Inaugural Southern Inyo Double Century

Last year a bunch of veteran Triple Crown riders and I did the test ride of this event. It was a challenging day as a storm had just passed and the usual wind conditions were much worse. We had gale force winds and dust most of the day but it was an incredible experience just the same with beautiful scenery all day.

The event was moved to a month earlier for the Inaugural event this year and it paid off. We had absolutely perfect conditions.

I carpooled this year with my good friends John Clare and his wife Melinda. We had a great and entertaining ride up to Lone Pine. The desert was green this year which was amazing and there were wild flowers popping up everywhere.

This was going to be John's 100^th, (yes 100^th), Triple Crown Double Century!

I was really excited for him.

A whole bunch of us were planning on sharing this epic milestone with John. There was an epic turnout for an inaugural event. Over 100 riders!

The course:

The event starts in the beautiful town of Lone Pine California, a very historic town on Highway 395 at the foot of the majestic Mount Whitney. 

The event starts with a spin south on the 395 for 37 miles before turning around at Coso Junction  and heading back up 395. We then turn toward the Death Valley west entrance on Highway 190 along the south side of Owens Lake.

We turn around at the Death Valley entrance and roll around the east side of Owens Lake for lunch at the historic town of Keeler, Ca.

We then continue on Highway 136 along the lake back to Lone Pine.

Its then south again on the 395 for a few miles to Lubken Canyon Road for a stiff climb to Horseshoe Meadows Road. We climb south then turn around to Whitney Portal road before heading back to Lone Pine again.

One final 57 mile loop around the lake, this time in a clockwise direction and we return to finish the ride.

Part one:    Start to Coso Junction.  37.5 miles.

John and I decided to start at the late start time around 6 am.

There were about 9 of us that ended up riding together all day and into the night. John, myself, Vic Cooper, Margaret Benson, Ed Gallegos, Tony Musorafite, Rick Jacobson and David Slaton.

John and I went to the start and when we rolled we saw that a few had not left the hotel so we went back and waited for them. We then all grouped together along the first section of the ride.

Like last year, it was a beautiful ride south down Hwy 395. It was cool, (in the mid 30’s), but we had a mild tail wind the whole way south. The moon was setting on Mount Whitney when we started and it was spectacular. A few people got pictures.

Tony rolling along 395 with moon behind him on the Sierras

The ride south was spectacular at sunrise. The majestic southern Sierra all covered with snow to our right and the sun rising to our left…….WOW!!  And no Traffic!!!

Sunrise over Owens Lake

We reached Coso Junction and the first check point at mile marker 37.5 feeling great. It was like a party for John at all the stops. We all had a blast.

Left to right: David, myself, Tony, John and Rick at Coso Junction

Part 2:    Coso Junction to Hwy 136/190 junction.   54.1 miles

We now rolled up 395 North-bound for 16 miles to Olancha and the turn on Hwy 190 toward Death Valley National Park for 14 miles.
We went by the Old Grant Market/Diner that was in one of the old Twilight Zone Episodes. The episode was called  "100 yards over the rim". Click it for info.

The diner as it looks today

We had a small water and food stop at the turn.

Last year on the last section we had 30 mph headwinds and crossing headwinds with sand blowing across the road.

 This year we had just a little head wind to start the first climb out of Coso Junction but then it subsided and we had virtually no wind to speak of on Hwy 190. It was a true “party on wheels” as our group of 9 cruised on some of the smoothest roads I have ever experienced in all my years of doing ultra-events, and in the desert no less!

Pulling the group into the wind and heading north on 395............Photo by Melinda Clare

Turning east on Hwy 190......................Photo by Victor Cooper

Hwy 190 and look at that pavement!!                                                                  Photo by Victor Cooper

We rolled into the rest stop at the Junction of the 136/190 all feeling great. We again relaxed and partied it up with John.

We were all standing there and we heard a thundering sound coming from Owens Lake. Someone said LOOK!!

Again like last year……..right on the stinking hard deck of the lake…..were two F-18’s…..one in front and the other in trail…..at a high sub-sonic rate of speed buzzing us and following the highway toward Death Valley. They both “turned and burned” as they popped over Gunsight Pass. None of us could get our cameras out fast enough they were going so fast. Darn I was disappointed I didn't get that on video.

Someone did get this pic though.

Part 3:    Hwy 190 to Death Valley Entrance sign.  Mile 86

This was a beautiful stretch both out-bound and on the return trip. The riders who started early and were up ahead of us almost wet themselves when they got buzzed by the jets as they made their turns through the mountain canyons.

We rolled up and over Gunsight Pass named after the old Gunsight mine legend in the area.

This was not a difficult climb but was very picturesque. As we climbed, my friend Vic told me how it got its name. Very interesting western lore from the pioneer days.

