back on the bikes and around the lake. The road around June Lake is pretty much perfect for cycling, apart from no shoulder or bike lane, but otherwise lots of turns and elevation changes, swoops and curves all of nearly perfect pavement beside a beautiful blue lake. Not sure it gets much better, really! David was still full of energy along here, so Oat Bran and I happily let him pull us around. After we’d made the left turn onto Hwy 395 (yes, again!) David indicated that it was my turn to pull. No argument from me, though I’m certain the speed went down a few mph when I went to the front! I pulled David and Oat Bran all the way to lunch (about nine miles) on the shores of the stunning (but kind of unusual looking) Mono Lake, now at mile 104.5. I should add that it was a considerable descent to Mono Lake, so the first time ESD rider is (understandably) a bit shocked and awed whilst considering that he or she will have to power back up this grade, with a full stomach, in the not too distant future.


The lunch Checkpoint on the Shore of Mono Lake

Subway Sandwiches for Lunch? Really?
At lunch we had the predictable Subway Sandwiches, salty chips, sodas and the usual Checkpoint cookies and bars. Pretty good really, after a long morning of (mostly) Perpetuem, Gatorade and Heed! We talked to several riders there, including one unfortunate soul who had broken two spokes in his rear wheel (Bontrager) and his rear derailluer cable. Still, he had to have been riding very well to be where we were, since we had perfectly good bikes! Another rider was suffering with (he thought) a case of the flu, yet he was kind enough to loan the previously noted rider his rear wheel, plus fix the first rider’s derailluer cable with a spare he’d carried. Folks, you know, life doesn’t really get much more selfless than that!

Leaving Mono Lake
For some reason I was ready to go long before David was, plus (as David points out), “I’m not a good climber, not good on the flats or descending, but I am very good at hanging around checkpoints and talking to other riders!” He even fell asleep at a checkpoint once, but that’s another story. And while he’s says he’s not good at those other noted cycling disciplines, he’s certainly better than I am! All that said, I was up the road by myself, riding at my own comfortable pace, and really enjoying the day. Oat Bran passed me on the climb out of Mono Lake, after a few minutes, saying “David’s still at lunch, but he should be along soon.” No worries, I knew he’d catch me. Through the micro-town of Lee Vining then, past the road to June Lake and eventually a left turn onto Hwy 120 to face the (Much Dreaded) Horrors of Sage Hen.


The "meadow" most of the way up the Sage Hen climb.

Oh No, Not Sage Hen!
Sage Hen is a difficult climb, not so much in and of itself, but because you start it with 120 miles and probably 8,000 feet of climbing on your legs. Oh, plus, it’s at altitude, with the summit just above 8,000 feet. It starts out as what I call a stair-step climb, i.e. a steep bit, then a not too steep section for a bit of rest. This goes on for several miles, then it starts to get more serious, the steep bits last lots longer, the less steep bits don’t happen at all . . . anymore. Plus, by this time it was hot, even at altitude, and the air didn’t seem to be moving. Just when I my attitude was bottoming out, I saw Lee Scott (scvroadie on bikeforums.net) in the sparse shade at the side of the road, smiling a big smile and saying “We’ve got ice and water if you need it!” And yes, I did. He filled my bottle and Camelback with ice, then topped them off with water. It’s amazing how much that helped, both my body and my attitude!


The sign we'd been looking for!


David rolls into the Sage Hen Summit Checkpoint

Sage Hen Summit
David pulled into Lee’s Mini-Stop just as I was leaving, and by the time he caught me the road had leveled out to a desert pine meadow, rather desolate looking really, but the road wasn’t angled up anymore (for awhile) so it looked good to me! When David did catch me he was complaining of “hot-foot” which I’ve never experienced (thankfully!), and this continued to plague him throughout the rest of the ride. After a final steep section we hit the Summit of Sage Hen and the Much Appreciated Sage Hen Checkpoint at Mile 130. We stayed at this Checkpoint for probably twenty minutes or more, re-hydrating, listening to the music from their Boom-Box (Jim Morrison booming “Love me two times babe, Love me twice today . . . ”), and eating pretzels just for the salt. David took off his shoe and massaged his Hot Foot, apparently making some improvement, at least temporarily.


The desert scenery on the descent off Sage Hen

On the Way to Benton
Once again I took off before David, riding the descent off Sage Hen that lasts for most of the close to sixty miles to the next Checkpoint. David passed me after a few miles (he really does descend well) and he thought I’d gotten on his wheel when he went by, but it was actually a Cervelo rider (dressed in full Cervelo Test Team kit), who we eventually learned was Glen. Prior to actually meeting Glen, we had our bodies, bikes and most specifically their headsets, pounded by the relentless expansion joints of Hwy 120. Some of these joints were only half an inch wide, others close to an inch, still others three of four inches between the concrete slabs. Some (minor) effort had been made to fill them with tar, but that had been long ago. Still, the size of the tar blob gave some indication of the intensity of the upcoming impact. Plus, yes, there were some short steep climbs, and one long one at Benton Crossing (Truck with Cheese sign at the Summit), but it was all downhill from there, right into the Town of Benton, CA and our final Checkpoint. This one, was Number 6, at the Ida Lynn Memorial Park and Mile 158.9.


