What a long weekend.
Got up to Markleeville on Friday around 2:00. Lot's of smoke. Got to our rental where my riding partner was getting his fly rod ready. I quickly unpacked into my room and got my fishing gear all set too. The Carson River is too much fun to miss for landing big trout. Spent about two hours of casting. Gawd, I love that sport.
We awoke at 4:00, set out from Markleeville at 5:30. My goal today is 5 passes, a faster time than last year, and to have a lot fun.
Monitor is a great ride. Especially when there is a sunrise. Get to the top w/out a problem. Lot's of nice people on the climb. I hooked up w/ a rider from Carson who uses Monitor as his regular Wednesday Afternoon Ride. It was nice to get a local's point of view, although it's not really needed here.
The descent down to the rest stop is fast and swoopy. I reach 51.4 mph. It's not too crowed yet and everyone seems to know what they're doing. We rest, eat, drink, shed clothes, and get started again.
I love going up this side. It's long, and long....and...long. I get a tempo and other riders fall in. We trade spots and help one another. The Boy Scout bottle refill keeps up w/ us and everyone is filled w/out loosing pace. Unbelievable. I pass Jonathon. He looks great! (After reading your report, I am so proud of you for completing the ride!)
Ebbets is where I cramp. WTF??!!
I never get cramps. And here on one of the hardest climbs, I am being attack by the cramp monster...This is before the first rest stop on the bottom. I limp in, refill the bottles, eat, stretch, eat, drink, stretch...I'm off.
The cramps are relentless. Hot foot starts creeping in! I haven't had this feeling in two years. I am being passed in droves. Phil Ligget is in my head saying "He's cracked! He's riding backwards. He'll have dig deep into his pocket of hope to pull this out." Somehow I make it to the top and descend to the bottom.
My riding partner is waiting for me. We refill with those small potatoes. Good stuff. I drink plenty of water and have more electrolytes. After 20 minutes, we're off. finally, I feel good. The climb back up is faster and easier than last year. Last year I couldn't find my tempo on this ascent, and this year I got it dialed in. What a flip flop.
I love the descent back to lunch. Tight turns, slow down, speed up, slow down, tight turn. Ahh this feels good. I see some poor rider walking his bike. He's carrying his shoes with on hand pushing the bike with the other. Poor guy.
Lunch was a few pieces of Turkey, Two cups of soup and a Coke. I'm revived and ready to go. My partner and I lather up w/ some sun block at the station with two really cute girls. They join us for the pace line back to town. Along the river, our line grows to about 15 riders. As we crest the little hill before the descent into town, I drift into the sand. MTB skills kick in and I'm find. Pay Attention!!
Woodfords has great support. I hose my head down, cool off and take off again. Partner and I pace it up to Picketts. We've got it in the bag. On the radio at Pickett's, we here that Ebbets just got drenched. I know that if we don't pick it up we too will see rain.
We race up to Carson and settle in when the climbing start. Our motivation is Lagunitas IPA, from my younger brother who has a sixpack in his car. Bob has camping near by and promised to be at the top with some cold ones.
He is there!! We sign in, get our pins, get our Ice Cream and drink our IPA's. We ignore the looks of jealousy from other riders.
We spend too much time here. The sky is getting darker. I grab a bag for Partner and I and we leave. As I descend, I'm trying to motivate the ascending riders by calling out "Ice Cream... get yer Ice Cream" Rydaddy, I hope it helped you get to the top faster. Half way down, the heavens open up. I stop and get the bag on. I'm soaked. I am feeling sorry for the people riding up in this mess. I am impressed they are still riding.
My descent in the deluge is about 30mph. I make it safely down to Woodfords...10 miles left. Partner and I have a lot energy left and we both race back to the start. We are filled with adrenalin and want to spend it. Passing other riders on the two hills, I can't believe our pace. I am soaked. We race back to the car in Markleeville, passing one another on the descent.
At mile 125 we are done! We put our bikes on the rack and step into the corner bar. Looking like a couple of wek rats, we belly up to the bar for recovery drink of Makers Mark. I'm not a big fan of this kind of recovery, but my partner insists. To the Death Ride!
Congrats to all BF'ers that did this ride. Congrats to those that completed five passes. Wear your jersey with pride!
BR