Death Valley Double Century Ride Report
March 1, 2008
by Barry Schwartz
I signed up for the Death Valley Double Century in December thinking I would have plenty of time train. I was 10 pounds overweight and I had not ridden a long ride since the death ride (July). Due to the excessive rain in January and February, I was only able to get in a few good weekend rides. I was able to ride my trainer and go to Spin classes during the week. I did lose 12 pounds which I thought would help a lot on the hills.
I started checking the weather forecast for Death Valley about a week before the ride. It said some wind on ride day, March 1, and very windy on March 2. I checked every day and the forecast continued unchanged, 16 mph winds. By Thursday I was checking the hourly forecast. Wind started at 6 mph in the morning and was up to 16 by 2:00pm.
Six riders, me and five from Pleasanton left at 5:30 am for Death Valley. The riders were Gary Boal (former ACTC member) and his friends Jim, Bryan, Pam and Jerry. Jerry has a great van that has six seats in the back (2 DVD players) and 2 seats in the front.
The ride starts in waves of 50 riders. The fastest leave at 6:00, then the next fastest at 6:10 and finally those not as fast at 6:30 (the century riders leave after the double). We choose the 6:10 start time (Jerry and Pam were doing the 100 mile so they were not departing until 6:50). I was outside waiting to start and saw Joe Farinha and Barry Burr. While Jim was pumping up his from tire the stem broke. New plan was now to start at 6:20.
Finally, we start out at 6:20. The first leg of the ride is from Furnace Creek to Badwater (272 feet below sea level). It is 17 miles of slightly rolling hills. The wind was light the temperature perfect, no jacket just arm warmers. We tucked in behind a Tandem and with a pace line of about 10 we were in Badwater in no time. Gary and Jim dropped of the line somewhere along the way so Bryan and I waited at the rest stop. The Tandem left before we could get rolling.
The next leg was from Badwater to Ashford Mills with 27 miles of rolling hills. The four of us left the rest stop hoping to catch the Tandem. We chased the tandem for about 5-10 miles before catching them. After we caught the tandem, the wind really started to pick up. The paceline slowed to a crawl with the Tandem doing all the work and 10 to 15 riders sucking on there wheel. About 5 miles from the rest stop the rolling hills start to get more serious. The paceline disintegrated and the tandem was abandoned (it’s a cruel sport) due to its lack of uphill climbing speed. The wind also seemed to have let up a little bit.
From Ashford Mills to Shoshone the road goes over 2 mountain passes, Jubilee and Salsberry. Salsberry pass is at 3315 feet. The climb is about 17 miles of 4 to 5 percent grade. About one mile from the rest stop the road makes a 90 degree turn to the left. As soon as we turned the wind was no longer an issue, it may even have been helping. Bryan and I sailed to the top in no time. Then it was downhill to Shoshone. Bryan and I were the second and third riders from the 6:20 group to get to the rest stop. We saw Joe Farinha at the rest stop and after about 10 minutes Barry Burr pulled in. I waited about 20 minutes for Gary to show up and then another 10 before we were ready to roll.
This ride is an out and back. Shoshone is the turn-around point. So it was back up to Salsberry pass. This time the climb wasn’t so kind. The last 2 miles the wind was in our face and it really sapped my energy. I was able to recover on the long descent to Ashford Mills. It was my kind of descent, shallow grade, no sharp turns and the wind in my face keeping the speed manageable. No braking required.
To my dismay, but not to my surprise, when I got back to Ashford Mills the wind had changed direction (head wind again) and picked up in intensity. Bryan and I waited for Gary and then left with 3 others in a paceline. We all shared in the work on the way back to Badwater. At first we were picking up riders in the paceline. The paceline was getting longer but only Bryan, Gary and I were taking turns pulling. After a while the riders started dropping of the back. By the time we pulled into Badwater it was down to just Gary, Bryan and me.
We had lunch in Badwater and started back to Furnace Creek. Joe and Barry B. joined our paceline with about six or seven others. After lunch I seemed to catch my second wind. I felt very strong and broke away from the paceline with Bryan for the last 6 miles back to Furnace Creek.
It was starting to get dark at Furnace creek. I turned on my lights which I had picked up at Badwater and was feeling very strong and ready to tackle the last 50 miles. It was just 25 miles out to Stove Pipe Wells and 25 back with no major climbs. The wind had really taken its toll on a lot of riders as many of the double century riders were calling it quits at Furnace Creek, including Gary and Jim.
