Asana Cycles
Asana Cycles
The Eastern Sierra Double Century, Bishop, Ca.
2009 found me riding The California Triple Crown. Which was basically ridden in support of my Army buddy. First the comment was something along the lines that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do The Solvang Double. My reply, “you better get on with the get on; while you got the Get On to get on.” Meaning, its early season, Solvang Double slated for March, so you better take advantage of that motivation, and “get on”. To my surprise thru umpteen emails, I volunteered myself to ride along in support.
I think it had been about 7 years since I’d actually ridden a double, however my typical Bicycle Practice entails 20 to 40 hours per week of riding.
Our Triple Crown effort was Solvang, Davis, then I did The Eastern Sierra Double on The Hunter shod in a set of WTB Vulpines.
over 12,000ft of climbing
15hrs total
13:55hrs pedaling time
snow, sleet, hail, rain, and wind
this ride was "epic" in ways much grander than most of my "recreational Sport" moments on a bike.
over 12,000ft of climbing
it rained, it hailed, it snowed, i dam near slid The Hunter off a very significant drop, only to have recovered
and botched the entry for the next turn
which was narrowly saved on the brakes, as both wheels chattered in a straight line, then slid the exact same way as previous, only this time a right hander...
slushy, wet, slippery
the night prior to the event, due to the weather forecast, Planet Ultra changed the route.
i have no idea what it actually was.
in vague
we left Bishop at 5am
traveled south, then east, and started a 3600ft climb that would put us at mile 41.
from 4000ft to 7600ft in 41 miles
at 845am, nearing the summit, the intermittent showers had turned to light hail, the barometer had dropped to 22.30, the temp at 36F, and it was getting worse, a black curtain was working its way up
the descent down to the first check point was about 4000ft
i had glanced my Suunto to read 427ft/min decent
a vast majority was nearer to 287-325ft/min decent
at the turn around, mile 55 it was a warm percolating 76F, at around 3500ft elevation
the climb back up was long
back up to 7600ft
this time, as luck had it, the day further progressed
the weather save for grace
back at the check point
a vast majority of riders opted out with hyperthermia
i think about 100 riders in total finished this ride.
back in Bishop, at mile 110
i had caught up to my buddy Rob
from Bishop to Benton, we had a head wind
the rest stop came around 5pm, which was my 2nd rest of the day
putting this effort from 930am to 5pm
no solid food that day
from Benton, up to a summit on hwy 120 at around 6600ft.
the gods smiled upon us
the going back to Bishop was with a strong tail wind
14 miles in 24 minutes
36 miles back into Bishop brought us to 8pm
5am to 8pm
15hrs
13:55 of pedaling
over 12,000ft of climbing
186 miles
on a double top tube steel 29er with MTB tyres
plus some baggage, and 3 bottles
I was more than happy to finish in the alloted time
we finished with 2hrs to spare
my ride was heavily weighted on nutrition
i was amazed i could pull off a double century on a heavy big wheeled MTB
with hills and some altitude to add
typical in my form
the trip was not complete without Amtrak
from Sacramento to Salinas
the train, Capitals, was great.
7am departured from Sac
myself and 1 other person in the lower section of the car
a 90 minute wait in SJ for the Amtrak bus, gave me plenty of time to eat a meal
the bus, we had 3 people aboard
i napped from SJ to Salinas
The Hunter with racks and panniers I rode from Amtrak Salinas over to Ft. Ord
using our new point of entry along Reservation rd.
thru the fence at Watkins Gate, leading into the back side of the old East Garrison, climb up to Machine Gun Flats Rd
take the dirt passing Machine Gun Flats
onto Hennikens Ranch Rd
then onto Blair Witch
onto Watkins Gate Spur Rd
crossing the pave of Parker Flats Rd
along some sandy single track in those flats
i came along 2 horny toads, which i spent the majority of my afternoon with.
i was beyond elated to hang out with Horny Toads
to me they seem to be about 2yrs old
plenty of ants in the area, which they feed upon
my day was happy as i laid there with my buddies....
June 6, 2009 8:50 PM