I told Bruce about the campout and he was in, so we planned a route that would include a dirt climb in true Rough Riders style. We both were on our road bikes, Bruce on his Rivendell Bleriot and me on my trusty Surly Long Haul Trucker. We got a couple of weird looks from people, but that made it all the better. Here’s our route.

My goal was to pack as light as possible and it worked out well. The LHT with my overnight gear weighed about the same as when it’s in full commute mode. I only packed a bivy, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, shorts, trail mix, toiletries and a windbreaker. Pretty simple. Everything except the sleeping pad fit in the 2 small panniers on the back. The panniers that I used are really front panniers, and I have a set of the larger rear panniers. I can’t even imagine how much stuff you could carry if you used those.

I’ll just post a few of my favorite pics, but you can see all of them here.

The man with the plan, Chris from Topanga Creek Bicycles

Past being replaced with the future.

The weekend was a great success, and we’ve already started discussing future trips. My LHT performed flawlessly and my gear selection worked out well. I’m looking forward to getting out again, hopefully after the temps drop. It’ll be nice to have a fire and a cup of tea to relax with. Thanks to Chris, Scott and Eric for setting up this campout.

The Mt. Laguna Bicycle Classic is a new event put on by the Adventure Corps. It consists of 3 loops, all climbing to the summit of Mt. Laguna from 3 different approaches. Each loop looks tougher than the previous. All 3 loops total 10,000 feet of climbing!

Here’s the profile.

The elevation gain and mileage for the first 2 loops is very similar to the Hell’s Gate Hundred ride in Death Valley. I’m only planning to ride the first 2 loops anyways. I don’t think I will be able to do the 3rd loop.

I have two plans, one is to try and ride the 2 loops faster than I did the ride in Death Valley. The second plan is to take pictures and really enjoy the day. Of course that blows my time goal out of the window, but it’ll make for a fun day no matter what I end up doing. Either way I’ll be climbing and climbing and climbing. Up to 6000 feet this time though!

I’ve been riding harder and faster for every commute these last couple of weeks. I’ve been standing out of the saddle on all the climbs and pushing the big ring to get my average speed up. I’m already feeling the difference in my legs. I’m working different muscles and it’s showing. I sure hope that it helps me on Saturday. As for Serbrina, she already knows it will.

I found some pictures of myself and the Salsa Casseroll over there.

Marcus from Ride and Ruckus.

Cycling legend John Marino. I got to chat with him for a little while on the climb up to Artist’s Pallete.

Bruce sporting his wool jersey. He even got a special mention about it at the start!

All photos courtesy of Adventure Corps and Badwater Ben Jones.

Related Reading:
Hell’s Gate Hundred Pt. 1
Hell’s Gate Hundred Pt. 2
Santa Barbara 300k

For 11 weeks I had been training. Scheduling rides based on a calendar that would end today. I was both nervous and excited. Nothing to do now, but to get my gear ready, mix my drinks and make sure the bike is ready to go. The official start time for the Hell’s Gate Hundred was 6am, with waves of riders rolling out every 10 minutes. I had been looking over the course map carefully and looking at the times for the control points. I estimated that, at my pace, I’d need all the time alloted, so the plan was for us to try and get out right at 6am to maximize our chances. The major climb had a cutoff of 12:30pm. If I couldn’t make it to that point by 12:30pm, I’d have to turn around. That would make my ride only 80 miles instead of the full 100 miles. I was sure I could do it, but I wanted a cushion.

While we were prepping, Marcus discovered he had a leak in his front tire. He set about replacing the tube and a few minutes later the bike was ready to go. Until POP! Damn, the new tube is no more. A new tube goes in and PSSSSSS! Damn, again?! We grab another tube and it holds (we hope) so we’re off to the start. We get there in time for the 6:30 wave. No worries, we’ll just have to make some time, but where?

Not a great photo, but it sums up the feeling of that morning.

The route starts heading south towards Artist’s Pallette. The sun was just starting to light the valley. If you’ve never been to Death Valley, put it on your list.

I was riding the Salsa Casseroll, and with the fenders on it was probably one of the heaviest bikes there. I got many comments wondering why I would have fenders, or what it weighed. My response was “this is Death Valley, the weather can change very quickly here”. I would at least get a nice laugh as they rode on past. The field of bikes were mostly carbon/aluminum bikes. I was on a tank and I would feel it later. The climb up to Artist’s Pallete was pretty steep, with one section up to 12%. I just picked a gear that was comfortable and pedaled. John Marino rode along side me and we chatted about the Casseroll and bikes for a little while. He told me that he rode a steel bike on this ride last year, and this year he was on a lighter bike. Hmmm. I think he knew what I was in for, but he didn’t say anything. It was just nice to chat with him for a little while.

