twocoasttb

Decided I'd had enough after 104 miles - two monster climbs, hail, snow, and freezing cold rain. The fact that the adjusted route went right past the motel sealed the deal. A little bummed about it. Finished the Solvang Spring double last year in fine shape- just didn't have it today. Ah well.

Congrats to the rest of you who gutted it out. I'm looking forward to seeing some good ride reports.

jdon

Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug. In those conditions, right past the motel, it would be really hard to resist. Better luck with your next double!

Beaker

Anyone who rode out in that this weekend deserves kudos. Well done.

twocoasttb

I should clarify that the snow, hail, and freezing cold rain lasted for only about 20 or 25 miles, and the snow didn't stick to the road (thank goodness). Descending on Death Valley Road in those conditions was nuts though. It's hard to control a descending bike when your brakes are working in a diminished capacity and your body is shaking uncontrollably.

The most impressive thing I saw today was uspspro and ruth rocketing down that very descent on their tandem. Whooosh. Scary fast in those conditions.

The second most impressive thing I saw was probably uspspro and ruth climbing their way back out. Nice job, you two. I was the one on the side of the road taking a nap, head down on the handlebars. :-)

RoboCheme

I'm impressed that you and the others were out there in the first place. A century in those conditions is pretty impressive

DanteB

It was a terrible day, along with the about mentioned snow, rain and cold the wind blew. The ride to Benton from Bishop, 36 miles, was into a 25 mph headwind with gusts to 35. I did finish half hour before the course closed. I'm tired and beat-up.

BlastRadius

You guys are amazing.

spingineer

Just got home. Well, I was one of those that made a U-turn about 4 miles from the top before you descended down the other side on Death Valley Road. And, I was one of those that ducked in a nice, warm, cozy SAG wagon. I was just shivering, and shaking, and I probably just barely in a conscious state.

While climbing, I saw a few people heading down the hill. I just thought they were fast and headed down on this out and back. Then, I saw more and more people go down, and a few of them had just passed me only 10 minutes ago. Then, another one going down said "no mas". Again, thinking they went all the way to the end, and just was exhausted. Later on, I actually saw someone make a U-Turn, and that's where I said that's it ... I'm doing the same, but only after I pass 40 miles ... I gotta do that at least!

As far as I can tell, I made it to about the 42 mile mark, at abound the 7550 foot elevation point, and had climbed 4578 feet. It was cold, wet, freezing, and miserable.

What is it with me and abnormal conditions on organized rides? First WCC, and constant rain ... then Davis, with extreme heat. And now Eastern Sierra, with ultra cold rain, sleet, and snow. But at least I got to go through Tioga Pass with some awesome scenery on the drive back.

spingineer

Here's my ESD report.

It all started out okay … carpooled with Chris (ygduf), en route to registering the day before (Friday), with hopes of Chris and I starting at 4 am. We figured the best way is to cut through via Yosemite on Tioga Pass (hwy 120), then a straight shot down Hwy 395 into Bishop. With our estimates, with a departure time of 12 noon from Mountain View, we should get there by 7 pm. Well, we found out before leaving, Tioga Pass was closed. No problem … we can try cutting through Sonora Pass. However, that was closed too, but we only found that out after we were on Hwy 120, looking for Sonora Pass. Now we're f&*#$%).

After talking to Marco, they are going via Hwy 50, to S. Lake Tahoe, then south on Hwy 395 into Bishop. Damn, damn, damn, damn!!! That is going to add a lot of extra time to our commute. So we proceeded north on Hwy 49, through a myriad of little towns, switchbacks, which also meant the average speed was reduced greatly. By the time we got to S. Lake Tahoe, it was already around 7 pm, and we knew we wouldn't make it in time. We ended up getting to Bishop around 9:30 pm, but then the real adventure starts.

We found out there would be no 4 am start, as Planet Ultra is re-designing the route. For concerns of safety, they decided to take us further south, to avoid the expected storms up north, and more importantly, to avoid us getting snowed upon. Okay, remember this point … avoid getting snowed upon! The new mass start time was 5 am, so that gave us 1 extra hour of sleep time.

The air temp was comfortable … approximately 50 degrees, and some even left their jacket in the hotel. This was to be an out and back, back to the lunch stop, which was at the start. With that in mind, we figure we could leave our lights in the hotel, and if needed, pick them up there. So goretex jacket, rain pants, plastic bags … all go back to the hotel.

It all started out fine, and as expected, with Marco and Ruth out there, they lead a fast pace out the gate. I'm not about to spend everything I have to keep up with them (especially with the thinner air at high altitude), so I stayed near the back. It was a nice first 25 miles. Sadly, I saw Chris get the flat, but he seemed to be okay, so onwards I go. I waited for him at the first rest stop, as I felt that the right thing to do.

