A ride report on the eastern Sierra double (another Hugh Murphy production). Ride started/ended in Bishop with temps in the low 100's during day and 60-70's at night. Ride started about 5:30 am Sat with about 150 riders doing double and an unknown number of riders doing the century (it started later and was probably much more civilized). Mass start left with police escort thru town of Bishop in a direction of south and east -- the opposite of the "known direction" of Sherwin grade (this caused the pack to stop a couple of times and question its front riders since the police escort stopped a little ways outside of Bishop and it was too dark to read the route sheet). We put in about 20 miles of flat and slightly downhill riding before turning around and heading toward Mammoth (northwest). The scenery in the early morning was AWESOME around Bishop and once the pack broke up a little it was easy to get some great views of Basin mtn and Mt. Tom). After the first rest stop we started up Sherwin which is a fairly low grade climb -- but it was already beginning to warm up. We climbed on backroads so the scenery was unspoiled by traffic and motorheads. (Emmy Klassen and another young hot shot passed me, however, about half way up the hill).
The second rest stop was near Crowley Lake and the traffic picked up as we were off and on more well-travelled roads to Mammoth. The original course that I was following took us a couple of miles "extra" thru the Mammoth Lakes area that was a "zoo" with people and mountain bikes. Later riders were re-routed to avoid this little loop -- Hugh was changing the arrows on the road just as I passed thru). My assessment is that there are more people using this area for mountain biking in the summer than there are skiers in the winter -- an alarming contrast to just a few years ago. Everyone in CA with a sport utility vehicle (and there are plenty) had at least 2 mountain bikes on top and were in this area for their vacation. ANYWAY, we climbed to Mammoth Scenic loop and the highest point of the ride (a little over 8000 feet) at about mile 75. We continued up 395 with some fairly irritating rollers along the way. The altitude started bothering me here and I noticed some of the other riders complaining. After another rest stop we reached the turn to June Lake (et. al.) and it was quite scenic with mostly downhill and flat terrain for about 25 miles. Back to 395 and lunch at Mono Lake (north side) at mile 109. Back south on 395 to 120 East and the ride got SERIOUS. The climb to Gaspipe Spring (at mile 125) was mentally every bit as tough as Heartbreak Hill (former Tour of Two Forests). Physically its not steep, but it is entirely above 6000 feet and seemed extra long. The top is nearly 8000 feet and has a nice downhill after a rest stop. Flat and killer 100-foot rollers followed with a great couple of downhills leading into Benton and the final official rest stop at mile 165. Benton is about 5000 feet and it was VERY hot with many complaining cyclists when I got there. One of the RAAM crewmembers for Emmy Klassen sprayed me down with water there which was greatly appreciated. I've seen him at many rides (Death Valley, Oak Glen, Central Coast and Heartbreak). He was a former top endurance cyclist before he was hit by a car -- 8 knee surgeries and over 1 year later he still can't bike. The last 35 miles are downhill and flat with a small roller at about mile 190. The best part of the ride for me.
My elapsed time was about 14 hours with a ride time of about 13 hours (I left my exact stats at home). I lost about 5 or 6 pounds of water and was sick afterwards from dehydration (like Central Coast), but no leg cramps or smog effects. The ride is advertised at 9500 feet of climbing. I think that estimate may be as much as a 1000 feet low. In terms of difficulty, I would rank the doubles this year (based upon my stats or other heresay since I didn't do the TT) in the following order from difficult to easy: Terrible Two, Central Coast, Heartbreak Double, Death Valley, Eastern Sierra, Palomar, Hemet, Grand Tour, Davis.
I would rank the doubles by scenery this year: Eastern Sierra, Death Valley, Palomar, Hemet, Heartbreak, Davis, Grand Tour, Terrible Two (no one can look at scenery if they're racing up 10% plus grades).
See you at Sherman Pass labor day.