We made it up to the first control point at Artist’s Pallete. I refilled my bottles, ate a banana and took a couple of pics. Before long Bruce arrived and we were off again. The descent back to the main road was very fun, with another climb hidden in there to keep you on your toes. We turned north on our way to Hell’s Gate.

The route took us back past the campground, and Marcus had to stop there. So he pushed on ahead while Bruce and I rode at our own pace. It timed out perfectly and as we were passing the campground he pulled along side us. As a reward for helping with the tubes earlier, Marcus offered to do the pulling for us. So for the next ten miles or so I just held his wheel. It was an amazing feeling. We were making great time, passing people left and right. I couldn’t believe what a difference drafting makes. I told him later that it felt like we were on the Tour de France and he was pulling me up to a climb.

We got to the next stop by 9:30 I think. From here, it was 16 miles of climbing. At this point, we had pulled ahead of Bruce. By the time we were fueled up and ready to roll he was just pulling in. I checked in on him and he said that he was going to rest there a bit, so Marcus and I pushed on.

The climb didn’t start out too bad. We were chatting for a bit, passing riders here and there, and being passed as well. We were making decent time. Then the road started to get steeper, and steeper. I started to fall behind and before long I was on my own again. Still passing some, and being passed too, so I figured I was on the average pace. I was working hard though. This was the road to called “Hell’s Gate”.

By the time I made it to Hell’s Gate I was beat! I was ready to turn around. Somehow I had managed to lose enough time that I didn’t think I’d make the next cutoff time. I had underestimated the climbing big time. I wasn’t the only one, there were many people that looked like I felt. Including Marcus, who was still at the stop. We talked a bit about what to do, and we both decided to keep going. The first 10 miles of climbing was about 2K feet in elevation gain, the next 6 miles would be the same elevation gain, 2000 feet. It was not going to be easy, but we thought we’d give it a shot. I calculated that we’d make it with only a few minutes to spare, but I was wrong. I struggled and suffered on that climb. The cutoff was 12:30pm, and I pulled in to Daylight Pass at 12:32pm. It took me 2 more minutes to remember to take a picture of the GPS.

Marcus had gotten to the pass just before me, and was fueled up and ready. I told him that I was done, and couldn’t climb anymore, but encouraged him to go on. As he rode off I just relaxed for a couple minutes. Serbrina and my Pops had driven up to Daylight Pass. I was so glad to see her. She had been cheering me on for days before and her smile was all I needed to get back on the bike and head for the finish. I got ready to start the descent back and took a couple pics to prove I was there.

The descent was amazing. It took me 1 hour 15mins to climb 2000 feet in 6 miles, and then about 15 minutes to descend it. It was very cold up on the top of the pass, but with every few feet of elevation lost the temperature went up. The views on the descent were amazing!

By the time I got back to the bottom of the climb the wind had picked up. Luckily I met up with 2 other riders, Tim and Kerry if I remember right, so the 3 of us rode the 10 miles or so back to the finish, trading pulls here and there. I checked in at the finish at got my reward. Pepperoni pizza!

I wasn’t able to finish the ride like I had intended, but I still had a great time. The course got me this time, but I’ll be back to try again. I’m already planning to go back in October for the Fall Century. Hopefully Marcus and Bruce will join me.

I had my SPOT on during the ride. If you enjoyed following the live tracking let me know. I’m interested to know how many, if any, people follow along on the rides. I’m debating using it on future rides, so if you like it let me know, if you don’t care, well, let me know that too!

The final numbers are 8:19 for 79.4 miles. Total climbed was 7,110 feet. This was the toughest ride I’ve ever done, but I know I can do better. There is a lot of room for improvement. Who’s going to join me for the next one? It’s coming up soon!

Hell’s Gate Hundred

Map your trip with EveryTrail

Related Reading:
Hell’s Gate Hundred Pt. 1
Santa Barbara 300k
More Hell’s Gate Hundred Stuff

I was up bright and early Friday packing of the truck/trailer and getting everything ready. Serbrina, my Pops, Bruce and I were going to drive out together and Marcus would be meeting us at the campground. This was going to be the first time in Death Valley for both Serbrina and Bruce.

