Month: July 2019

deathride, road conditions, weather

Deathride After-Action Report and Other Goings-On Here in the California Alps

I had hoped to post this up just after the Tour of the California Alps, which took place almost two weeks ago now, on Saturday, the 13th. Unfortunately, I picked up a bit of a cough, brought on by a little trip to the Southland the Tuesday prior, and it put me out of commission. Note to self: Don’t get in one of those shiny, jet-powered tubes filled with other germ-carriers, fly to a big city and hang out in a meeting for two (2) hours with a sick colleague also in the meeting, especially the week before the Deathride.

Thankfully it didn’t hit me so hard that I couldn’t do some of the ride. I was able to get four (4) passes done but Carson just wasn’t possible. Just couldn’t get any air as the day wore on; 40 more miles and another ~4000 feet wasn’t going to happen. So, I had to abandon and leave my brother from another mother, and California Alps Cycling member, Scott Keno, to finish without me, which he did. Two (2) other members, Roy Franz and Joe Watkins, also finished, and a couple other members, Greg Hanson and Rich Harvey, conquered one, or both sides, of Ebbett’s. Congrats boyz!

While I don’t have the official stats yet from the Alpine Co. Chamber, I heard that there were approximately 2000 sign-ups and about 900 5-pass finishers! Based on what I know about previous years that’s a higher percentage than in the past. Lots of strong riders out there this year! The weather cooperated; it didn’t get too hot or windy until later in the day. Still challenging for those on Carson but it could have been much worse as highs in the 90’s were expected. Congratulations to all you Death-riders! Whether you did 1, 2, 3, 4 or all 5 passes you should be proud.

Here’s a bunch o’ photos from the day (and a couple from the Expo the Friday before)

From our perspective here at California Alps Cycling we couldn’t have had a more successful weekend (well, it would have been nice to not get that cold but that’s life, eh?). The Expo was hugely successful! We sold out of our cinch-packs for the bag drop and we got great reviews on the drop itself, too; we turned some folks onto our jerseys, vests, bibs and decals, and we had many great conversations with riders. Thank you so much BTW, to those of you who came by our booth, and especially to those that partook of our bag drop or bought other schwag. We are grateful. We also handed out (free of charge) some Smart Cycling Quick-Guides, which we purchased from the League of American Bicyclists. Based on what our booth-goers told us, most of them were going to go to kids and grand-kids of riders, which is what we had hoped. Getting to those neophyte riders early is key we think and it’s one of the things we feel very strongly about – cycling education that is. Don’t you agree?

We’ll be back next year and have already started planning. Hope to see you then! Be on the lookout (BOLO) for our Deathride 2020 page (we retired the 2019 page earlier this week) where we’ll post up that data that matta for next year.

In other news…

Earlier this week, we joined other members of the Markleeville Enhancement Club (Mark’s the secy-treasurer) for a bit of weed-whacking, branch-trimming and litter pick-up at Heritage Park. If you’re interested in a bit of history, click here to read a 2016 article about Jacob Markley (’twas he that our town was named after) and the park.

Lighting and thunder visited us in earnest yesterday (first real storm of the season). We had about .30 inches of rain fall here at HQ and a few strikes did torch some trees, one here on Hot Springs Road and one out on the Mesa area, near Woodfords. Thanks to our firefighting professionals, though, they were quickly extinguished.

Last, but not least, there is some road work being done on Dixon Mine Road (off Wolf Creek Road) until November but it looks like Wolf Creek Road itself will remain open.

So there you have it loyal reader. The latest happenings here in our little slice of heaven. This Sunday, by the way, Mark is going to join other members of the Alpine Trails Association (yup, he’s a member, too) for a nice hike on the Charity Valley Trail, from Blue Lakes Rd. to Grover Hot Springs State Park, so we’ll post something on our blog next week on that. Stay tuned.

Happy weekend to you! Get out and enjoy the outdoors and let’s kick some passes’ asses! whether that be by foot, horseback, bike or some other form of transpo.

deathride, road conditions

The Deathride Cometh to the California Alps

I still can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last post and that the Deathride is less than a week away! Certainly my day job has been taking a lot of my time, but that’s understandable, especially lately (typical mid-year craziness combined with regular craziness- I won’t bore you, you likely have similar woes) but as I cast my mind back (RIP Paul Sherwen) to the past few weeks (months?) I realize the time-warp is mostly due to training for the ride itself. Well, okay, here at California Alps Cycling we’ve also been doing a bit of prepping for the exposition (can you say “cool schwag?“), and we’ve been getting our ducks in a row for the bag drop, too. Check out our Deathride page for more information on that and THANK YOU to those that have signed up!