Bryan and I left Furnace Creek just as it turned dark. The wind seemed to have died down. However, the rest stop had a signup indicating to be cautions because there were 60 mph wind gusts possible. I thought the sign was a joke; the wind couldn’t have been more than 10 mph. So off we went. The first 5 miles were as calm as can be. And just like someone turning on a light switch the wind started. It came mostly from the side but also a little from the front. It was relentless. The sand was blowing, my bike was being pushed into the center of the rode, I felt I was riding at 45 degree angle to keep from being blown over. Bryan pushed on ahead of me as I struggled in the wind. I knew there was a slight climb of maybe 600 feet elevation gain that lasted 3 or 4 miles. I started climbing, the wind kept blowing, and I kept shifting to an easier gear. I think I was in my granny gear after what felt like an hour. However, it was too windy to look down to see what gear or what speed I was going.
I knew I was going slowly. I just kept hoping the road would take a 90 degree turn to the left because 1) that’s the top of the climb and 2) the wind would be at my back. No such luck, every time I looked up I just saw the taillights of a few bikes in the distance and at higher elevation which meant more climbing. The wind continued, the blowing sand continued, the endless howling in my ears continued, where was the top of this monster. I saw a sign by the side of the road, surely good news, ¼ mile to the top. Nope, it was an elevation sign “100 feet below sea levelâ€. All that work in granny gear and I had only climbed 100 feet. That’s it I quit. I get off my bike, my spirit broken, and leaned over my handlebars. After about 30 seconds I realized it may be along time before a SAG comes by. OK it back on the bike again and push on to Stovepipe Wells.
Somehow I make it to the top of the climb turn right and what’s my reward, more headwinds. The intensity wasn’t as strong but the direction was wrong. Its was mostly downhill to Stovepipe Wells, I could see the lights, I felt better knowing I had gotten over the hill. When I get to Stovepipe Wells I almost missed the stop. The canopy that has the lights on it had blown over so there wasn’t much to see. After that 25 mile leg I was done. Although I think my legs had the energy for more my heart was no longer in it. I hoped in the SAG when it arrived and had to take a DNF. Bryan continued to ride on. He finished the ride and said the last 25 mile back to Furnace Creek were not bad, tailwind all the way.
The following table shows the wind speed as reported by weather.com for Furnace Creek on March 1, 2008
|
Time |
Temperature |
Wind |
Wind |
|
6:00 |
52 |
13 |
W |
|
7:00 |
51 |
10 |
WNW |
|
8:00 |
57 |
9 |
WNW |
|
9:00 |
67 |
12 |
W |
|
10:00 |
73 |
24 |
WSW |
|
11:00 |
73 |
21 |
W |
|
12:00 |
74 |
22 |
WSW |
|
1:00 |
75 |
33 |
W |
|
2:00 |
71 |
40 |
W |
|
3:00 |
67 |
37 |
WSW |
|
4:00 |
65 |
44 |
W |
|
5:00 |
61 |
33 |
WSW |
|
6:00 |
57 |
28 |
W |
|
7:00 |
55 |
33 |
W |
|
8:00 |
54 |
29 |
WSW |
|
9:00 |
53 |
24 |
WSW |
Mar 5th 2008
Barry – What a great account of this ride. Of course, I’m the “Jim” in your story and can vouch for the first 150 miles of the trek. Death Valley is a beautiful place, and with only 2 or maybe 3 stopsigns along the route and minimal traffic, it’s a great place to ride a bike–except for the winds. I didn’t encounter the brutality of the winds like you did, since I stopped at 150, and your account makes me feel even better about the decision. But kudos to you for making the effort to ride that last 50 miles. You’re a better and stronger man than I…
Mar 5th 2008
Nice write-up.
I participated in the Century ride and finished 7:33:42. The winds were something else! I was amazed how sudden and strong it hit me all at once. My computer on the bike had different readings than what weather.com reported. Upon the return from Jubilee, mid-way through Ashford Mills to Badwater, the bike computer told me it was 88 degrees.
Yea, this sport can be brutal as I witnessed a dozen burly men drafting off a petite woman with the headwinds on the 2nd leg going out between Badwater and Ashford Mills. Century riders are not so apt to pace-line. However, I did meet a kind soul with the same attitude and we worked together to get to Badwater before the finish. She was from Germany but currently resides in San Francisco. We made the most of the situation and finished the ride with a great sense of accomplishment.
