Chuck's Spring Death Valley Double 2005 Ride Report
-- OR --
Another DVD Without Training.
(I guess when you start getting close to your 40's training for doubles is necessary. I'm 37 now, so I'll keep you updated on what the exact age is, as looking back on my past, I'll probably not train for this ride next year, either.)
Pre-Ride Photo's
Bad Water
Bret at the Badwater sign
Sea Level Sign
Death Valley Lake
Telescope Peak in the Clouds
Mountain by Badwater
Riding Test Picture by Furnace Creek.
Ride Photo's
The route was changed to go to Shoshone rather than to Scotty's Castle due to the the road conditions from the rain.
Fast Group Start 6:00AM. I started with the slow group at 6:10. I'm feeling pretty good at this point.
Telescope Peak at 6:56AM. I got into a good group and drafted for the most part.
Telescope Peak at 7:18AM. The group got whittled down to 3 of us after Bad Water, but as we passed folks, most latched on.
Another?!? Picture of Telescope Peak at 7:39AM. I really can't take a picture of the other side, until the glare from the sunrise dies down.
So, here's a look back north towards Furnace Creek at 7:39AM
The sun finally rose high enough not to cause glare. Here are some Flowers on the East Wall of the Valley at 7:46AM
More Flowers. I just needed to make sure that one of these turned out. Good thing too. I like this one better. In past years that I've been here, this hillside would yield perhaps only a hundred or so flowers. 7:46AM
The three guys I was riding with from mile 18 until about mile 40 where we caught up to a slower group which I joined. 7:48AM
I had hoped to get an angle to see their numbers, but alas, I think Adam is the one leading the group currently. 7:48AM
Of course, we did pick up some other people along the way. I didn't catch their names. 8:22AM
The western hills several miles north of Ashford Mills. 8:22AM
Another look at Telescope Peak. Still in the clouds. 8:22AM
I had to leave one of these in here, just as an example of how difficult it can be to take a picture while riding a bike and not aiming the camera. 8:22AM
First issue of the day. It would not be the last. I had to put the water bottle in my back pocket, stop and break off the cage in order to keep riding. This picture was taken while I was riding. Probably a safety issue, but I had dropped of the back of the pack, so I was only risking my own life. 8:31AM
Hillside just North of Ashford Mills 8:40
My attempt to take a close picture of the white flowers while cycling. 8:40
I guess this was the attempt at taking a picture of the purple flowers, or perhaps I pressed the button by mistake? 8:40
Rest stop at Ashford Mills. This is where I deposited my water bottle cage. There's some people in the picture, I don't know any of them. 8:50
Rest stop at Ashford Mills. People getting ready to ride. I don't know any of these folks either. 8:50
Picture of the upcoming climb. Incidentally, there are some more people I don't know. 8:50
A little zoom into where I think the pass goes. Having driven it once, and biked it once, I'm still pretty sure it goes by there. 8:50
I took this picture in between huffing and puffing...and the hill just started. I'm regretting not training for this ride. I did not pass one person climbing this hill. Come to think of it, except while briefly in groups, I didn't pass anyone that wasn't at a rest stop all day. 8:57
Hillside on the Jubilee Pass Climb. 8:57
I was thinking that this would be a long day. 8:57
Some hills on the climb. 9:03
So many flowers. 9:07
Closer look at the flowers. 9:07
Whew, finally made it to the pass. I'm thinking I'm behind my 14 hour schedule. 9:44
A rock on the Salsbury Pass Climb 10:07
Brush by the rock on the Salsbury Pass climb. 10:07
Oops, Issue #2. Nausea sets it. I needed to take a break. I think I took in too many calories for my stomach to digest. Luckily after a 5 min break, and switching to Hammer Gel only on climbs, My stomach felt good the rest of the day. On the other hand I did get to take a picture of two more people I don't know. 10:15
View from the water stop. Wait! Is that Telescope Peak with the snow in the background? 10:35
Closer view, but I think Telescope is behind the closer hill.10:35
Picture of Salsbury Pass. I'm still quite a distance away. 10:48
3000ft sign. That means only 315 ft left to climb. 11:00
It's taking too long to climb, so here's a couple more pictures of nothing in particular. 11:05
11:06
11:07 I'd say more, but while I was there, I was just hoping the darned hill would end.