Riding away from Owens Lake on Hwy 190 up Gunsight Pass

Gunsight Pass                                                                                     Photo by Victor Cooper

Gunsight Pass                                                                                     Photo by Victor Cooper

David, Loren and I on Gunsight Pass                                                                           Photo by Victor Cooper

Photo by Victor Cooper

We passed some of our friends on the last few stretches as we rolled to the DV sign.

We had another nice long stop for pictures and partying…..LOL….we were having way too much fun!!

Over 651 double centuries ridden among this group

Part 4:    Death Valley entrance to lunch in the town of Keeler.   Mile 110

We now took it easy on the little climb from the park entrance. From  there we had some gradual descent and rolling hills getting to Gunsight Pass before descending to Keller over the pass.

John, Ed and I just took it easy up the first climb, then as soon as I reached the top, I decided to get in my aero bars and put the hammer down for a little bit. (I knew John would be able to keep up but was not sure about Ed). They both did. John is a tall big guy and he descends like a beast. We cruised by the rest hoping they would all join but none did. Tony was riding his fixed gear bike again so it was impossible for him.

Here is a short video of him spinning those darn legs on the gradual descent…scary painful looking!!

We rolled over Gunsight one more time and dropped to lunch.

We had a great lunch and had sandwiches made to order. Melinda made homemade cookies and banana bread for the stops…..wow…..those crack-cookies were good!!

Descending off Gunsight Pass. Keeler is off in the distance to the upper left

John and Ed descending Gunsight Pass

Hugh with the man of the hour

You cant see it but Vic has about 100 bees swarming his Coke can and food.

Part 5:   Keeler to Lone Pine.   Mile 120

We all rolled real easy along the south side of Owens Lake from lunch for a while before forming a pace-line and cruising pretty strong into Lone Pine. The view of Mount Whitney and the Sierras is spectacular on this stretch and takes your breath away.

Carrying a lot of gear

Mount Whitney is the farthest peak in the distance. The one with the two little peaks to the left. It looks shorter due to being farther away.

Part 6:  Loop from Lone Pine up to Horseshoe Meadows and back to Lone Pine.   Mile 142

We stopped at the hotel for a second then made a left turn on 395 again for the short southbound trip to Lubken canyon. John, myself, Victor, Loren and Rick started the climb together but we all went up at our own pace since we all climb different due to our weight and/or climbing style/candence. Vic and the young stud in our group Loren flew up the hill. I stayed a little behind Rick who is a much stronger climber than myself. He was also getting a low tire.

Vic climbing up Lubken Canyon toward Mount Whitney and Horseshoe Meadows road

Rick climbing up through the meadow with his low tire. (probably the only reason I could keep up with him)

Fixing his flat

Heading up to the Horseshoe area

 We stopped at the Horseshoe Meadows turn so Rick could fix the flat, then headed south up the climb to the real foot of the Horseshoe climb one of the toughest climbs in the country.

When driving on 395 and heading north, before you reach Lone Pine, for those who don’t know, it is that zig-zagging road you see going up the side of the Sierras and it looks insane.

We only went to the foot of this climb although it was quite a climb getting there!

I decided after check-in at the top to keep going and not stop. I bombed down the hill to Whitney Portal Road before dropping to Lone Pine and waiting for everyone at the check point where we would all re-group for the last loop around the lake.

Part 7:    Final loop to the finish around Owens Lake.    Mile 198

We all re-grouped, put on our warm clothes and headed out. It was getting chilly but not too bad just yet. The sun was just setting behind the mountains and we knew the desert temps would drop quickly.

We cruised nice and easy around the lake for another stop at Keeler. There was still a little light when we got there.

Vic and Margaret chatting on the final loop after sunset riding away from Mount Whitney

 We all hung out for a while, had some snacks and headed back down the road for Hwy 190. The amazing smooth roads were fantastic at night. No worries about pot holes or ruts. It was great. We saw maybe one car on the 190 stretch in the dark. It was getting cold though and we were all glad we put on our things at Lone Pine.

We were visible from miles away. We maybe saw one car on Hwy 190 in the evening.

 Before reaching 395 we noticed that we were missing some of our group. They had stopped for a break to eat some food. The funny thing about riding at night is that you can see the lights behind you and they look very close, but they are actually very far away. The same holds for looking ahead in the desert on a clear night. You can see a town up ahead and it looks real close. After what seems like forever, it doesn't look any closer.

We rolled into the final water stop across from the restaurant in Olancha and waited for John and the rest of the group.

They all kept rolling past the stop. We saddled up and followed. We now had a tail wind for the final 21 mile stretch on the 395 to the finish.

It was a really nice stretch compared to those nasty head winds we had heading into the finish last year.

A few rolling hills and some really fast stretches.

We rolled into the finish about 9pm with a large fanfare for John.

Wow……100 doubles!!

That's a lot of events on John's back!!

