Solvang Fall Double Century

I left home around 3:40 am for the event that starts in Solvang, a quaint little Danish Town in central California not too far north of Santa Barbara.  I had fog and drizzle the whole way on the 2 hour drive to the ride start. I was really hoping it wasn't going to be like that on the whole ride.
After I went through Gaviota Pass conditions got somewhat better and the drizzle stopped.
It was overcast and not too cold at the ride start, The Royal Copenhagen Hotel. Planet Ultra, the event Organizers have used this start location many times. It is right on the main drag into town.

I went in and checked in for the ride and opted to do the second start time. They had two start time windows. 6am and 6:45 am (first light).
I hung out with a few friends at check in before getting my bike ready for the roll-out.

I saw my friend, Bruno at the start and we ended up riding together the whole ride. Bruno supported me on the last 150 miles or so of the Grand Tour Triple Century Staff Ride this year. I  had a great time on the ride thanks to his support.


 I really wasn't sure how I would feel on this day after suffering on the Bass Lake Double the weekend before.
We talked outside for a while and then lined up for the check out procedure. Planet Ultra has a incredible new computer chip program for tracking the riders times. They didn't give us the chips this time due to a smaller number of riders but they used the system to load our start time and finish time so the results come up immediately and are computed instantly. All we had to do is give our ride number at the start and finish and the system did the rest.

The 6am starters rolling out.




We rolled out with the really fast guys and stayed with them on the little loop section which takes us around the outskirts of Solvang. We then ended up back on Highway 246 Eastbound and made our way out of town and into the beautiful Santa Inez Valley, some of the best wine and ranching country in the world.

Heading East on hwy 246

After our little tour of Santa Inez we headed up Foxen Canyon. This climb took us past many wineries including that of the late Fess Parker.
After we crested the long climb up Foxen we had a fantastic descent to the first check point at mile mile 41.5 in Siscuoc.


Chris with Saralie and Bruno talking in the rear.

 On the way down I ran into my friends Chris and Saralie. They had just finished a 600 kilometer, non-stop, event just a week before from Salinas to Moorpark, Ca.  Awesome!!













We then climbed up onto the Santa Maria Mesa. It was harvesting time so there was allot going on in the vineyards along this section of the route.

Santa Maria Mesa



Bruno on Tepusquet Cyn



After rolling through the vineyards for awhile we made our way to our second climb of the day at mile 48.4, Tepusquet Canyon. This is a really beautiful canyon climb!
  Bruno and I were feeling great with the cool weather so far. It was a 9.1 mile climb and then a 5.6 mile descent. The descent to Hwy 166 was narrow and technical at times but nice and smooth.














Hwy 166 goes from Maricopa in the San Joaquin Valley to Santa Maria.

Heading west on 166 we came to check point two at mile 63.9. I put some fuel in my engine, (liquid Perpetuam, PBJ and some electrolytes) as we didn't stay long.

There were some beautiful bridge crossings on 166 as we went over rivers and gorges.

We had a small head wind heading west but it wasn't too bad as we had some small hills and descents on the way until a nice drop into Santa Maria.
Now we turned north and traversed  Hwy 101 until we turned north-east toward Lopez Lake. It was then a left turn toward San Luis Obispo and the lunch stop at mile 105.

Along the way we hooked up with a couple on their tandem who had come all the way from Colorado for the ride. They were pulling a large group of riders with them in a train so we just tagged along for the ride.








At lunch I saw my cousin Ken and his wife Terry who I told about the ride. Ken and Terry live in Morro Bay and they came out to say hi. It was great as I hadn't seen them in quite some time.

I also saw another friend, Mike who lives in San Luis Obispo. He stopped by to say hi. It was great. The timing worked out really well as far as meeting them. I wish I had more time to sit around and talk. I really didn't want to cool down too long before the grunt of a climb which was to come in a few miles.

Bruno and I look like happy campers don't we?

We sat down and had a sandwich along with a mountain dew which really perked me up. My legs were really burning from pushing pretty hard on the first hundred miles. We did the first hundred in under 6 hours. (rolling time). 6:11 when we got to the lunch at mile 105. The thought was going through my head that I may have pushed too hard and may not be recovered from Bass Lake last week where I went out way  to fast at the beginning.



