370 miles from home we arrive at our destination. Bishop California a thriving oasis is really in the middle of nowhere. It's claim to fame is being where the now dried up Owens Valley is. That's a whole story by itself so we'll skip that. We cruised up Highway 168 out of town and parked at 9500+ feet. So being a Lowlander, any effort led to a light-headed dizziness. We just hung out and gazed at the magestic scenery before us, thinking we're going to see great things like this all day tomorrow !
We headed back to town to check in to our hotel and register for the ride. Conveniently the starting point of the ride was right across the street from the hotel! We checked in and headed up the street to the local pasta joint and it was packed with carbo-loading cyclists, this was a good sign. We had a great dinner and walked back to our hotel to fiddle and fuss with all the pre-ride stuff. We readied the bike and layed out our clothes for the morning, set the alarm, and tried to get some sleep.
3:50 A.M. BEEP,BEEP,BEEP,BEEP.IS IT THAT TIME ALREADY? !!!!!!!!!! Slowly and deliberately we ready ourselves. We wandered across the parking lot for a quick breakfast at Lenny's . Bike shoes on, helmet on, Camelback full, all systems ready. Off we go for the 5:15 mass start.
The ACTC club was very well represented at this ride - about ten of us were there ready to go. They let us go right on time, with a police escort to boot! We played it smart, trying not to be too close to the front at the start. The hammer-pack quickly disappeared off the front. We decided that we wanted to enjoy the scenery and to try and finish before it got dark. That was our mission statement for the day,and to have lots of fun too.
Bishop is at 4000 feet so the altitude was not an issue, but I knew it would be soon. We headed south on a relativly flat 30 mile loop around the outskirts of town before arriving at the first reststop. Food stop looks well stocked with lots of tasty goodies. We munch a bit and fill the water bottles. We see an ACTC jersey clad cyclist pull in, someone I don't know. So we say ACTC RULES and go over and introduce ourselves. It's Eric (sorry I don't know your last name). We wished him good luck and off we went.
A couple of turns down the road finds us turning onto Old Sherwin Grade. Uphill you ask!! You bet your bottombracket! Not steep at all but just real long! Probably 8-10 miles long averaging about 5% with a few switches to 7%. As far as climbs go this one was not too bad, lots of real fine scenery to distract us. Soon we find ourselves in the company of the legendary Peter Pop (also known as Pete Klein). Pete was mistaken for Peter Pop, so we had to laugh! He told us most of the climbs would be like this, not very steep, just looonnnggg! By the time we had gotten to the top of this climb we had climbed to 7500 feet. I could sure feel the effects of being at altitude. Slow-pokeyness is a sure sign!
A nice down hill section and a little climb followed by a very nice descent brought us to reststop #2 and the best peanut butter and banana sandwich I've ever had! Sounds like Don Axtell food but it really hit the spot.
Leaving reststop #2 we parralled Hwy 395 for quite a ways, then turned north onto it for 7 miles. Nice wide smooth shoulder, very little traffic, pretty nice. We worked our way north toward the Mammoth Scenic Loop on Hwy 203. We rode along the town's parade route so that was kinda neat with lots of people out and about. The road here was narrow and had no real shoulder, but for the most part everyone was pretty considerate. Must have been because it was a holiday weekend!
A pleasant climb lead us to a very very nice descent. Wide smooth road, nice sweeping corners, good visibility, and the road did not descend too quickly, made for an E-ticket ride down. Back to Hwy 395 and north to Reststop #3 at a Highway roadside rest area. It fit the bill nicely. Rest rooms, a place for them to put out the food spread. What else could you ask for? There were almost no cars there, probably having traveled the day before.
33 miles to lunch from here and the ride's northern-most point. Off we go on Hwy 395 for 8 miles to the June Lake loop. A little rolly activity through here but nothing too painful. The scenery, though, just kept getting better with every turn! Lakes and rivers, waterfalls, really pretty scenery. We stopped at Grant Lake to munch a bit and soak up some of the killer vistas. This was probably some of the best scenery on the ride, but it did get better at a few places.
The wind was coming at us from the south so I knew when we turned north toward Mono Lake and the lunch stop it was gonna be time to fly! We turned onto Hwy 395 again at the 100 mile mark with 10 miles to lunch. I don't know how long it took but every time I looked down at the speedometer we were going 25+ mph! This was nice, but the bummer was we had to ride back the same way we came. Oh well!