Congratulations to John Clare!

Here is the compilation video from the event:

Here is the link to all pictures for all those not on Facebook:

 https://stephenpaul.shutterfly.com/cycling

Here is the Garmin link to my ride stats:

  https://connect.garmin.com/activity/714903840

Thanks to John and the crew at Wheel World in Woodland Hills for putting my bike together just in time for the event!

A special thanks to Kermit and Hugh at Inyo Ultra.  Thanks to all the volunteers and all the locals who came out to support all of us.
You guys put on an amazing event and thanks for the awesome road conditions…….wow!

 Thanks to Melinda Clare for the great pictures and all the goodies. Thanks to all my friends for the great pictures. Never seems like we are without good pics out there to help document the events.

2015 Camino Real Double Century

The Planet Ultra Camino Real Double Century is the first Triple Crown Event of the year.

I again staffed the event this year as in years past with my friend and recent tandem stoker Teresa (Tiger) Beck.  We worked at our usual spot located in the San Onofre State Park camping area.

The riders had perfect conditions for the event again this year.

I took some pictures at the start before we headed out on course to our rest stop.

Here are a few of them.

 

Here they go!

Rolling out at 6:15am

I raced with Luis on The Hoodoo 500 which he did on his fixed gear bike. He was doing this ride on his fixie too!!

Team TnT, from the Hoodo 500,  (Teresa and Teri) with me

John and Vic working hard getting everything ready for the riders.

Kevin was testing out his new leg after varicose vein therapy.

Look who stopped by for a visit. My friend Jim Cook who organizes The White Mountain Double Century

The following Saturday, the 28th, we did the staff ride.

This was my 127th Triple Crown Double Century. I have been doing it a long time and am still feeling great.

 We were pretty nervous about it since there was a serious threat of storms with a pretty nasty forecast including thunderstorms and heavy winds.

We had planned on starting late at about 6:15am and were going to catch up with some of our fellow Adobo Velo Club mates along the course.

We instead, at the last moment and after seeing when the storm was supposed to come in, decided to start around 4:30am. Our idea was to get down the coast and be headed back northbound before the predicted worse weather was supposed to come in during the late afternoon.  

We also, again, brought everything but the kitchen sink on the bike. WE WERE REAL HEAVY…….with the rack on the back of the bike and the bag packed full to the hilt with food and rain gear. We could really feel it on the hills. (I just call it good training)

Part One: Start to Dana Point. Mile 39

It looked very threatening and wet when we started and the wind was blowing like a storm was moving in.

We only had one rider do it with us this year, our friend Eric. It turned out that our other friends decided not to chance it with the forecast.

We rolled out at about 4:45am on a wet course.

It was so nice going that early. We had hardly any traffic which made it much easier handling all the traffic signals going from there and through the Newport Beach area. The worst thing is being on a tandem and up at breakneck speed and have one car set off a traffic signal up ahead. Most of the lights in the area are not on a timer and one car will set the light off.

We rolled through Newport and to PCH really quick and before sunrise and guess what……the wind was coming hard out of the west so we had a tail wind going south.

We made it to Laguna Canyon when it was just getting light to a spectacular sky with beautiful cumulus clouds.

Laguna Hills

Laguna Hills

We had some pretty good luck with the lights going through the Laguna Hills before hitting the coast again and rolling into Dana Point Harbor.

Dana Point Harbor

Part 2: Dana Point to San Onofre State Park. Mile 55

We did not stop and rolled hard up the coast through San Clemente before making our first stop at San Onofre. Teresa’s friend Evan was meeting us there to bring us water and bagels. What a guy.

We stopped to use the bathroom at the campground then rolled to meet him at Las Pulgas Road, the entrance to Camp Pendleton Marine Base.

Taking a break. Tiger with a mouth full of bagel....LOL!

Part 3: San Onofre to Bonsall.  Mile 88

After meeting Evan for Bagels, bananas and water, we entered Interstate 5 for seven miles to Oceanside.

It was a fast cruise up the Hwy in the tailwind although the tail wind didn't help this heavy tandem much. Hardly felt it. At that point we were riding a pretty leisurely 6 hour century pace.

Rolling into Oceanside on Hwy 5

We then connected to the bike path which goes quite a few miles inland from Oceanside.

It was great riding up the San Luis Rey bike path out of Oceanside. We still had a tail wind and averaged close to 20mph on the path while dodging joggers and kids.

We exited as usual at College Blvd for the stroll up River Road and North River Road.

The weather looked threatening off toward the Bonsall area and we started to feel a few drops of rain. We decided that, if we were good on water and feeling good, we would not stop at the usual lunch stop location. We wanted to get to Hwy 395 toward Fallbrook before stopping for water at the gas station there at the bottom of the blazing fast descent.