Prefumo Canyon

 After lunch I felt fantastic!! The legs felt strong as we made our way into Los Osos and the infamous Prefumo Canyon Road. 3.8 miles to the summit with sections from 10 to 13%, ouch!



Steeeep



This was the warmest part of the whole ride as it got to about 78 degrees on the road. I geared down and just paced myself up.

Steeper

We had a beautiful view of San Luis from one side and of Morro Bay as we got to the summit.


Morro Bay

 After going through a water stop and checkpoint at the top, we started our descent toward the South. The first part was down a dirt and gravel section before we really had a nice descent to San Luis Bay Drive and Avila Beach Drive, mile 123.7.

Next... Pismo Beach.

On the way to Pismo there was a terrible accident on our route so the Highway Patrol put us up onto Hwy 101 South for awhile to get us past the accident. We actually just blew by all the slow traffic as we made it to the Pacific Coast Hwy off ramp and went into Pismo Beach.

Our paceline blowing by traffic on the 101....wooohoooo!!!

Now we had a pretty good pace line going and we blew through Pismo and Oceano.
We veered right and started the climb up onto the mesa which in the past can be tough due to the sun beating down on you as you climb. Today we had nice cool temps and it wasn't bad at all!

We went through a number of ups and downs on the mesa before dropping down to check point #4 at Leroy Park in Guadalupe, Mile 145. We still had some challenging climbs ahead so I fueled up well and filled one bottle with liquid fuel. It really started to look like it was going to rain.

We stayed on Hwy 1 for awhile with a mild tail wind to our turn on Black Road, mile 153.6.
We had one climb to start on Black, then a nice descent for awhile and then a rather tough climb, (any climb seems hard at this point), up into the Vandenberg Air Force Base area then another real nice descent. On this climb the drizzle started and we started to get wet, but it wasn't cold at all.
We turned on San Antonio road and made our way to the Vandenberg Grade on Hwy 1, mile 164.5.
Before getting to the grade we thought someone was shooting at us. All of a sudden there was automatic weapons fire coming from our right and we almost jumped off our bikes. Was I just hallucinating or was it real? That happens once in a while. The mind plays tricks.
We discovered it was real as we came to a sign that said, "Military Target Range" or something to that affect.
Luckily they weren't pointed in our direction.

Rainy and dark as the sunlight disappears on Vandenberg Grade to the Air Force Base.

Over the top and over a few rolling hills into Lompoc and the final check point at River Park Campground, mile 178.

We continued on Hwy 1 to Santa Rosa Road for a eastbound trek back into Solvang. There was still a little over 1000 feet of climbing to do but at this point it doesn't matter.  Only about 20 damp and dark miles from the finish. It was just getting dark when we made our turn on Santa Rosa. The drizzle was intensifying but it still wasn't really that cold. Bruno and I felt really great on this last section.
We rolled into Buelton. 3 miles to go!!!

We finished real strong and Bruno said it was his fastest double!

Thanks to Debbie and the crew at Planet Ultra for a great event as usual. (The course markings on the road were fantastic this year!)
Thanks to all the volunteers who made our ride so pleasurable!

Thanks to Bruno for the camaraderie!

Stats:

Miles 201.1
Overall time: 13:17
On Bike rolling time: 12:17
Elevation Gain: 10,566 ft.
Average grade: 3%
Maximum grade: 13%

The link to all my pictures of the ride: http://www.stevemeichtry.myphotoalubum.com/

Bass Lake "Powerhouse" Double Century

 Clovis California, the start location for the ride, is a neat little western town with lots of history just East of Fresno.

It has been a few years since I have done this ride and it is one of my favorites. I used to fly to Bass Lake airport with my Dad for camping when I was younger. For those of you who are old enough to remember, there used to be a airport on the North end of the lake jutting out into the lake like a peninsula.  The airport is no more but the lake still looks as beautiful as I remember. I don't know how many times I swam and kayaked across that lake when I was a kid.

I arrived Friday in the afternoon and went for a short little spin around town to prime the legs for the mornings ride. I checked in and got my ride number so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning. The ride organizer reminded me not to miss the turn to Millerton this year. My friends Chris, Paul and I had missed a critical turn in the dark in 08 that sent us way out into the boonies on a major highway that wasn't fun in the dark and he remembered the phone call we made to him to help us get back on course.
 I retired at about 8pm.  Boy....Clovis is a party town. I didn't get much sleep as people, hot rods cruising, motorcycles, made so much noise I couldn't believe it.