The drive out was uneventful but we did stop to check out the wildflowers. These flowers were just north of Salsbury Pass. I’ve been out to Death Valley many times, but always to early in the season, so this was a first for me.

After setting up camp, Bruce and Marcus rode over to the check-in. They took part in the Yoga session, while Serbrina and I rode around the Furnace Creek area. We stumbled upon 2 german tourists looking at a map. I immediately noticed that one of the bikes was a Tout Terrain so we stopped to check it out.

They are on a tour that will take them north to Canada. They had some questions about their intended route so I was happy to help them out. They had already ridden up from the Salsbury Pass area that day and were going to spend the night at Furnace Creek.

We invited them to join us at our campground after dinner, but they never made it. Serbrina and my Pops saw them the next morning on there way out towards Towne Pass and the Panamint Valley. Hope they made it over that ok. It looked like a tough climb.

After checking in we all met up back at camp and had a dinner of penne pasta and sausage. Some last minute checking and re-checking of gear and then it was time for some shut-eye. Tomorrow the ride! Stay tuned!

Related Reading:
Hell’s Gate Hundred Pt. 2
Santa Barbara 300k
More Hell’s Gate Hundred Stuff

I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to keep up with the group on the LHT. It’s pretty heavy, and while I removed one of the panniers and the U-Lock, I left in my tools and some rain gear just in case.

I rode up to the meet spot only to find out that we were heading to Downtown LA for breakfast. Nuts! The route was going to take us right past my house, so I could’ve slept in some. Oh well, I was able to get a little climbing in on the way there, so now I was rewarded with the descent.

We made our way through Pasadena, Alhambra and El Sereno on our way to DTLA.

Our first choice for breakfast wasn’t open yet, so we decided to head to East LA for some breakfast. I suggested we climb Alpine just to get our hearts pumping. Alpine isn’t very long, but it’s steep. I climb it with my loaded bike on my commute to work, so it was fun to ride it without all that extra weight.

We stopped off at the LAPD building and took a picture. One of the regulars of the group works there and I guess we took a pic to brag a little.

After playing around in the hills we headed back east through East LA in search of a mexican breakfast. Mmmmm. As we crossed the freeway I remembered that there are Graff Cats on this overpass. I was able to hang out over the freeway and get a good shot of a couple of the cats.

Once in East LA we headed over to Moles La Tia for breakfast. I’d heard about this place, and was looking forward to try it. The only drawback was that since I was on my bike, I was a little hesitant to eat too much. I stuck with the Chorizo con huevos and it did not disappoint. They include mini quesadillas on the plate with freshly made tortillas. I was able to taste some of the Mole and can’t wait to get back there.

After breakfast, I popped into a panaderia for some fresh pan dulce and then we headed for home. It was nice to have the pannier on the LHT to be able to carry some bread home.

We took Eastern Ave up and over the hill and then rode through Cal State LA. We passed the Dolores Chili bldg.

I was running my GPS and was able to capture the ride with all it’s ups and downs. Click the link to open the map in a larger window. It makes it easier to read.

Group Ride 2/7/10

Map your trip with EveryTrail

I had a great time on this ride and was pretty surprised at how fast the LHT was. I might have been working harder to keep the LHT moving along, but over the bumpy roads it was nice to have the tougher wheels and wider tires. I can feel that my legs are getting stronger every day and they were able to keep the trucker truckin’!

Thanks to the Cigar Band for another great ride!

I can’t wait to try this ride on the Casseroll just to see how much faster I could do it. One of these weekends I’ll have to try that.

I had a great ride with the Sunday group yesterday through DTLA, but I haven’t uploaded the pictures yet. Ran out of time last night. I’ll get those posted soon, along with the map. Keep checkin’ back!

I’ve signed up for the Adventure Corps Hells Gate Hundred in Death Valley on April 3rd. So with the help of a training guide I sat down and backtimed my riding for the next 10 weeks. The main goal of this training will be completing the the Hells Gate Hundred, but the added benefit will be setting me up for the second round of Brevets that begin in May. The Brevet Series will take me through October, and will include more than a couple Double Centuries.

So with some careful planning I think I’ll be able to accomplish my long distance goals this year. If I keep on track I’ll be completing centuries as just training rides for Brevet Series.

The tough part was planning it out, but now that it’s done, the only thing left to do is pedal!