My old cycling buddy, Marc, was in town for a few days on
his way to volunteering for a wounded veteran fundraising ride. So we planned a
couple of our favorite rides of yore. And both involved a lot of climbing.
I haven’t done enough climbing this year, only managed to do
the great Mt. Diablo several months ago. All my other rides have been on the relatively
flat local bike trail. We set out for Markleeville to ride up the west slope of
Monitor Pass, then come back down to ride up nearby Ebbetts Pass. Combined, the
two climbs offer around 6,100 feet of climbing in the thin air of 5,000 to
nearly 9,000 feet of altitude. I wasn’t exactly in climbing shape, so I tried
not to think about riding into those somewhat daunting stats.
As we started up Monitor, there was no gentle easing in to
the climb. It’s immediately steep, and for long, steady, upward grinding
stretches. Suddenly, you’re shocked into a rhythm of deep breathing and
pedaling, an absolute requirement to keep moving up the mountain. I remember
thinking that after the first steep stretch, the road turns left for a short
time, then left again, where it flattens out a bit. That’s the place, I told
Marc in halting speech, I would stop to take a break. That first long, steep stretch
of Monitor, especially if, like me, you aren’t exactly in climbing shape, will
test your will. And when you’re not in top shape, it definitely takes a steely
will to keep it going. That is pretty much all that keeps you moving up the
mountain. Helping us as we built up a lather, was a welcome bit of brisk headwind
breeze that cooled us down. And the partly cloudy skies were much preferable conditions
to riding under a windless, beat-down, blazing sun.
By the time the steepest part turned into a more forgiving
false flat stretch, our engines were powered up. My pedaling cadence picked up
on the flat and I forgot about stopping. I wanted to keep my momentum for the
series of steeper parts ahead. I roughly remembered where the tougher parts are
from earlier Monitor climbs and it helped me amp up and power through their
pain caves with managed suffering.
I built a strong cadence and broke ahead of Marc. And, at
the finish, I hammered hard to beat him. The dude rides every day and is bit
more fit, so he pretty much let me win. I can’t tell you how many times he has
nipped me at the finish of a ride! So hey, even if he let me win, which he all
but said he did, I’ll take it!
We rode back down the mountain, a fun, fast descent with
mostly wide curves. You can let the bike go at one point where the road
flattens out, and bang along at nearly 50 mph for a short bit. I hit 46, and it
was a true blast.
Turning left at the base of Monitor, we headed up the long
approach to Ebbetts pass. The two-lane road gains altitude over a series of
rollers along the east fork of the Carson River. A wildfire in the area this
summer blackened large swaths of trees on each side of the river, denuding
foliage that won’t protect against mudslides when it finally does start to
rain.
These rollers are a vigorous warm-up for the serious up-mountain
climbing that starts after a few miles. Ebbetts and Monitor are part of the
famous Death Ride, which has riders go up their fronts, down their backs, and
back again, then head to the finale climb on Carson Pass. In my book, the front
side of Ebbetts is the toughest climb of them all. Mainly because it pounds you
with a series of very steep, long pitches, that seem to come in waves the
closer you get to the top. I remember my first time up Ebbetts, and after
grinding hard for some time, I wondered, oh man, when it does this thing end?
But once you get familiar with the route, as with any
others, you can ready yourself for the toughest parts.
Marc wanted to show me the truck that had gone over the
cliff a few years earlier at the second big hairpin turn on the mountain. The
cliff dropped a long way down. We saw
the crumpled remains of a small white pick-up truck wrapped around a big fir
tree, way, way down below near the valley floor. Marc said the driver survived
by jumping out the driver side door before the truck became airborne. No need
to try to retrieve the truck. Too expensive all around. Marc said they drained
the gas out of it and let it rest.
Marc pulled ahead of me, and was out of sight before too
long. I didn’t care. Just wanted to keep moving up the gnarly mountain!
I rode up a steep pitch only to hear a lot of cowbells
ringing. As I turned into a flat spot ahead, believe it or not, two guys on
horseback were herding cattle across the road. This is a mountainside in the
forest! Whaat?!!
The cowbells jangled as the big black beasts trotted along,
and when a few saw me ride up they bolted wide-eyed uphill off the road and into
the woods. Sorry cowboys, just riding through. They never said a word, just
kept trying to herd. OK, this had to be the last thing I expected to see climbing
Ebbetts. A car coming down the mountain later flew by. I wondered if the herd
of cattle was out of the way.
Marc beat me to the top easily. After a short rest we rode
down, in what is one of the most fun descents ever. The road had been recently
repaved and was free of cracks and sand that used to be slick spots, so the good
traction allowed more speed. On that day, Marc and I concluded that the two
climbs we had ridden were no doubt absolutely world-class quality rides.
A couple days later we climbed Mt. Hamilton in the mountains
west of San Jose. This is a gradual climb, but about 20 miles with many
switchbacks amid classic California wilderness, so it takes awhile. The
pavement was new, the air temp was mild, so conditions were perfect on this
ride too. The last time we rode this a few years ago, it was broiling hot, and
we suffered mightily from running out of water.
The descent, part of this year’s Amgen Tour of California,
was technical, but plenty of fun.
When we finished, we’d climbed 5,148 feet, bringing our
two-ride climbing total over three days to 11,300 feet. It was great. Gotta do
more climbing rides, yes, oh yes!
Til next time, remember to pull on a helmet every time you
get on the bike. Then, keep the rubber side down, ride safely, and don’t forget
to have a blast.
-- Mark Eric Larson
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