Sunday, March 24, 2013

Week 12

Date
March 20th, 2013

Distance
103 Miles

Time
7:42:41

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture
Death Valley

Ride Report
This was my second annual trip to Death Valley. (Click here for last year's ride.) This is the route I've always wanted to do. If you go to Death Valley from Bishop, CA, there is a beautiful stretch of road on 190 in the Rainbow Canyon area in between the Death Valley sign and Panamint Springs. It's one of those descents where you'll be in your car driving it and the whole time you'll wish you were on your bike instead.

It was windy (as it usually is when I go to Death Valley), but the temperature was pretty good with a high of 91 down in Furnace Creek. This is a tough ride. 12,000 feet in 103 miles is no joke, and as I mentioned last year, a lot of the climbing can be tough mentally because the roads tend to be straight and they don't look as steep as they really are. I was looking forward to an easy final 20 miles or so with the long descent and flat section, but that's when the wind was really howling in my face. Since my legs were dead and my heart wasn't really into it at that point, I was struggling to maintain 10mph on the last flat section.

This is a great out-and-back route that I highly recommend. Start at the intersection of 190 & Scotty's Castle Rd., then head west on 190 until you reach the Death Valley sign. I hope I can do it again next year.

Week 11

Date
March 14th, 2013

Distance
106 Miles

Time
6:52:59

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture
NV 341- Truck Route Descent

Ride Report
A warm ride with two laps of Six Mile Canyon. It feels like spring out there. I hope it lasts.

Week 10

Date
March 5th, 2013

Distance
101 Miles

Time
6:30:49

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Ride Report
It's been a busy month. I'm about a month behind on updating the blog, but my riding is still on pace and I'll try to get caught up with the reports over the next day or two.

This was a windy day on the same route as Week 8. The wind was in the 20s, but at least the temperatures were high.