TandemHearts

Although it is very late in the cycling “season” here, we are finally getting in some good rides. It has been quite a while since we rode regularly,  so we don’t really know what kind of cycling  shape we are in.  Naturally,  we picked a 64 mile ride with about 8,000 feet of climbing, at altitude, to test ourselves.

Even when we were riding regularly this would have been a tough ride. We knew this ride would give an indication of where our cycling fitness is, so we could better plan out our winter training.

The ride started at Bear Valley Ski Resort, headed down to the Spicer Reservoir, turned around and went back to the start.  It continued up to Mosquito Lake, down to Hermit Valley and finally to the top of Ebbett’s Pass, where you turn around and ride back.  The entire ride is on highway 4, except for the part on the road down to the reservoir.  The traffic was very light, the pavement  was mostly excellent and the weather was fine.  The ride is pretty small with fewer than 200 riders.  Since most of them did the full distance, those of us on the metric ride had mostly empty roads.  And did I mention, it was incredibly beautiful with views at nearly every turn?  The support for the ride was quite good with rest stops at appropriate intervals.  Lunch had a particularly yummy pasta salad.

The day started with us sitting in the rented condo before dawn, munching on cinnamon toast and drinking coffee. The condo was almost on top of the start line, so we munched and watched the full century riders roll out in the cool predawn air.  They had an extra 35 miles to put in before heading to the reservoir so we did not see most of them until late in the day.   It was almost like being at home.

After a filling breakfast, we headed for the start with just a few rain drops on us and scattered clouds. Last year, this ride had snow flurries at Ebbett’s Pass, but our forecast was for mid-70s.  We rode our own pace and didn’t see any riders until we got to the Spicer Reservoir turn around.  As we climbed back up to highway 4, we started to see the full century riders heading down to the Reservoir. These were either the very fast riders, or the very early risers.  We made our way back to our 10:30 AM “lunch” (at the start/finish line) where we enjoyed some pasta salad and stoked the fires for the long climbs ahead.  We don’t eat a lot of pasta, but riding is a license to eat what we want, so it was a welcomed treat.

Being in the mountains, there was not a flat section of road for this entire ride. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down.  Soon after we left lunch, we rode beyond the gate that marks the winter road closure point.   This section of the road gets snowed in for the winter, so we expected poor pavement, but were delighted with the smooth surface.  The narrow road left little shoulder, but the closer we got to Ebbett’s Pass, the lighter the traffic was.  As we crested the climb to Mosquito Lake, we were surprised to see the shore of  this small lake lined with dozens of people fishing.  We didn’t stop to ask if the fish were biting because we were thinking about the next descent. From Mosquito Lake to Ebbett’s Pass and back is where the real climbing in this ride takes place.  Dropping from Mosquito Lake to Hermit Valley takes you down Pacific Grade, with it sections of 24% and series of sharp switchbacks.  Although the pavement was excellent, the road isn’t one of those were you can take your hand off the brakes and let loose. Hard on the brakes for  first mile or so, lamenting the need to keep the speed down, we dropped down to Hermit Valley, all the while thinking, “Wait, we have to climb back up this?!”.  It was pretty intimidating.  The rest stop in Hermit Valley was staffed with more friendly volunteers and we hung out just a little longer than we probably should have.  Leaving the rest stop meant going up the 5.5 mile climb to Ebbett’s Pass, at 8,800 feet above see level.

Ebbett’s Pass is an iconic climb.   It isn’t high enough to be above the tree line, but it isn’t sea-level either. Topping out at an elevation where you are only getting 75% as much oxygen as you would at sea-level, we did not really know what to expect.  An individual’s sensitivity to altitude can be funny.  Some people, regardless of their overall fitness, just don’t handle thin air well. We already knew that Veronica is one of those people, we just mosied along, being careful to hardly exert ourselves.  This climb was made tougher by the fact that we had never climbed this side, so we did not know exactly where the summit was.  The trees blocked most of the view, so we just poked along and estimated how much further we had to climb.  By now, some of the fast century riders were passing us, but the traffic was still light.  About a half mile below the summit (although we did not know it at the time), Veronica had to stop because she was dizzy, in spite of not working hard at all.  Without knowing what lay up the road, we were not sure she should go on, but eventually we decided that it could not be that far to the summit and if she had to stop multiple times, she would.  We got back on the bike and almost immediately the road leveled out a bit.  To our relief, just a few turns later we were greeted with the summit sign.  After a photo op, we turned around to head back the finish line, looking forward to the ripping descent off Ebbett’s Pass, but dreading the climb up Pacific  Grade.

Good pavement, low traffic and clean site lines are a winning combination for descending quickly. In no time at all, we were back at the Hermit Valley rest stop. Things were picking up with riders going both ways. We were very happy not to be among those riders facing the Ebbett’s Pass climb with another 35 miles of riding in their legs.  With spirits high, but some concern about the steep grade ahead, we set out for Mosquito Lake at the summit of Pacific Grade. Once again, going easy, we just made our way up the hill.  We were pleased not to have to walk (some riders did) and made it up without any drama.  At the very summit, Thom got a flat tire, so we got a rest as he changed that.  From Mosquito Lake to Bear Valley isn’t all down hill, but it was more down than up.  Knowing that we were going to get this thing done without issue, we started to pick up the pace a bit as we headed to the  finish.

Because this ride was all about making sure we could finish, we took it very slowly. In fact, this was the slowest ride we’ve ever done – averaging an appalling 10 miles per hour overall with about ninety minutes off the bike.  On the other hand, we did make it up the very steep climbs – Pacific Grade 24%!!! – almost without breaking a sweat.  Given that we had ridden less than 600 miles this year, the mosey plan seemed like a very good idea. Turns out the only tough part was the altitude.  With  Ebbetts Pass topping out at 8,700+  feet the air was a little thin for us low-landers.

We finished feeling good.   It was a great ride and confirmed that we are in shape to put in the  serious saddle time needed for our next adventure.