The High Sierra Fall Century (1 of 10)
9/9 Today was the big day! Rick has been billing this century as one of his favorites for years. It was my turn to evaluate it. We actually started from our hotel instead of the start. This way, we could take in the whole course and add a couple extra miles to make the full 100. I would later somewhat regret this decision.
We rode downhill to 395 and turned north. There were a couple flat miles, a category 4 climb and a rest stop. Following the rest stop was another category 4 climb. Just south of Mono lake, we turned to the east and around behind Mono craters for another rest stop. There was a series of category 4 climbs ending at Sagehen summit - the highest point of the ride at a little over 8,000 ft. We did some wicked descents and a long stretch with horrible expansion joints before the lunch stop behind the Glass Mountains. I figured we had this one in the bag, as we had allegedly done 2/3 of the climbing and 55 miles. After lunch we had a long section of hoooptio doos gradually gaining elevation and still more horrid expansion joints that jarred the bones every few seconds. Another thing had started - a really strong cross wind. This slowed us down quite a bit.
Following another rest stop, we had the longest climb with about a 1,200 ft. gain. We were turning more toward the head wind and getting slower. However, we seemed to be keeping pace with most of the riders on the 100 mile route. A short descent led to another smaller climb with a slightly uphill flat section to the 'finish'. That last bit was really slow as we went directly into the wind. We were only able to push 8-12 mph. It was really frustrating. No one else was going any faster, though.
After a brief stop at the finish BBQ, we headed back to the hotel - 8 miles uphill in the wind. Ugh! But, we finally made it back with 102.5 miles. Time for a rest!
9/10 In the morning, we followed obscure directions in our book to a local hot spring. It was great - called 'Hottub'. We had to share with a lady and her husband and a nice man who seemed to make a hobby of touring the hot springs. It was great siting and watching the sun kissing the Sierras first thing in the morning. A quick shower and change, and we headed back home. We did catch a quick visit with my cousin Karen in Ripon and her two kids - Josue and Alicia. All in all, it was a great trip, and we hope to return next fall to get some more climbs in a see the aspens turning.