I arose around 3 am and had my usual couple of cups of coffee then got ready for the ride.

I opted for the early start to try and beat the heat if possible on the Powerhouse climb. As I would find out later, it didn't help much.



Veterans Memorial Hall


I rolled out at around 4:15 into the darkness and the open fields of a great agricultural land.

The first 72 miles or so was mostly flat with some rolling terrain. We made a couple of different loops using the same rest stop on the first two checkpoints. Again as I would find out later, I think I was my own worst enemy as I went out way too fast, feeling fantastic but not really pacing myself for what was to come. You think after doing so many of these events, that I would know better but that is just me.

The temps were in the 50's before sunrise so it was perfect! As the sun came up we had a beautiful view of the California farmland and the Sierra foothills.

After the second checkpoint the climbing started immediately as we headed into Trimmer Springs and to Pine Flat Lake.  It was a pretty good little climb to get up there but only got harder as the morning went on.

Pine Flat Lake

 After meandering along the North side of the lake for a while we had our next climb, Maxson Road. I looked down and saw that the route slip said "DOWNSHIFT BEFORE THE TURN...Steep climb".
They were not kidding. It wasn't the worse climb Ive been on, but after the first climb and with 86 miles already in the legs, I geared down and just paced myself. That is when I first noticed a slight sign of cramping. I thought, " What is going on? It isn't even that hot." Something was off!
I really do love to climb but it is a whole different animal when the quads start to cramp!

We then went up and down through the Watts Valley and Burroughs Valley before coming to checkpoint 3 in Auberry.

  The course was different this year from the two past years I did the ride in 07 and 08. They claimed less climbing. I think there was more elevation gain than advertised which I don't mind at all. The climbing ended up all in the middle of the ride. Since I haven't done this course before I should have just took it easy on those first 72 miles. I will not make this mistake next year.

 After some moderate climbing to get out of Auberry, we had a steep descent down to the "Powerhouse" on, I believe, Kerckhoff Lake.

Now came the most challenging part of the ride, the climb up the infamous "Powerhouse Grade",Northbound,  to get out of the ravine. The first year I did the event they had a time trial on this climb to see how fast people could do the climb. It is a real grunt of a climb!! My Altimeter showed a max grade of 14% on this grade and averaged more like 8-9% but it was also very long and warm. On my way down on the return trip, I saw many people just walking up.




The steed contemplating: Am I ready for this climb?

 After the top we had more climbing up Road 274 to get into Bass Lake.  I ran out of water about halfway up and started getting some cramps again. I just geared down and paced myself on this 8.5 mile climb to the lake. I rested for a little while at the Pines Resort Checkpoint. I didn't want to sit around too long. I started to feel somewhat better after taking some electrolytes and scarfing down some salty food. I filled my camelbac water pack and headed around the West Side of the Lake past the area that used to be the airport.
The lake brought back many memories. It is a really nice lake.

Bass Lake

After riding around the lake and back toward the South end I started the nice descent back toward the Powerhouse. Wow...was that a fast descent!! The only problem? I had to climb back out of the ravine again to get back to Auberry.

These guys were motivating!!

I had a couple of Furnace Creek 508 vets pass me on their tandem. Wow did they come down that fast!!



Powerhouse

   I ran out of water again on the Southbound Powerhouse. It didn't stop me though, as I knew that the climbing was almost done for the day. I made it over the top and back to Auberry.
The brain is telling you through these occurrences, "why do I do this to myself?"









After the Auberry stop I headed back for Clovis with mostly Rolly to downhill terrain to the final stop in Millerton. There were a couple of cruel little climbs put in for good measure though before the final stop. Less than 20 miles to go now as I had a wonderful bowl of shrimp pasta and some instant sugar. (A coke)
 I was fully recovered now and had a fast fast last 15 miles to the finish. I got in at about 6:15.  I felt really strong at the finish. It is amazing what the human body can endure when you put your mind to it.

 In retrospect, I guess I need to start enjoying these rides more instead of just pushing myself. Once I started the climbing, I was by myself most of the day. That's no fun! There are people though that would say that doing a double century can never be...fun. The fun part is the feeling of accomplishment you feel when you are done.