The "Truck with Cheese" sign at Benton Crossing Summit

The Final Leg
Benton is situated at a slightly higher altitude than Bishop, so you have that going for you, but on the other hand, the wind is far more of an issue. All the way down from Benton Crossing I was trying to figure out if we would have a head wind or a tail wind for the 34 miles from Benton to Bishop. This was quite the topic of discussion at the Checkpoint, but no one seemed to know the answer for sure. We filled up bottles and ate of bit of Real Food, talked to the Checkpoint workers for quite awhile and watched other riders roll in. Karin Huber passed us through here, plus several riders we didn’t know, but that didn’t really concern us. What did concern us was Debbie’s rule that riders who use the Early Start Time must not finish in less than 14 Hours. Otherwise, they would be disqualified, and instead of getting CA Triple Crown Credit for this fine ride, a rider could find a big “DQ” next to their name on the result sheet. We didn’t want that.

Do the Math
We’d all done the math, of course, so we knew we had to finish after 6:00 PM, pretty much no matter what. With a headwind, no worries, not going to happen. With a tail-wind, well yes, it could happen fairly easily.
On top of that, the scenery is pretty boring, and the road is mostly flat (which is also boring). On the positive side, there is an excellent shoulder that probably wasn’t intended to be a bike lane, but works quite well for that purpose. I got out on the road before David yet again, and discovered that the wind was side-tail and the slight curves in the road worked out exactly how much of each you had at any given moment. Mostly, though, it was pretty favorable since I spent almost all 34 miles in the big (53t) chain-ring. There is a big sweeping right curve going into the town of Bishop, i.e. directing the riders into a Brutal Headwind in this case, on top of which there were thousands of shards of radial tires littering the shoulder, causing flat tires for more than a few riders. Fortunately, I was not one of them, swerving to miss them, which kept my mind (slightly) off the head wind. About half way back to Bishop, David had passed me and disappeared into the distance.

Into the Finish
I rolled into the Finish at 6:14 PM for a 14:14 Total Time, or pretty much normal for me on this Double Century. I was surprised to learn that David hadn’t finished before I did, but later found out that he’d stopped at the KFC up the road from the finish to cool his feet, get a drink, and wait until the clock ran out a bit. Karin had slashed a tire several blocks from the finish and had walked it in rather than deal with booting the tire that late in the ride. After a shower and change into street clothes I joined the others at the finish, cheering riders as they rolled in across the line. I learned that Dante had a bad day, just didn’t have the power in his legs, and had turned around about 50 miles out. Our good friends Lisa and Tony had finished about 15 minutes after me, though Tony had to fight leg cramps for more than half the day. Overall it was an excellent day, with fairly decent weather, excellent support from the Volunteers and Checkpoint workers, and good food (both Real and Hammer products). The overall mileage was a tad short at “only” 193 miles, with a bit over 10,000 feet of climbing. Still, a full day on the bike!

Rick / OCRR

Note Regarding Thread Title: David and I are 60 Plus, Dante is for sure 50+ but both Lisa and Tony can't be 50 yet . . .

doctor j

Another outstanding report, Rick, and nice pics as well. It's great that you are back doing the doubles. I can't remember that much detail from a 40-mile ride. I don't know how you can: a) remember that much and b) ride 200 miles on your bike. For me, 100 is a MAJOR/EPIC/AWESOME accomplishment once or twice a year. Congratulations and well done!

Rick@OCRR

Thanks Doctor J. Here are some photos by Debbie Bowling of Planet Ultara taken on the Old Sherwin Grade; Click on Photo to enlarge


Rick and David attack the Old Sherwin Grade


Lisa on Old Sherwin riding her Steve Rex bike


Terri Boykins looking good on the Old Sherwin Grade

Rick / OCRR

DanteB

You did a great job on ESD, unfortunetly I just didn't feel good Saturday, no power. I had had a busy week with work and had done a lot of traveling. See you at GT!

gpelpel

Nice report Rick. It was my first ESD, my 3rd double overall. I met David (didn't know his name before reading your report, all I knew is that he was from Irvine) and chatted with him quite a bit on S. Bartlow and W.Line, he is a very nice fellow. Say hi to him from me if you see him soon, I was the guy with the French accent.
I also recognize some other names, Lisa and Tony, who Dante introduced to me at the start. I saw them a couple of times along the route, the last time when I was descending to the Mono Lake RS, they were climbing back to Lee Vining.
It's amazing the close community you guys have, you seem to know everybody, riders, volunteers and organizers alike.

George

Another great review on a great ride. Good going Rick

BikeWNC

Wow Rick, another great ride. What was your moving average speed and time? I'm trying to determine if I could hang with you guys. Maybe next year I'll join you.

