calamarichris

Who's in?
Anybody need a ride?
Anyone up for recovery drinks at the Corkscrew afterward?
Any goals?

I'm leaving Carlsbad in a pickup truck late Friday morning, am taking the 395 North, and have room for a bike and a body. I seriously stunk it up last year (6:57 & 14th), partly by hypothermia*, not having a room reservation (and having to drive like crazy from some foul-smelling casino hotel room in NV, and therefore not getting a decent breakfast) and from not stopping enough for water.
I learned my lessons though and am shooting for a sub 6:30 this year. We'll see what the wind does though!








* If the forecast in Death Valley says "High 70's", it will definitely be MUCH colder up at Daylight Pass! Bring a light jacket at the VERY least!)

calamarichris

jmX

IN!

You stunk it up with 14th out of 172? Come on now....

I'm hoping for a top 15% finish. If I could shave an hour off last year I'd be really happy.

Dunno what the corkscrew is, but I did have a single pre-race pint at the Double and I did great, so I'll be continuing that tradition the night before the race.

calamarichris

The bar at Furnace Creek is the Corkscrew. Since this is only a single-century, we'd probably better play it safe and have two pints the night before.


Probably bring my rice cooker along, so I can have a bunch of buttery, garlicky pasta for breakfast in my cabin before the century.

And yes, I did stink it up. I spent MORE THAN AN HOUR at the aid stations. My ride time was just over 6 hours. But if I can shave an hour off my time last year, I'll be pretty happy too!

idoru2005

Chris, if I'm working one of the rest stops, I'll make sure to kick you if I see you hanging around too long.

calamarichris

Thanks Idoru, you're the best. And could you hide those poppy muffins when you see me coming? I lose all dietary self-control when it's chilly out.
I owe you a pitcher at the Corkscrew afterward, and we'll drink a toast to all the excellent volunteers.

jmX

Feel free to kick me as well. I spent 52 minutes at the rest stops last year. Ouch.

NotZeroSix

dude thats soooo cool. Jesus, just look at those paved roads. I wish I could go.

PhotoJoe 

Add this to my future goals! Looks like an amazing ride!

Lesper4

This looks beautiful, and perfect for KOM training and even fits in my schedule. It is a little pricey? ($129) This basically looks like a flat century with Palomar mtn through in the middle. About the same kind of climb?

calamarichris

My memory is pretty lousy, but Palomar seems to average 6-8 percent, whereas this one is closer to 5-6.
Palomar is psychologically easier IMO because of the switchbacks. Daylight Pass seems like more of a grind because the road is pretty straight and there are no landmarks or trees zipping by to reward your effort. Also it's so steady, where Palomar has a pleasing mix of false flats and steeper sections.
This photo isn't Daylight Pass, but gives you an idea.

Lesper4

Thanks. Any idea why the cost is soo high? It is not like they have to get a lot of traffic support. And what is teh best method as to mods of transportation and lodging, drive out the night before or day of?

calamarichris

Not sure why the cost is higher than most other rides, but the support and volunteers are lightyears ahead of any other event. Hammer products and local produce are at the aid stations. If you volunteer for an event, you get an event for free.

Adventurecorps is a pretty cool organization and the climate around the events is so positive. I always wondered what was going on with all these volunteers being so giddy and eager to help, so I finally volunteered at the Death Valley Spring Double last month and it was really cool to be a motorcycle course marshall, fixing bikes, handing out water, and calories/Endurolytes to a few people who were really in trouble. It really was awesome and everyone was so grateful, (especially this beautiful lady who was suffering from hyponatremia [aka water intoxication, lack of sodium] who approached me with her husband later that night and said the Endurolytes made her feel better almost immediately.)
I almost wish I were volunteering at Hell's Gate instead of riding it.

jmX

All the adventure corps events are limited to 400 or less people. This is one reason they are great to me...but the downside is they need to charge a little extra to make it worth it. The motel will cost you $350 total for two nights, so that is where the real cost comes in.

Def drive out on the Friday before...it's a 5 hour drive and the events start around 6am.

calamarichris

To answer your question, you pretty much have to spend the night either at the Furnace Creek Resort, or camping ground, or at Stovepipe Wells.
I made the mistake last year of not making reservations before they were booked solid, so I ended up spending the night in (blech) a foul cigarette-stinking hotel in Pahrump, NV and driving like a maniac to get to the start line about 20 minutes late. But the volunteers were still helpful and got me going. Heh--it was just like a TdF time trial, I was the last rider to leave by nearly half an hour, but I had #1.


I'll never make that mistake again. This year I got a cabin, about 50 yards from the start line.

calamarichris

And Jmx: I'd leave the aerobars at home for this one. Most of the time is spent either climbing, or bombing back down the descent at 40+ with some gusty crosswinds. I didn't get to use my baby aeros much at last year's HGH.

jmX

I thought about taking them off but even if I just get 10mi use out of them it'll be worth it. Going to artist dr and back out to Beatty cutoff seems like a good time for them.

They are coming off for breathless agony for sure.

Lesper4

Thanks for all the info. I will see what I can manage, if i go ($129) I am deffinitly not going to pay more then $100 for a room. After all I just drove to Mammoth for a day trip, that was 10 hours of driving and much less snowboarding.

calamarichris

The Adventurecorps site doesn't say if they're sold out, so there are probably some spots left, but the deadline is tomorrow.
If the ranch is booked and you don't mind bringing a camping mattress & sleeping bag, you can crash on the floor at my cabin. No charge and I don't snore, but I get the shower first.

Lesper4

OK thanks, I have the gear but I am not sure if there are spots available. Also if my family comes along we would make it a day trip.

calamarichris

Uff-da.
That sounds like rich flavor of hell. I can't imagine driving in to Death Valley (4.5 hours minimum) to arrive NLT 7am, doing a century (6+ hours minimum), and driving out of DV (another 4.5 hours) in the same day. And that's assuming you have no traffic, everything goes perfectly, and you show up at 7am and jump out of the car in your kit and jump on the bike.

I've made the mistake of biting off more than I can chew before, and I suspect this is happening now. Seriously man, do the Fall Century. Weekends with the family are too precious to ruin by packing too much into one day, IMO.

Lesper4

OK well if there are any spots even left I would rather do hells gate (no family). I am not ready for a double and 5k ft seems a little low.

jmX

I dont think hells gate usually sells out. The motel sold out so it's hard for anybody else to sign up.

calamarichris

Check the Adventurecorps blog. There are always people with spare beds, reservations they can't make, and carpooling.

Clicky.

Little measures like this are another reason I drink the Adventurecorps koolaid and encourage others to do same.

eugenek

As of this moment, they have 127 registered participants (out of 300), so they aren't in any danger of selling out any time soon.

Furnace Creek Ranch, Furnace Creek Inn, and Stovepipe Wells Village Hotel are all sold out for the 30th. Furnace Creek campground is closed for renovation. There are a few rooms left in the Amargosa Opera House. There is a large campground in Stovepipe Wells, $12/night, first come first serve. It's a 25 mile drive to the starting line.

Edit: correction: only one of the campgrounds at Furnace Creek is closed. There are two others nearby, Sunset and Texas Spring, those are open and first come first serve.

There are supposed to be communal showers available at Furnace Creek Resort for a small fee.