2005 was my "Rookie" year in the sport of Randonneuring. My interest in the sport started when Jeff Bauer would e-mail us ride reports for his 2004 distance cycling events. Then in January 2005, an e-mail was sent out looking for riders interested in some longer distance cycling events. I got in to this sport telling myself that I would do each of the qualifying Brevets (i.e. 200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K) one at a time, to see if I could do the distance comfortably, before deciding to proceed on to the next harder one. Then, if I qualified, I would ride the 1200K Gold Rush Randonnee (GRR) at the end of the season.
Prior to this, the longest distance rides I did were a few centuries and a couple 200Ks. In fact, it was the summer of 2003 that I got back on the bike after a 16-year absence. My knee gave out while jogging one day and my doctor told me to take up another sport like cycling. In 2004 I bought a new bike, joined the Harpeth Bike Club, and started riding on a regular basis.
In preparation for GRR, I completed the Georgia Brevet series, the Georgia Fleche, the Heart of the South Double Century, the St. Louis 600K, the Gran Fondo 200K, and numerous long weekend rides mostly by myself. Jeff Bauer, Bill Glass, Alan Gossart, and I rode together on most of the aforementioned formal events, although Jeff was generally riding the front and I in the rear with Bill and Alan somewhere in between.
Jeff, Alan, and I were the only participants from Tennessee to ride GRR, so we coordinated our travel arrangements together. There was a group of six participants from Georgia going as well, most of whom I met during the Brevet qualification series. We had a big group that met on Monday evening and went for our last big pre-ride meal.
Day 1 - Tuesday:
The day started off at 6:00 am when my body said it was time to get up. We spent the morning watching Alan assemble his bike as he arrived in California late Monday evening. Then it was off to the "Bike Check" where they inspected primarily for proper lights and night gear. We also had to turn in our drop bags and do a final pre-ride sign in to get our ride packages.
After eating a light lunch, we all tried to get an extra couple hours of sleep, but I think only Jeff was successful at this. I just tossed and turned most of the afternoon since I was all tensed up. The ride started at 6:00 pm in order to avoid the summer heat that was prevalent in the flat valley regions around Davis. We left the hotel around 4:30 pm, as we would be riding our bikes the two miles over to the ride start.
The first leg of the ride took us from Davis to Oroville (102.5 miles) of mostly flat terrain with a water stop around the 51-mile mark. As I thought, this took me just under 6 hours to make it to Oroville despite some mechanical problems with my light mounting brackets. I rode with the fast group to the water stop, then put on my reflective gear, and fixed my light mounts. About this same time, Dan Dickinson rode in to the water stop and the two of us left together for Oroville. I was glad to have someone to ride with that was comparable to my ability, as I new I couldn't keep up with the fast group much longer. We reached Oroville just before midnight where Doyce Johnson joined us. Dan, Doyce, and I had rode part of the Georgia 600K together.
Day 2 - Wednesday:
The next section of the ride went from Oroville to Tobin (41.0 miles) and was the start of a full day of climbing. Since we were riding in the early morning hours, our average speed went way down. We met several riders of the local Davis Bike Club along the way and they filled us in on the weather and terrain we would see over the next few days. Since we were doing a lot of talking, this section of the ride seemed to go quickly. Only later in the week, on our return trip, would we see the full extent of the climbing we did on Wednesday. We arrived in Tobin, a stop in the mountains with a restaurant and some cabins, at 4:26 am. After a quick meal and a fill-up on fluids, we decided to take an hour to sleep.
The trip from Tobin to Taylorsville (60.3 miles) was more of the same, still climbing up the Feather River Valley, but now it was daylight and we could see all the beauty we missed the night before. Before we got to Taylorsville, there was a long, flat section around the valley floor between Greenville and Taylorsville that gave us a break in the climbing for a while. We arrived just before noon where we had another quick meal and a fluids fill-up, and then decided to change clothes and freshen up before the ride to Susanville.