Okay, Before I Continue – The Roads are Ready!

I’ve spotted the Caltrans crews out and about our local highways recently doing a bit of sweeping and other clean-up. The place is looking good!

I rode up to Ebbett’s Pass on Sunday, June 30th, and other than a few errant rocks (it’s a constant here) the road looks great. The snow was mostly gone, and no doubt will be completely gone come next Saturday. Oh, and Kinney Resevoir is no longer an ice rink!

  • Looks like a gorilla face to me. On the way up Ebbett’s…
  • Kinney Res. looks inviting, but it’s frickin’ cold!
  • Rock-person at the pass. (No, I didn’t built it).
  • Oh yeah! No cars needed.

Just this past Saturday, I rode both sides of Monitor Pass; it was a glorious day! I’m not saying it wasn’t painful, it was, especially that eastern side. BUT…the weather was perfect (it’s probably going to be a bit hotter next Saturday) and the wildflowers were popping! There should still be plenty left for the ride next week. I’ve lived here almost three years now and I’ve never seen Monitor looking so pretty so if you’re riding next Saturday be sure to look around.

  • Uh huh, no cars…
  • Clear sky and a clean road.
  • Great views…

  • And, lots of flowers!

As for Carson Pass, well I have to admit I haven’t had a chance to ride that one lately. Member and co-founder (and wifey) Pat, drove over to the Bay Area today (poor thing) though, and she reported that the road was good. It will be even better Saturday the 13th since it will be “staffed” with volunteers and riddled with riders. I did ride a portion of Blue Lakes Rd. last month, however, and thoroughly enjoyed the descent therefrom!

  • Caples Lake on June 12th. Effect added.
  • Silvertone version…
  • Aspens from Blue Lakes Rd. on the same day.

Training in the Sierra

Alright, I feel better now. You’ve got the latest intel and I’ve whined about how busy I’ve been. So, onward we go. Preparing for a ride of this magnitude takes months. My wife has been so supportive, as spouses and partners of cyclists have to be, and I’m grateful that the ride is under a week away.

As you may recall from one of my previous posts, I’ve done a bit of research and in applying said nuggets I’ve become stronger and faster, and I have more endurance too. So in the last several weeks, I’ve done an organized ride and a bunch of other “tests” to keep those legs lean and mean and keep my confidence high.

Tollhouse Century (part of the Climb to Kaiser)

The “organized test” took place on June 22nd. I was joined by my brother from another mother, and CA Alps Cycling Legacy Member, Scott (aka Scotty) Keno. It was a really fun day on the bike, made more so because we were joined by three other riders: Dan, Robert and Scott. It was great having the company; it made the day go faster, and so did the pulls! Click here for a Relive video of our day, including a couple “interesting” moments/photos. Short answer = We passed the test. I was really stoked that I was able to do the ride so quickly, and with fewer and shorter rests. All that training definitely paid off! Check out this post; it’s a little reminder of how I got here. You can follow the same plan and perhaps get the same (or better!) results.

  • At the start of the Tollhouse/C2K.
  • Looking down one of the climbs.
  • A happy Scotty.

The other tests

This ride was the first test, if you will. The other two tests were Ebbett’s and Monitor. So, I’ve done three out of the five and I’m feeling good. Now, it’s on to those other trials: recovery, rest and patience. The latter is not one of my strong suits but I’m learning. Learning how to pace myself. Learning how to take better care of the bod’ and most of all, learning how to enjoy my time on the bike more. Did an active recovery ride today and tomorrow it’s a rest day. I’ll do a couple walks this week and maybe an easy spin on Thursday so I’ll be rested for Saturday. Then I can let these horses outta the gate!

What about you?

You coming to Markleeville next weekend? Perhaps you’re already here? If you answered in the affirmative to either then we look forward to seeing you Friday at the Expo and Saturday on the road. If not, then we wish you well in your next adventure, crucible, challenge, or whatever it is you want to call it.

Now…Let’s Kick Some Passes’ Asses!