Thanks to the Fresno Cycling Club and all the volunteers for a fantastic event. One of my favorites and really well supported.

Thanks Clay for giving me encouragement on the climb out of Powerhouse and offering me a "Mountain Dew".

You can view all the pictures at  http://www.stevemeichtry.myphotoalbum.com/

Here is the link a "Ride with GPS" map of the course http://ridewithgps.com/routes/201068

Ride computations from VDO computer:


202.97 miles
Ride time (on the bike): 13:19
Ave speed:   15.20
Max speed: 40 mph
Ave grade: 4%
Max Grade: 14%
Elevation gain 11,100 ft.
Overall time: 14.20 hours

WHITE MOUNTAIN DOUBLE CENTURY




I left late on Friday morning for the drive up to Bishop, CA, a fantastic town just south of Mammoth Lakes Ski Resort nestled in a valley with the High Sierras on the West side And the White Mountain range to the East. The area is a sportsman’s dream.
About the only thing you can’t do is surf. The temperature was in the high 80's when I arrived at 3pm.

I decided to camp overnight so I checked in at the campsite, got my bike and gear ready for the event in the morning, then walked around the little mock-town at the campground and took some pictures.

Then I headed into town to check-in for the event. Oh.... on the way I noticed Schat's Bakery and couldn’t go without stopping to pick up a few things, (a must when in Bishop).
I talked with friends as we all checked in and got our numbers and route slips for what I was hoping would be an epic ride and it definitely was!
Then it was back to the campground for some much needed sleep. I set the alarm for 2:45am, (ouch), and it was off to lala land.

We had the choice of two start times for the event. 4am or 5:15am. I was not too sure about how I would handle the heat so I opted for the early start and I was glad I did. I wanted to take it easy and not kill myself as this was the first time I have done this very new event. I also heard that many people didn’t finish last year do to hydration problems in the very, very arid climate.

After a short ride meeting we rolled out on time. It was cool and in the high 40's so I was glad I brought the proper clothes. I was prepared for anything up in the high mountains and deserts.We started the ride with a 15 mile ride down Hwy 395 South to Big Pine. It was a nice easy warm up with no traffic and flat with no hills.  It was a very good warm-up for what was to come very soon.

We turned left on Hwy 168 and the fun started almost immediately. The first thing I noticed was the incredible stars! I stopped for a personal break and couldn’t believe my eyes. It was wonderful! We city folks don’t know what we're missing.
I watched the flickering lights of the riders heading into the distance and could see they were going up, up, up. Well....I re-mounted my steed and paced myself into what was a very long and sometimes very steep climb.

Shortly after turning onto Hwy 168 I started up an approximately 13 mile climb to "White Mountain Road" and mile marker 28.

The grade on this section was from 4-8% according to my altimeter. It is a beautiful thing climbing in the mountains in the dark on an event. One of my favorite things although some people may say I'm crazy. Watching the lights above of my fellow riders, seeing the silhouette of the mountains at first light...just surreal and awe inspiring. Everyone should try it!!

Next turn, White Mountain Road. Now the fun really begins!!
I checked in at the rest stop, re-stocked the fuel and water, shed my cold weather clothes and put them in a drop bag to pic up later at a further check point. I saw some friends at the stop, talked and stretched a little then headed up the mountain.
I remembered what the ride director said in the pre-ride meeting. This is the only double century in the Triple Crown with this much climbing so early on in an event. I just paced myself. I am really glad I listened to what Jim had to say and didn’t push hard like I did when I was younger.

The sun was coming up now, the temp was around 37 degrees and it was spectacular.

The views of the Sierra Range and the valley below were incredible. We were heading through the ancient "Bristle cone Pine Forest". THE OLDEST PINE TREES ON EARTH!!

The grades on the climb kicked up to 14% at times as I went seemingly up forever to mile marker 38 and 10,100 feet above sea level. Wheewww that was epic!!!
At the check point, I was told, I was the fourth or fifth to reach the top. Funny, it must have been the lack of oxygen but I don’t remember passing many of my group. It kind of scared me some because; I was just taking easy wasn’t I?



My glee bubble was burst though just before I left the check point for the long descent back to Hwy 168. One of the riders from the 5:15 group arrived at the top. I couldn’t believe it. This isn’t a race so I don’t really care, I just couldn’t believe how fast he caught all of us. After passing me on the way down, he was never seen again by me.