The highlight of the trip from Taylorsville to Susanville (59.6 miles) would be some more climbing to the "Top of the GRR" at 6,340 feet of elevation and then down the Janesville Grade to Susanville. The bad part of the climb would be that we were doing it in the middle of the day, where a record heat wave had settled in to northern California for the week of our ride. It was a long slow climb with a water stop about half the way up. The rest stop volunteer said he was trying to give away an ice cold beer all day but couldn't find any takers until I showed up, boy did that beer taste good! Disappointment waited for us at the top, as I hauled my camera up to the top of the mountain hoping to take a picture of us next to the sign that said "Top of the GRR". But alas there was no sign so we took pictures anyway. Once we were over the top, we had about 8 miles of rolling hills before the descent. It was on these rollers that we came across a fellow cyclist, whose ride appeared as if it was over for the week. We rode with him down the Janesville Grade and left him at a local market to sort out whether he would continue his ride or call SAG Support to DNF (i.e. Did Not Finish). We later learned that he did DNF. We made it to Susanville at 7:34 pm, just before nightfall and filled up on food and fluids again, took showers, and changed clothes. The heat in Susanville was intense when we arrived, so I could see why most of the DNFs occurred at this point of the ride.
Day 3 - Thursday:
The route from Susanville to Adin (67.3 miles) would take us across four more mountain climbs, the most notable being Antelope Pass at 5,472 feet elevation just outside of Susanville. In between Susanville and Adin was the Grasshopper water stop, where Kevin Kaiser joined us on our ride. Kevin had contemplated DNFing earlier in the day due to the extreme heat, but decided to rest and recover at the water stop and wait for us to show up. We would fill up on food; the warm cup of noodles was great, and fluids before we left. As it was finally cooling off for the day, we put on our tights, arm warmers, and wind vests for the rest of the ride into Adin. We still had two of the four climbs to complete before we got to Adin. The rides down the mountains were my kind of descents, long and straight, so I went pretty fast even though it was dark out. We arrived in Adin at 2:35 am were we would eat, the home made burritos and pancakes were excellent, fill up on fluids and catch a couple hours of sleep. My original ride plan had me arriving in Adin in 29 hours or 3-1/2 hours earlier so I could get five hours of sleep instead of the two hours we slept. But since we were behind schedule, something had to give so we got less sleep.
We started out in the early morning daylight for our trek from Adin to Alturas (43.3 miles). We had another mountain to climb, Adin Pass at 5,173 feet elevation. As we approached Alturas I was running low on energy, feeling down, and was thinking about all climbing we would need to do on the return trip. I started to consider DNFing for the first time. If I was going to DNF, it would need to be around the turn around point. We arrived in Alturas at 10:02 am and filled up on food and fluids, the fruit smoothies were tasty. I was surprised to see Jeff and Alan at the Alturas rest stop, they really cheered me up. Alan told me once we made the turn around, the trip would seem to get easier. So I continued on.
The short trip from Alturas to Davis Creek (20.8 miles) was down hill for about half the ride and up hill for the balance of the ride into Davis Creek. We made it to Davis Creek just before noon where we had deli sandwiches and ice cream for lunch. My feet were on fire by this time due to all the stomping I do instead of spinning. I asked the rest stop worker if I could soak my feet in some ice water, and shortly thereafter he produced a bucket with ice water in it for me. All of the rest stop personnel were very attentive to the rider's wants and needs. I was still thinking of DNFing and thought about asking the rest stop workers about my options if I did, but decided against it.
We were finally on the return leg from Davis Creek to Alturas (20.8 miles). I finally told Dan I didn't think I could make it any longer and he told me to quit expending energy riding at the front, get on the back, shift in to a lower gear, and start spinning to reduce fatigue. Kevin was even trying to put a positive spin on things saying we just needed to concentrate on the return route in small 20-mile increments. We made it back to Alturas by 2:00 pm and had more food and fluids. This time round, the rest stop worker offered me a Rolling Rock which I gladly accepted and finished off. This stop was at a Best Western Hotel with an outdoor swimming pool. Dan and I jumped in, in our bibs and jerseys, to cool off. By now, I was feeling a little better so I decided to make the trip back to Adin.