The lunch stop was one of the most beautiful places they could have found. It was at a park overlooking Mono Lake. Absolutely stunning. Almost made you wish the ride ended here so we could stay the rest of the day. Nice shade, cool breeze, comfortably grassy area, nap time - NOT. 100 miles to go.
Saddle up and southbound we go. The rollers and headwind don't seem to be as bad as we had expected, so thats nice. We saw our buddy Eric going north and cheered him on. 10 miles south we reach Hwy 120, right turn takes you up Tioga Pass to Yosemite, a little further south a left turn on Hwy 120 points you toward the boondocks! We turn left and the roadside sign says "NO SERVICES NEXT 48 MILES". Now I'm thinking where are we going now!
Way, way out into the boonies we go. A nice gentle climb with Mono Lake on our left and Mono Craters on the right. We had done 7000 feet of climbing before lunch so that meant we had jut under 3000 to go. Everybody said to save something for the climb to Sagehen summit and the head winds at the end. Good sound advice! This Sagehen climb went on forever. Probably 15 miles. Never very steep just long and very deceptive. It looked flat in places but your legs told you your eyes where lying. The little pitch ups added to the annoyance. It was more a mental climb then a physical one. We stopped a few times in the shade for a Power Gel and a short respite. It felt like we were going to climb into the sky! Finally after what seemed like days we rounded a corner and there was the sign that said Sagehen Summit. What a relief!
We got off the bike and turned around to look behind us and there was the most unreal panaramic vista I think I've ever seen on any ride that I've ever done! From left to right 13000-14000 foot snow covered peaks. Mt Banner, Mt Ritter, The Mineret's, just absolutly amazing views. We just sat on the ground and stared in amazement at what laid itself out before us, enjoying the fresh boiled red potatoes that the reststop captian was passing out.
All too soon it was time to go. One last look and downhill we blasted .It was windy so the descent wasn't as fast as it could have been, so we just had more time to soak up the scenery.
Our next 27 mile section did not have a single turn in it! Two cattlegaurds was all there was out there to note on the route sheet. The wind was kicked up pretty good out here and the road went up and down on mini-rollers. Just big enough so your momentum wouldn't carry you over the top. On and on, up and down we went, and who do we see pedaling along ? It's Petey! Looking a little worn from battling the wind. So we rolled along with him, glad to have some company. Pete said "See that little hill over there? We go to the top and it's downhill from there." Yea right! I've heard that before! But it really was downhill from the top, well for a while anyway.
This brought us to the town of Benton, population 7. It was up to 14 with all us at the reststop! We were again greeted by a cheerful staff and great food. The chicken soup was particularily tasty. They had enough food so everyone could find something they liked. That soup was extra special good. Pete said that the next 21 miles was going to be ugly. We would go dierctly south into the wind. He also said we would drop 1400 feet between here and Bishop too, but he didn't know where!
We kind of rolled out slow to see how strong the wind would be. It really didn't seem to be too bad so we motored on. Motor we did - everytime I looked down at the speedo we were above 25 mph! We slowed a little before getting to the last rest stop but we covered the 21 miles in 62 minutes! That's into the wind and having ridden 165 miles. Air Force One had both afterburners going full blast on that section. It must have been something in that chicken soup!
Every once in a while on a ride you get something really special. The perfect line through a corner; your legs don't hurt anymore; something real memorable. Well for me on this ride that run down Highway 6 was it! No matter how hard we tried, we could not go slow, the bike moved as if it were on ice. No drag, no effort, just pure speed. Way cool dude!
We sat at the last stop with a silly smirk on our faces knowing, barring disaster, we would surly finish before dark! Only 14 miles to go! Time to "DO THE DEW" and get it done. And we did. The wind seemed to pick up a bit stronger the closer we got to Bishop. That was okay because we were happy and still having fun! We hit the time station at 7:45 pm so we were pleased. Tired and happy we sat around for a few minutes glad to be done. We did have to get back on the bike to ride the long 1/4 mile back to the hotel, but that was it.
The scenery is awesome. The ride is tough no doubt. All I can say is it was worth the suffering. Thanks to Judy the Sluggo Stoker for another totally awesome tandem ride!