We continued on, and proceeded onto Death Valley Road. I could tell we would be in for a long climb, as I could see the road lead up through the canyon. Chris went on ahead, as I laid back, slowly grinding away on my climb. I happen to see a really dark cloud looming in the distance, but no sense worrying about that now. About 5 miles in, I start to sense rain drops, so I stop, and put on rain slick. At this point, we're at about 5500 feet and I start to feel a little light headed. Uh oh, bad sign. This could be either lack of sleep, lack of food (only a clif bar), or thinner air due to altitude … but could be a combination of all three. I get down to my lowest gear and try to sustain at least a 50 rpm cadence, but even that was a struggle. The grade itself isn't that bad … maybe 5-8%, but it is long.

The rain is continuing to drop on my head, and suddenly, the drops sound harder, and low and behold, it's hail. I'm riding through a hail storm. Okay, time to HTFU, and just concentrate. All along, I am continuing to hydrate myself, so I have liquids going into my system. My head is still light headed at this point and not getting any better. My body is starting to feel the effects of cold, but I need to press on. I start seeing some people pass me, and I end up stopping many times. Each time I stop, I have to look back and see if I'm the last one out there. Then, I see people come down the hill. My first thought is, wow, they are really strong, to come back so quickly. Then, I see more people, and the more I see coming down, the more I think people are making a U-turn, and not making it over the top.

Temperature is dropping the more I climb. Then, the rain, and hail, looks a little different. It is snowing!!!! It is not sticking but I am cold, I am wet, and now it is snowing. I have little motivation at this point, and I notice I am not even at 40 miles yet! If I do decide to make a U-turn, it will have to be after 40 miles, and I am not about to turn back until that point. I pass 40 miles, and I am 50-50 on the fence on whether or not to make a U-turn. I see a couple of riders, that just passed me not long ago, jesture to me “no mas”. At about 7750 feet elevation, I decided to throw in the towel … make a U-turn … I don't care if I didn't make it to the end, I've had enough.

Head down the hill, and I am freezing, I am shaking, but feel I can still keep control of my bike. I pass one SAG wagon coming uphill, and they are loading bunch of bikes … uh oh … I am not giving in, I am making it back to the start. Then, another SAG wagon comes up, stops next to me, and urges me to SAG it in. I think Terry, the SAG driver, sees I am shivering, and freezing, and coaxes me to SAG it in. It is 36 degrees out here, and if I continue down at 30-40 mph down the hill, it'll probably dip down to the teens with the wind chill factor. Okay, I SAG it in, and thaw out in the nicely heated SAG Wagon.

When we got to the bottom, it was nice and sunny, around 60-ish degrees. Talk about microclimates and the elements!

Damn, one more failed double century. I just don't think it was in the cards for me this year. I think this time, it wasn't due to lack of electrolytes, but the weather, rain, cold, snow, and altitude made it a bad combination for me. I just did not handle the altitude and thinner air well at all. I'll have to try again next year … it's beautiful terrain, and it was a shame we couldn't do June Lake.

I'll post photos a bit later.

DanteB

Ron, how could you take photos being that cold? My camera doesn’t have that kind of shake control.

bigbossman 

Here's a link to the ride report (with some very cool pics) that my best friend Vic posted on another forum.

Nut-jobs, the lot of you:

https://forums.mammothmountain.com/vi...p=49283#p49283

Ygduf

That's a nice read. You can see me, Ruth and the tandem in the picture at the rest stop on the backside. Proof we were out there.

spingineer

They were all before making the climb.

spingineer

Ok, finally getting a chance to post some pics.

One of many towns we had to traverse, to get to Hwy 50 from Hwy 49 (after finding out Hwy 120 and Hwy 108 were closed)


Saw plenty of these on the way to Bishop from S. Lake Tahoe


Rumbutter, ready to tackle this "leisure" double


Gathering for the mass start at 5 am


Cruising on Warm Springs Blvd.


Paceline on Hwy 395 heading towards Big Pine


Snow on mountain, and little did I know I'd be heading for some of that white stuff


1st Checkpoint


Couple of riders, on the day after, taking a recovery ride along Hwy 395, as they pass by the airport.


Rest of the pics at https://spingineer.smugmug.com/galler...58576929_avGs9

uspspro

Me too.. I'm in all black (ninja) holding the tandem, Ruth is in the blue, and Chris is in his new orange jacket.

Ygduf

What's funny is that it doesn't look FREEZING in that picture. I suppose down in the valley it wasn't as bad, but when I got there I was still an icicle.