Rick@OCRR

Well BikeWNC,

That's an interesting question. I have a cordless Sigma computer with the sensor attached to the fork of my Calfee with one of those thick rubber-band like rings (apparently not tight enough). Bouncing over a cattle guard in the dark the sensor moved against the spokes (Rattle-Rattle-Rattle) until the battery cover and the battery itself bounced on the ground (or maybe down the grate), never to be seen (by me) again.

Okay, my cadence worked, but time/speed/distance - no. But, to take a guess-timate, my total time was 14:15, and lets say I stayed at various checkpoints for a total of 2 hours (quite likely), that means 12:15 bike time divided by 193 miles = 15.5 moving mph.

Complete results are here so you can see where I finished compared to everyone else:

https://www.planetultra.com/easternsi...%20results.htm

And yes, you should join us! Grand Tour ("GT" in Dante's post) is coming up June 26th, 2010. Hope to see you for the 4:30 AM start!

Rick / OCRR

BikeWNC

LOL, I said next year! I'll be in Colorado on a bike tour myself on the 26th. 15.5mph on a double is a good pace with 10K' of climbing. I'll have to actually train to hang. Hey that sounds catchy.

Rick@OCRR

Thanks gpelpel,

Good to hear you've met Dante, David Slaton, Lisa and Tony! I do know quite a few folks, but there are far more I don't know (in the CA Triple Crown community). Yes, it is easy to meet other riders, checkpoint workers (if you volunteer for a double or two that helps tremendously) and organizers and I'm sure you'll meet more riders quickly as you continue to ride doubles.

I will say "Hi!" to David for you, since he rides with my club (OCRR) on the weekday rides.

I'm happy to hear you had a good ride and hope to meet you out there somewhere in the future!

Rick / OCRR

Biker395 

Nice job, Rick! Hopefully, I can make it next year.

cyclinfool

I've said it before - you guys are nuts!

Rick@OCRR

Hopefully so Victor,

Every time we turned onto 395 I was reminded of the "CA 395" crest on your bike's head tube! So yes, the Eastern Sierra without you and Saralie was not the same.

I hope to see both of you out on the ESD next year!

Rick / OCRR

Rick@OCRR

Yes cyclinfool,

You have said it before, and you'll likely say it again! In addition to DanteB, Victor (Biker395) and myself we now have gpelpel, plus it looks like we'll have BikeWNC in a year or so.

Who knows, in a year or two you may decide to give a double century a try!

And you may be right . . . we may be nuts, but it's in a good way!

Rick / OCRR

BikeWNC

I think for me, doing a Double would be best in completely different surroundings than what I am used to riding. I've always wanted to see the Eastern Sierras and the Bishop area. So if things work out with family, I will certainly try to get out there next year. I don't want to wait until I'm as old as Rick to do a ride like it. lol

cyclinfool

Rick,

You may be right - earlier in the year when I was planning my events and training schedule the Adirondack Ultramarathon club's Montreal Double Double (8/6-10) was briefly considered, ride 200 miles to Montreal from a town a little north from my house, stay a couple of nights and ride home. That's two doubles back to back. Not in the cards for this year but maybe next.

Rick@OCRR

Sounds good cyclinfool!

Back to back doubles are always a good test of your recovery abilities. I have done them on consecutive weekends, but not back to back since I was in my early 40's.

Good luck on it, and good preparation and training are key (as you know). I'll be waiting for your report and photos!

Rick / OCRR

fat biker

Rick,

Well ridden.
Well written.
You ARE the MAN!

Jeff, still fat

Biker395 

God willing, I'll get out there for the ESD next year. I have done a lot of doubles, and they all have their charm ... but the ESD is sublime.

The entire ride is fab. Starting in Bishop where the early June weather is mild, and climbing out just before the Owens Valley summer heat rises. Ending the ride with a sweeping downhill into Benton and a long straight 0-3% downhill to Bishop, typically with the Sun setting on the White Mountains.

But there are two points where the ESD kinda goes beyond even that. For me, the first is at the top of Oh! Ridge ... when you first see the June Lake Loop.



From there, you ride through the little burgh of June Lake, then sweep down through the aspens and by Horsetail Falls on your way to Mono Lake. And the second is when you leave Adobe Meadows and find yourself perched above Benton, ready to descend all the way down to Bishop:



Or maybe it's just being on the brink between high desert and the high Sierra ... the ESD rocks.

Rick@OCRR

Thanks for adding your excellent photographs Victor! Hopefully they will inspire more of the 50+ riders to try the Eastern Sierra Double next year, or at least visit the beauty of the Hwy 395 Scenic Route and the Sierras.

Rick / OCRR

Biker395 

Well, if I'm able to go next year, maybe we can get some BFers to come up and stay with me in Mammoth for the ride. We did that for the High Sierra Fall Century last year, and it was a hoot. We'll make it a slumber party.

Rick@OCRR

Sounds good Victor,

We should do it. Are you riding the White Mountain double? I've heard good and bad things about it, but thinking about having a go.

Rick / OCRR