My heart went out to all of you riding the double. I heard that there were crosswinds on the return ride from Stovepipe Wells, but I will let those who actually had the experience confirm. I guess it depends upon the time of day your rubber was on the road. As far as I am concerned, if you made it back to Furnace Creek, you finished the course. Do not let anyone else convince you differently.
Looking foward to the Solvang Century this Saturday, March 8th and return in three weeks for my first double.
Cheers
Mar 6th 2008
think Barry understates the winds a bit. I was out there with him and had been at Stove Pipe Wells for about a half hour when they arrived. The climb that he describe where it goes from 200 feet below sea level to seal level was brutal. We had been fighting a cross wind or a head wind most of the day. I had gotten just worn out on the Badwater to Ashford Mills section both times. Longest 26 miles I have ever done. It was made worse because I started to cramp while on the aerobars because they use the muscles differently. Staying on the bike became a difficult task. The winds were reasonable when I started out about 5:40 out of Furnace Creek. There was the wind advisory written on a half a sheet of paper and stuck up on a box with tape. At least Barry saw the forecasts with the winds. Weather Underground and Accuweather had light winds forecasted for that day. What I experienced on th at last half into Stove Pipe was some of the strongest gusts of winds I have ridden in. The only thing we were missing was rain. We did have a substitute for that which I will add to Barry’s description. Not only were bikes being bounce around but the cars were weaving as they passed us. I think the wind gusts were easily over 40 mph. Last year, I was out in the 40 mph winds of the SF 300k and these were stronger. As I was in Stove Pipe, everything was blowing over. Wind speeds of up to 84 MPH were recorded in So Cal on Sat night due to these Santa Ana winds.
In Death Valley as you get near Stove Pipe Wells, there is an area of sand dunes. It is 15 square miles of sand. If you combine the wind with the sand, you have a sand storm. We were being pelted by sand as we rode out. I decided to SAG it back in because I thought it was unsafe. While I am not in mid-season riding shape, I knew I could make it back but it was at a point that I just rather let it go and ride another day. On the way out, the winds were blowing us into the middle of the road. On the way back in, we would now be blown into a soft shoulder. Just too much chance of getting taken down by the wind. As we rode back in the van and I think Barry saw this, the visibility was limited. When the driver would turn on his high beams, you could see you were in a cloud of sand. The driver had to be very careful of riders and almost hit one.
They do combine the century with the double. On the way back in, you do catch some of the slower century riders. A lot of those poor folks were just getting hammered by the wind. I saw groups just by the side of road and not happy. It was a very long day.
Barry Burr did stick it out and did finish. The fast guys like Gary did get in before the wind really hit. I think I was just out there at the wrong time.
Paul Duren
Mar 8th 2008
Barry S.’s write up described it well. Here’s my survival tale of the ‘Day of the Sandstorms’.
I arrived at Furnace Creek a minute behind other Barry. At the corner, the number checker stated, as Joe F. is my witness, that the wind had died down, they had driven to Stovepipe and back and it was no longer windy. The 60mph wind gust warning sign was over on the party food tables with the quitters, far from where I would allow myself to be. In my hotel room were fresh gloves, a bottle of chilled V8, half a bottle of Muscle Milk and Sustained Energy, along with my home made bikelights, power cables, and battery packs. Headlight had the current dialed in for 5 hours of burn at ~450 lumens over a 20 degree beam angle. The Autoblinky/Autobrakey patent pending taillight protruding outward behind my saddlebag, both bolted and zip tied providing a secure mount along with angular adjustability from its seatpost mount who’s origins were a Planet Bike rear stinger tail fender.
Overengineered possibly, buy for what was about to come, it may have been the difference between cars running up my tail versus slowing and moving way over to the other lane uncertain, in the haze and misty surreal beady sand dropletted low visibility.
Surely if I had a hard time seeing, what accumulations must be on car windshields of aggressive drivers impatient to step on and get through the malaise, outdriving the usable visibility their headlights provided?
Entertaining myself watching in my headlight beam illuminated psychedelic trails of minute tiniest dewdrop sized sandgrain dust particles bounce and deflect off my handelbars and the face of the three LED superbright dayglo collimator, I intermittently watched transfixed on the green backlit numbers of my Blackburn gauge.
11 miles. 11 miles. When the heck will I get to 12 miles.