There we go. I can't help but think that last time I climbed this hill, Hugh Murphy had a popsicle stop here, but I could be confusing that with a Heartbreak Double ride. Anyway, no popsicles here, darn. On a side note, how can people do two hours of climbing and not take off their jackets? Do some people not sweat? Do they sweat, but think that they are really cold? 11:11
Not too many pictures on this downhill, it was bumpy and as it was, I felt I was risking my life taking this picture. 11:16
I wanted to take a picture of the valley, but apparently the brush got in the way as I was zooming down the hill at a gazillion miles per hour, (thats a gadzillion in kilometer/hr for you metric folks). Good news is the brush is in focus. Lucky you. 11:17
The clouds look ominous, but it never rained. 11:37
Made it into town! Better late than never. 11:45
Here's the rest stop. 11:47
Just outside of Shoshone, fatigue starts to set in and although the hill wasn't really this steep, it sure felt like it. At this portion, I wasn't even climbing yet. 11:56
You'd think by the time, I'd be over the hill already. Nope, just entering the park. Nice sign though. 12:27
I think I intentionally took pictures of the clouds rather than the horizon. I can't recall my thought process behind that, but here it is for the record. 12:38
At this point I wanted to look at anything but the road ahead, I know what the pass looks like, but it was nowhere in sight. 12:38
I noticed my right shoe cleat was loose. A bit of worry about not getting my foot out of the pedal and a lot of visions of falling over from fatigue caused me to stop short of the top of this hill. Luckily some folks with a hex wrench came by, so I could tighten the screws. I seem to have left mine on the table when I was packing. 1:08
Hills at my impromptu rest stop. 2:09
I got to the top at 2:20, but was a bit disgusted with taking an hour longer than I planned, so I didn't take a picture. This is the hillside on the way down/ 2:34
Okay, this is the road. 2:34
Around here I got a flat, and my OTHER water bottle cage broke off. I notice I was riding on a flat after I ran over the remnants of the cage. The screws are still there, but the carbon fiber failed. I'm ready to call the sag at this point. The Ashford mills stop is only a mile up the road. 2:34
3:08 Still over an hour behind schedule, but continuing on empowered by the tailwind and thoughts of Rich urging me on like he did on the 40 mile Terrible Two Tandem walk we did half a decade back. While there's still time you ride.
Look back at Bad Water. 4:18
Sunset at 5:44. A couple miles past Funace creek. I didn't stop, as I wouldn't have started again. I finished the ride, but at a cost. I ran out of water about an hour before I got to Stovepipe Wells. It probably wasn't too much of a factor considering my appauling condition and the cool temperature at night, but my mouth did go dry.
Stovepipe Wells Rest Stop with some other slow pokes. I'm sure the other riders finished before me. It took me over two hours to get back. 7:43
This is what the Sand Dunes by Stovepipe looked like.
Back at last. So late I almost forgot to take a picture. It's the last picture with people I don't know in it. Okay it's the last picture. Next year I'm going to train for this ride! (Yeah, didn't we hear that last year?) One tip for people that have never done a double century, or ones that haven't done one without sufficient training. You really do need to be in good enough shape so that if someone passes you, you can catch their draft. Riding alone for the majority of 200 miles gets tough. 10:03
A well supported ride, many thanks to the support people and Adventure Corps. The sub sandwich at the end even tasted pretty good.
Pictures and silly comments copyrighted 2005 by Chuck Doyle
Bret at the Badwater sign
Sea Level Sign
Death Valley Lake
Telescope Peak in the Clouds
Mountain by Badwater
Riding Test Picture by Furnace Creek.
Fast Group Start 6:00AM. I started with the slow group at 6:10. I'm feeling pretty good at this point.
Telescope Peak at 6:56AM. I got into a good group and drafted for the most part.
Telescope Peak at 7:18AM. The group got whittled down to 3 of us after Bad Water, but as we passed folks, most latched on.
Another?!? Picture of Telescope Peak at 7:39AM. I really can't take a picture of the other side, until the glare from the sunrise dies down.
So, here's a look back north towards Furnace Creek at 7:39AM
The sun finally rose high enough not to cause glare. Here are some Flowers on the East Wall of the Valley at 7:46AM
More Flowers. I just needed to make sure that one of these turned out. Good thing too. I like this one better. In past years that I've been here, this hillside would yield perhaps only a hundred or so flowers. 7:46AM
The three guys I was riding with from mile 18 until about mile 40 where we caught up to a slower group which I joined. 7:48AM
I had hoped to get an angle to see their numbers, but alas, I think Adam is the one leading the group currently. 7:48AM
Of course, we did pick up some other people along the way. I didn't catch their names. 8:22AM
The western hills several miles north of Ashford Mills. 8:22AM
Another look at Telescope Peak. Still in the clouds. 8:22AM
I had to leave one of these in here, just as an example of how difficult it can be to take a picture while riding a bike and not aiming the camera. 8:22AM
First issue of the day. It would not be the last. I had to put the water bottle in my back pocket, stop and break off the cage in order to keep riding. This picture was taken while I was riding. Probably a safety issue, but I had dropped of the back of the pack, so I was only risking my own life. 8:31AM