A little blurb about that climb:
The top was at 38 miles into the ride. We had 15 miles of flat before the climb started.
The elevation in Big Pine is around 4,000 feet. The elevation at the top is 10,100 feet!! That’s a 6,100 foot climb in only 23 miles with no flat relief areas. All at the beginning of a 200 mile event with about 5,500 feet of climbing still left, and most of it in the hot desert.

Onwards and upwards

This realization is what really worried me about this event. I have done many, but not with this type of course. I have traditionally had trouble with heat and cramping in the desert. I do live in a very hot area is Southern California but do not usually train in the heat. I guess that is a big mistake on my part after all these years.

The descent was long and technical and I had to be very careful. No way to look at the views on this downhill! One distraction and you are off the mountain in a bad way.

I came to Hwy 168 again and stopped for a minute to rest my hands from braking so hard before the left turn on the Hwy which would take me now east toward Nevada.

Down, down, down I went on a glorious 40 plus MPH descent off of "Westgard Pass" to the aid station at Deep Springs in the valley below. It was still in the 70's and I couldn’t believe it. Still had to make sure to stay ahead of the hydration curve though!

Ahead is Gilbert Pass in the distance.

The sun was really intense on this climb and I really started feeling the affects of my location. I just took it easy again and enjoyed the spectacular views. You could see for 100 miles I think.

I now enjoyed another epic descent. This one of about 10 miles with no winds and still no vehicle traffic. I then stopped at the turn onto Hwy 266 for some water and Ice. (Thanks Terry for the Ice and endurolites!)
After having a relatively calm day where winds are concerned, things started to change.

 As I rode into Nevada on Hwy 264 I picked up a slight tail wind and was just taking it easy at 21-26 MPH for the last 16 miles before the lunch stop.













Lunch stop: "The Boonies" in Dyer Nevada. It was a very fitting name for where we were.

THERE REALLY IS A "BOONIES"

I ate a sandwich with lots of mustard (needed the sodium). Some other riders came in behind me and didn’t stay long as I relaxed for a little while. I hadn’t seen another rider since the turn off at the bottom of White Mountain. Some of those guys must have been racing the course because they sure didn’t stay long for lunch.
I was thinking that some will pay later.

I was feeling really good after lunch and hit the road again by myself, this time into a slight head wind. (it kept changing).
I stopped for a few minutes down the road to use nature’s facilities trying not to disturb the rattlers!! They do have many of those in the bushes around there you know. I was not just being paranoid you know....or maybe I was! Strange things do happen in the desert you know. In "The Boonies"!!!

After mounting my steed once again and feeling renewed I saw a familiar rider profile up ahead. I just paced myself up to him and joined him and one other rider. It was so nice to again be riding with someone, especially in the windy desert.

One of my fellow riders was a guy named Rob Cleymaet from Reno Nevada who was doing his fourth ever double century. The other was none-other than California Triple Crown and ultra endurance legend John Clare. 69 years young and around 135 double centuries in the last 11 years!!! You may have seen him in many of my other pictures. He is an amazing cyclist.
What a contrast. A young baby just starting out on the double circuit, John and myself.

Left to Right: John and Rob

These guys would be my partners for the rest of the ride and as it would turn out, my saviors later.
We turned right on route 773, went over a nice easy climb and then down a gradual descent into a headwind until we reached Hwy 6 where we made a right turn toward Tonopah Nevada. We took turns pulling at the front in the hot wind until we reached Coaldale Junction where Hwy 6 meets Hwy 95 and our turnaround point.
The Coaldale checkpoint was awesome.

"Picture this"... A full service Jamba Juice smoothie store out in the total middle of nowhere. Not quite but it seemed like it as I drank down a strawberry smoothie made fresh right there under a tent. Thanks guys and gals.

MMMMM strawberry smoothie

OH....and I have to mention the best invention in the world. ICE SOCKS. No... you don’t wear them on your feet. They were giving them out there for those that could use them in the heat. Take a tube sock, fill it with ice, and tie off one end.
You then put it around your neck and tuck it into the front of your jersey. Stays cold for around 2 hours and puts melting ice water on the front of your chest for a long time and cools down your core. I was soon to find that I really would need it.