Part 4: Bansall to Oceanside.  Benet road.   Mile 122

We passed the lunch stop in Bonsall at about 10:30 am feeling great before starting the Circle R climb up toward Lilac Road. We stopped to help one of the locals with a flat tire a little way up the climb. He did not have enough C02 and we loaned him my high pressure pump.

The Circle R climb

Eric looking strong behind us on the Circle R climb. Local guy behind us is the one we helped with his tire.

It was a nice climb and we just paced ourselves. It was a grunt on the heavy tandem but it went good to Lilac road.

Riding in this area is beautiful with some really lovely scenery and homes. We go through this same area on Race across the West, Oceanside Double, Borrego Double and many other rides. Wonderful area to ride!

We flew over the bridge spanning Hwy 15 and flew down Old Hwy 395 to our little stop at the gas station store. STILL NO RAIN!! It did look more threatening though.

We took about a 20 minute break.

Evan, our support driver was going to meet us once we got back to the Mission Viejo area.

Off we went up Old Hwy 395. I think this was the fastest I had ever made this trek up the hwy to Reche Road. We had a tail wind and it was really cool. Most times on this gradual climb we had to contend with heat in this area. I think it was the good company that made it seem fast.

The climb up Reche Road was again challenging as usual on the tandem. Eric just cruised with us and behind us the whole way up. We knew he could have just blown us away any time on this climb. It was good to have his company and we had some great conversations which made the ride go by much faster.

Once we cleared the Fallbrook area, we made a left turn on South Mission road for a great 4 mile descent down to Hwy 76.

We now had a head wind on 76 as we made our way back to Oceanside. We rolled back on to the bike path at College Blvd and again had a good head wind all the way to the check point location at Benet Rd.

Part 5: Benet Rd to San Onofre. Mile 137

We, once again, got on Hwy 76 and cruised into the wind into Oceanside. The wind was coming more out of the South-Southwest now rather than the West as it was in the morning. Could this mean a tailwind going northbound?

We got on Interstate 5 again for 7 miles in Oceanside and guess what……we had a crossing tailwind coming from our left rear. We made it back to Las Pulgas road in Camp Pendleton very quickly.

We rolled into the campground at San Onofre again at about 2:20pm.

Part 6: San Onofre to Trabuco Canyon. Mile 169

San Onofre under a beautiful sky and tailwind.....woo hooo!!

We rolled right through the campground and made a b-line for the Carl’s Jr. restaurant in San Clemente.

We grabbed some solid food and had a coke. We took about a 30 minute break then hit the road again.

We still had a tail wind and plenty of light and it looked like we may get through and out of Trabuco Canyon before complete darkness which would be nice.

The sky was spectacular as we cruised through San Juan Capistrano to Ortega Hwy and Antonio Parkway.

Antonio Parkway is a 10 mile climb that starts off with a pretty good grade (for a tandem). It takes us up into Ranch Santa Margarita at the foot of the Santa Ana Mountains and Santiago Peak. If we were going to get rain, this is where I expected it.

We told our friend Julie Stokes who lives in the area, that we would be rolling through there and she said she was going to see us somewhere along the course. We were about halfway up the climb when we saw her jumping around up ahead and waving to us. When we got up there we noticed she had coffee and French fries. What a girl!! 

Mmmmm

We stopped and chatted, ate some fries, drank some coffee and headed on up the road as it was starting to get cold.

We stopped again in Santa Margarita where Evan had some water and cinnamon rolls for us before he headed home. Oh those were good……Thanks Evan!! We were all stocked up and put our warm outer layers on for the cccccoldddd descent into Trabuco/Live Oak Canyon.

We had plenty of light as we headed down into the canyon but it was cold.

Final section: Trabuco Canyon to the finish. Mile 169 to mile 195

We rolled very fast through the cold canyon before starting the climb out toward Cooks Corner and Santiago Canyon. Evan was driving support for us until we got out of the canyon and waited for us up at the summit.
The first time I did this climb on the tandem years ago with my brother in law Vince, it seemed tough. Now.....I am so used to it that is somehow does not seem that bad. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Teresa and I have been tackleing some very tough ones in the last few years.
We rolled over the top with Evan snapping a picture of us as it was getting close to dark. 

Climbing out of the canyon just before dark. The reflectors I put on the spokes work pretty good!!

Summit of Trabuco/Live Oak Canyon. It was actually much lighter than it looks. 

We flew down to the bottom and turned right on Santiago Canyon. We geared down and cruised up to the first summit before some real nice descending and minor climbs before reaching Jamboree Road for the left turn.
A couple of turns and we were back on Sand Canyon and rolling the final few miles to the finish.

We rolled back into the hotel parking lot at about 7:20 pm.

A perfect day on the tandem with no major storms like predicted. I guess our prayers were answered.


Here is the Garmin data from the ride with all the stats:  https://connect.garmin.com/activity/708344264