Hillside just North of Ashford Mills 8:40
My attempt to take a close picture of the white flowers while cycling. 8:40
I guess this was the attempt at taking a picture of the purple flowers, or perhaps I pressed the button by mistake? 8:40
Rest stop at Ashford Mills. This is where I deposited my water bottle cage. There's some people in the picture, I don't know any of them. 8:50
Rest stop at Ashford Mills. People getting ready to ride. I don't know any of these folks either. 8:50
Picture of the upcoming climb. Incidentally, there are some more people I don't know. 8:50
A little zoom into where I think the pass goes. Having driven it once, and biked it once, I'm still pretty sure it goes by there. 8:50
I took this picture in between huffing and puffing...and the hill just started. I'm regretting not training for this ride. I did not pass one person climbing this hill. Come to think of it, except while briefly in groups, I didn't pass anyone that wasn't at a rest stop all day. 8:57
Hillside on the Jubilee Pass Climb. 8:57
I was thinking that this would be a long day. 8:57
Some hills on the climb. 9:03
So many flowers. 9:07
Closer look at the flowers. 9:07
Whew, finally made it to the pass. I'm thinking I'm behind my 14 hour schedule. 9:44
A rock on the Salsbury Pass Climb 10:07
Brush by the rock on the Salsbury Pass climb. 10:07
Oops, Issue #2. Nausea sets it. I needed to take a break. I think I took in too many calories for my stomach to digest. Luckily after a 5 min break, and switching to Hammer Gel only on climbs, My stomach felt good the rest of the day. On the other hand I did get to take a picture of two more people I don't know. 10:15
View from the water stop. Wait! Is that Telescope Peak with the snow in the background? 10:35
Closer view, but I think Telescope is behind the closer hill.10:35
Picture of Salsbury Pass. I'm still quite a distance away. 10:48
3000ft sign. That means only 315 ft left to climb. 11:00
It's taking too long to climb, so here's a couple more pictures of nothing in particular. 11:05
11:06
11:07 I'd say more, but while I was there, I was just hoping the darned hill would end.
There we go. I can't help but think that last time I climbed this hill, Hugh Murphy had a popsicle stop here, but I could be confusing that with a Heartbreak Double ride. Anyway, no popsicles here, darn. On a side note, how can people do two hours of climbing and not take off their jackets? Do some people not sweat? Do they sweat, but think that they are really cold? 11:11
Not too many pictures on this downhill, it was bumpy and as it was, I felt I was risking my life taking this picture. 11:16
I wanted to take a picture of the valley, but apparently the brush got in the way as I was zooming down the hill at a gazillion miles per hour, (thats a gadzillion in kilometer/hr for you metric folks). Good news is the brush is in focus. Lucky you. 11:17
The clouds look ominous, but it never rained. 11:37
Made it into town! Better late than never. 11:45
Here's the rest stop. 11:47
Just outside of Shoshone, fatigue starts to set in and although the hill wasn't really this steep, it sure felt like it. At this portion, I wasn't even climbing yet. 11:56
You'd think by the time, I'd be over the hill already. Nope, just entering the park. Nice sign though. 12:27
I think I intentionally took pictures of the clouds rather than the horizon. I can't recall my thought process behind that, but here it is for the record. 12:38
At this point I wanted to look at anything but the road ahead, I know what the pass looks like, but it was nowhere in sight. 12:38 
I noticed my right shoe cleat was loose. A bit of worry about not getting my foot out of the pedal and a lot of visions of falling over from fatigue caused me to stop short of the top of this hill. Luckily some folks with a hex wrench came by, so I could tighten the screws. I seem to have left mine on the table when I was packing. 1:08
Hills at my impromptu rest stop. 2:09
I got to the top at 2:20, but was a bit disgusted with taking an hour longer than I planned, so I didn't take a picture. This is the hillside on the way down/ 2:34
Okay, this is the road. 2:34
Around here I got a flat, and my OTHER water bottle cage broke off. I notice I was riding on a flat after I ran over the remnants of the cage. The screws are still there, but the carbon fiber failed. I'm ready to call the sag at this point. The Ashford mills stop is only a mile up the road. 2:34
3:08 Still over an hour behind schedule, but continuing on empowered by the tailwind and thoughts of Rich urging me on like he did on the 40 mile Terrible Two Tandem walk we did half a decade back. While there's still time you ride.
Look back at Bad Water. 4:18
Sunset at 5:44. A couple miles past Funace creek. I didn't stop, as I wouldn't have started again. I finished the ride, but at a cost. I ran out of water about an hour before I got to Stovepipe Wells. It probably wasn't too much of a factor considering my appauling condition and the cool temperature at night, but my mouth did go dry.
Stovepipe Wells Rest Stop with some other slow pokes. I'm sure the other riders finished before me. It took me over two hours to get back. 7:43
This is what the Sand Dunes by Stovepipe looked like.
Back at last. So late I almost forgot to take a picture. It's the last picture with people I don't know in it. Okay it's the last picture. Next year I'm going to train for this ride! (Yeah, didn't we hear that last year?) One tip for people that have never done a double century, or ones that haven't done one without sufficient training. You really do need to be in good enough shape so that if someone passes you, you can catch their draft. Riding alone for the majority of 200 miles gets tough. 10:03