At this point we were at mile 123 and we now headed West on Hwy 6 back to Bishop with more obstacles to come.

First we had to climb another 3000 feet or so including Montgomery pass which takes us out of Nevada back into California.

Montgomery Pass looming in the distance

This is where it really got tough. We all started over heating and I am really glad I got an ice sock because it was right around 100 degrees on the climb up Montgomery. The climb seemed never ending in the heat. Just as you think that you are coming to the top and it looks like the top, and then you see that there is another top and another and another.

This is when I first noticed there was something wrong.
I think I made a dumb mistake with my
fuel/water/electrolyte mixture and mixed it too heavy on the fuel/electro and not heavy enough on the water. I started to get the upset stomach halfway up the climb. I was still able to stay with the guys as we all agreed on just taking it easy till the top. We got to the next check point at Basalt Station and picked up our lights and cloths we dropped earlier in the day.


We only had another 3 miles to climb and it was all downhill to Benton and the final stop.
As we made the final climb we looked across the prairie at many wild horses standing there watching and wondering what these figures were doing out there in the middle of nowhere rolling up the hill. Were those really horses or was I just hallucinating?

The final climb was not very difficult but the heat and the miles in our legs made it feel worse than it was. On one of my short or cool weather rides this would be a baby hill and nothing. Today Montgomery pass seemed like a beast. You have to be prepared for anything on one of these events. You can be feeling fantastic and then "boom" you start cramping, get sleepy, who knows what. I really did feel fantastic on this ride until this final climb. I don't think I was alone. Many were dragging there heals.
Doing one of these events is all about mental stamina and listening to signals your body is giving you.

This day I was hydrated really well and never got any of the cramps I usually get on rides in arid climate like the desert. I think I over fueled and my stomach hated me for it.

When we got to the top of the pass we had a great descent into California. Very fast but windy. It was then that my worst fear was realized....Headwinds!!!
Our speed went down to about 14 mph as we got on flatter roads heading into Benton. My stomach was really feeling bad now. I couldn’t even drink without it telling me. "I'm going to come back up if you do that again". The rest of me still felt great. Legs were strong! I just wanted the stomach thing to end.

I had some really good salty chili at the final stop hoping it would help my stomach. It was not until we had about 25 miles to go between Benton and Bishop that I really got sick. The headwinds got pretty bad and I couldn’t even stay in the pace line with John and Rob. I stopped and almost keeled over on the side of the road. John kept telling me I should stick my finger down my throat and make myself spew but I just couldn’t get myself to do it. I haven’t thrown up since my bachelor party 33 years ago and this wasn’t going to be the time. I told them to go ahead and that I would walk for awhile until I felt better. I told them I
would get a soda at the store a few miles ahead.



From my bent over vantage point walking on the side of the road. The Sierras. Arrrgghh#@*&@^



I got back on my bike and just pedaled in a real easy gear maybe making 6 mph into the headwind until I reach the top of a small rise that felt like a mountain in the wind. I then went a little faster on the downhill section and saw the store up ahead. I was feeling better now somehow. I don’t know what happened. I was going to just keep spinning past the store when I looked to the left and saw the figure of John lying out like he was sleeping on the cement next to the store. I rode over and said hi to him and he was OK but not feeling too good either. Rob was inside the store.

What amazing guys! They waited for me at the store and I can't thank them enough because we actually finished pretty strong after all that. I went in and got a Pepsi. I drank it, gave some to John and immediately it helped me recover and my upset stomach went away. I usually don’t drink soda too often but wow at this point in a ride like this, I guess your body can really use the sugar and caffeine.(a good old belch helped too!!) The store proprietors told us that a bunch of riders had stopped at the store and called SAG support to pick them up with only 12 miles to go. I am really glad I stuck it out because it was worth all of it.

We ended up getting back into Bishop not long after sunset where we had pizza and beer waiting for us around the pool at the host hotel. Wow.

Many thanks to Jim and Fred of NDzone and the entire support crew for putting on one of the most beautiful rides I have done in my many years of doing these events.

Time on the bike 14:11
Overall time: 15:58
Elevation gain 11,644 feet
Av climb 4%
Max climb 14%
Min temp 36 degrees
Max temp 100 degrees

From my VDO computer/altimeter

For all my pictures go to:  http://www.stevemeichtry.myphotoalbum.com/