It wasn't long after we left Alturas for Adin (43.2 miles) that we got some much needed cloud cover, but also a strong head wind to boot. Seems like the same time the head wind eased up the cloud cover went away. So we were back in the baking sun and I was low on energy and feeling down again. A couple of SAG vehicles went by us on this first twenty-mile stretch and I seriously considered DNFing again. We made it to an intermediate stop about 20 miles out of Alturas called Canby. I was fried at this point, had a SAG vehicle pulled up I'm sure I would have jumped in it and quit. In the back of my mind, I could hear Bill Glass telling me not to DNF until I ate a good meal and got some sleep, so I decided to continue on to Adin after filling up on fluids and eating a bag of chips and some hammer gel. Just outside of Canby, we had to go back over the Adin Pass at 5,173 feet of elevation with the afternoon sun beating down on us. I told Dan, who is a doctor when not riding bikes, if I don't make, meaning pass out, that my emergency contact info was on my Road ID and that I had no known allergies. When we started the climb up Adin Pass, I had a complete reversal in energy and attitude. I went to the front with Kevin and made the climb to the top in no time and then zoomed down the other side. I was feeling great again and didn't contemplate DNFing again for the remainder of the ride. We made it back to Adin at 7:00 pm, ate those good burritos, showered, changed clothes, and laid down for a couple hours of sleep. But there would be no sleep for me in Adin, it was too hot and noisy so I decided to dress and leave for Susanville. Kevin was having similar problems falling asleep so we all decided to leave. Doyce had already left an hour earlier due to the heat so he could get some extended sleep time in Susanville while waiting for us to show up. Doyce was a strong rider and would make it to Susanville faster without the rest of us.
Day 4 - Friday:
The return leg from Adin to Susanville (67.3 miles) would take us back over four mountain passes. We had some "on and off" drizzling rain during this stretch, but not enough to make us stop and put on our rain gear. I was still feeling great, albeit sleepy, and rode at the front most of the way to the Grasshopper water stop. Kevin gave me a few no dose tablets to help me stay awake. At the top of those mountain passes at night it was so quite you could hear a pin drop. It seemed to take forever to get to the water stop, but once we did we got a cup of hot noodles and some hot chocolate. We also learned that Doyce stopped to sleep here, he was so tired he was dosing off on the bike. Prior to leaving, we put on our tights, arm warmers, and wind vests as the night air was getting cool again. Another group of riders had left before us and it was fun watching their taillights inch slowly up the next mountain pass. Still feeling strong, I rode at the front up the next mountain. We descended in to the valley where you could tell there was a good rain early that evening and it was noticeably cooler. We next climbed up to Antelope Pass at 5,472 feet of elevation and then had a long downhill in to Susanville, arriving at 3:54 am. We ate some food, filled up on fluids, and slept for about an hour. My original ride plan had me arriving back in Susanville in 53 hours or five hours earlier so I could get six hours of sleep instead of the one hour we slept. But since we were behind schedule, something had to give so we got less sleep.
We left Susanville for Taylorsville (59.6 miles) early in the morning to avoid having to climb the Janesville Grade when the hot sun was out. While the climb is only five miles long, it has some sections where the grades run from 15% to 20%. Kevin and I rode up the first three miles together, then we came around a corner and Kevin told me to get my heart rate down. Instead, I got off the bike and walked the next half-mile, while Kevin kept riding to the top. I got back on the bike and rode the last 1-1/2 miles where Kevin and I waited for Dan and Doyce to catch up. We stopped at the water stop on the return, but this time they didn't have any beer for me. We filled up on fluids and headed down the mountain to Taylorsville were we would catch about an hour more of shuteye. Dan decided to take his sleep break on top of the mountain and would ride down later by himself. Doyce stopped on the ride down to check out the water at Antelope Lake. Kevin and I made it down to Taylorsville at a little past 1:00 pm. I ate lunch, minestrone soup, ham, and potatoes with ice cream for desert, while Kevin went sound to sleep. Doyce showed up a little bit later and we joined Kevin and several other riders in the sleeping room.