14 miles down and getting worse. Halfway however, and I took a drink. Of mud it turned out, as the crusty sandy coatings accumulating on my lips and in my mouth were rinsed down. Arghyuckpu I cursed at the wind in the creation of a new profanity.
Time to boogger hooft out my nose, and the congealed crud was glued to my nostril hair refusing to let go. Itchy triggering sneeze reflexes. Amazing how strong the body can sneeze. Arghyuckpu I exclaimed again, rejoicing in my new curse word, such is the mind of battle fatigued interminable wind noise beaten double century rider when regulating the equally interminable pedalstroke of the body having the rubber legged ride of its life.
So drink one, swish, expel out of my rinsed mouth observing amazed the visual expression in fire hose force spray as the howling wind grabbed it to deposit on roadsides where, for all I know, a wildflower outcropping is now germinating thanks to my need to clear my mudded up mouth.
On it went, I noticed signs and thinking, seven more miles of this? So it went. The final approach brought a mild tailbreeze, to which rather than thankfullness I could only sense impending gloom at the sense that these wind direction weren’t going to reverse in the few minutes it would be to reach the rest stop and head back to Furnace
Creek again.
Rest Stop Reached. Ah noodles sweet Noodles. Salt laden MSG to course my corpuscles, Capri Sun sillysweet kids lunchbox juice bags to reglycogenate, is that a word? well at that time in my brain it was anyway.
A need nature stop and guzzled whatever else I guzzled, massaged the twice operated on left wrist now stiffening from a too tight grip on the bars for the two and one quarter hours it took to get the first 25 of the last fifty miles done. After the perfunctory lighting demo for all who gave them a curious gaze, I set out in the night, hoping that my settings were correct and I had at least another couple of battery hours to go.
First big crosswind sand burst, couldn’t breath in without covering my face but taking a hand off the bars wasn’t going to work either. Ahah!!
Unzip vest. Bottom corner at the zipper, will it reach? Yes!!
Bite down with my right side teeth, enough vest covering my nose and left side of my mouth in makeshift gas mask to breath through. And so I went. Breathing strong again, and the rubber legged high fructose corn syrup sweetened bloodstream powered body surged on into the tail/crosswinded martian lanscaped night. Time trial mode, after restraining the heartrate all day long, for the next 20 miles the house limit was off. Anything goes, and full speed ahead. 135, 140, 150, reaching cruising speed of 95% max at 166ish and holding. As the wicked witch said to her goblins sending them out to get Dorothy, “Fly you fool”.
Stray thought around that time, darn it was so windswept silty sanded over the valley I couldn’t even stare at the nebulae in Orion as we had the night before from the car.
The miles went on by. Stray thought surfaced not to bite down so hard lest I puncture a hole in my new team vest on its maiden ride.
Weak batteried bike blinkies ahead. That could only mean one thing. Rabbits!!!!
Go get ’em. Like any true time trial, track’em down, set approach speed, close, punch it, downhill ensuing, tailwinds on full, 35mph dash with seven miles left, call out on your left,
shouting “Let’s blow this joint” whoosh with legs in ecstacy, and for the next few miles, four miles to go more rabbits, whee this is fun and the rewards of energy conservation all day up til this point and all those DNF’ers will not get to know.
Track ’em, “on your left”, not that the wind yowls would let that be heard, so veer wide and they notice the oncoming Barry Beems ™ taillight as a car approaching but just little old me, this time they gave chase and I eased a touch to let them jump on my wheel. Well they tried, and if I have any particular competitive talent on the bike its letting it all air out full speed ahead over short distances, I’m a fast twitch type and tortuously holding all them muscle strands back til now was worth it.
Tapping the light switch on the gauge to check HR in glowing green digits, torque the quads back up to 28-30mph and let if fly all the way to the finish scooping up another rabbit aout a half mile before the end.
Whee that was fun. A couple of Subways, another V8, two Sprites, a great breakfast on the way home at the Lone Pine diner, and thanks to Gary and his comfy van, and Paul, Louise, Joe and Gary for the trip and mindset that set me up for the endurance ride of my life, and the mental health good energy kharma friendliness and of course a bit of gossip, the battle fatigue dissolved into warm goodbyes and “til we ride again”s as we parted our separate ways back at Gary’s place.
Maybe I could condense this with some gradual edits from the stream of consciousness its composed as yet what for a ride that was equally as stream of consciousness in surreality and air density fluctuations, its says what the ride was all about better this way.
Barry