It was just after 4:00 pm when we left Taylorsville for the ride back to Tobin (37.2 miles). This time the ride cut out the long loop around the valley floor. We picked up a few other riders for the ride down, but Kevin and I rode off the front most of the way. Since it was mostly downhill, we made it to Tobin by 6:37 pm. We had some good chili for dinner, filled up on fluids again, put on our night gear, and got back on the bike for the ride to Oroville.
The ride from Tobin to Oroville (40.9 miles) was basically more descending again except for the climb back up Jarbo Gap. Still feeling good, I rode off the front up Jarbo Gap and stopped at the top to put on arm warmers and a wind vest. The descent to Oroville was unbelievably long and straight and would have been fun during daylight hours. But during evening hours with headlights in my eyes from oncoming traffic and worrying about fast descending logging trucks coming from behind me, I couldn't enjoy a fast ride down. We made it to Oroville right around midnight. Our plan was to catch some more sleep here, but Kevin and I decided to leave while Dan and Doyce went to sleep. After a brief meal of salad and lasagna, Kevin and I left with a couple of riders from Orlando.
Day 5 - Saturday:
Somewhere between Oroville and Davis (87.4 miles) was our next stop, the "Secret Control". While we were back in the flat lands again, we left the busy city streets and headed out on to the lonely country roads. I was really surprised at the enormous size of the farmlands we traveled thru, but at night it looked like a vast wasteland. I was also surprised to see the nice new roads running thru the middle of nowhere. I commented to the others, that "it was no wonder that California had no money when they spent it on the roads in the middle of farmland. If this were Tennessee, they would have put down chip and tar roads instead". After seemingly endless riding thru the farmlands, we came upon the "Secret Control". We were all tired and looking for some food and rest, but instead were attacked by swarms of mosquitoes. Needless to say, we had to cut our rest stop short so I missed out on the peach cobbler that everyone said was so good.
We left for the final leg in to Oroville. At this point, my back and neck were killing me from carrying around a heavy camelback all week. I finally had to stop and dump out the water and tie the camelback to my Carradice bag for the ride in. Kevin and I traded pulls most of the way back and finished the ride at 8:45 am for a total of 86 hours and 41 minutes.
Following the ride, the Davis Bike Club put on a large banquet for all the riders and volunteers and handed out awards and certificates of completion. After nodding off at the banquet, I headed back to the hotel for some much over due sleep.
Reflections:
The Davis Bike Club, sponsors of this ride, and their volunteers were absolutely fantastic. Besides being incredibly organized, everyone involved was focused on providing the best experience possible and offered support and encouragement throughout the ride. The food at the rest stops was excellent and they constantly had SAG vehicles out on the route to help riders in need.
Prior to the ride, I formulated a ride plan that said I would finish in 80 hours and get 11 hours of sleep. Obviously, I woefully underestimated the difficulty of the ride and spent more time at the controls than planned. Had someone told me in the beginning that I would be riding 750 miles over 3-1/2 days and getting less that 5 hours sleep, I doubt I would have undertaken this ride. I do find some comfort in the statement by Dave Bundrick that this ride was the hardest of the nine other 1200Ks he has ridden in the past.
Will I do it again? Well, I've already got my sights set on Boston Montreal Boston next year followed by Paris Brest Paris in 2007.
For more information on GRR, go to their website at: http://www.davisbikeclub.org/goldrush/