I tried out some of the new sections:
http://rolandsturm.blogspot.com/

New route !!! Looking forward to new trails and even better if it makes resupply/water. The 24 hours between the Temblor Range ups and down and Chokecherry have always been a bit too hot and thirsty for me. 

And the race is on: Brian quickly stashing away his water and then Gregg counting his calories at the Pistachio place (is there any significance that they parked their bikes in the opposite direction? Is pointing his bike into the direction of travel and avoiding a U-turn going to give Brian the crucial advantage?). And there is Blake in pursuit, in the Carrizo. Not the Plain yet, but the prettier Hilly. After getting over that fence hop and hike a bike along the fence line (I slipped and tumbled down there, first scratches on the ride), the entry into Carrizo is very pretty and a part that few people get to see. It was a scorching afternoon, though, and the heat got to Blake, too  

The weather made a diverse route even more unusually diverse this time. 3 days of heat drying, 1 day of cold soaking. The average would have been great! I got to SB around 7 pm on Monday, very cold and wet, just a day after I had been wishing for cold and wetness while counting miles for shade and water at Chokecherry. It is a cure to boredom from daily routine.

Eventually I'll post a full description on my blogpost, maybe even this week http://rolandsturm.blogspot.com/ But it'll be a few days. This ride gave me new ideas. I wrote up the first 2 editions of the TDLP in 2014 and 2015, not the later ones. The dry stretches help to appreciate the challenges travelers in the Southwest had to overcome in the past - without GPS, waypoints to water, and slower on foot or wagon than we are on bicycles. In my blog posts so far this year, I collected quotes from the 1850 (also a wet winter) travelers across the Mojave desert (Manly and Rogers party, the Jayhawkers) , who suffered much worse and some didn't make it. TDLP will be the first blogpost with bicycle content this year (the last trips were motorcycle), but comparing our outdoor experience with that from 150 years ago helps to appreciate how easy life is these days even when it feels hard. Other highlights will include: Fuel like a top racer - Gregg's secret food strategy or Did mice stop Lynne?, and, of course Did Roland deviate from the route this year again?

I saw 9 tracks yesterday on the way to Chokecherry, the rain probably cleared them and I only saw 1 track today after Gibralter, so somebody else without a spot was ahead of me and probably finished this afternoon (Flemming?).

After TDLP (or Stagecoach), we can better relate to desert travel in the past:

"Our thirst began to be something terrible to endure. We were so nearly worn out that we tried to eat a little meat, but the mouth would not moisten it enough so we could swallow and we had to reject it. It seemed as if we were going to die with food in our hand because we could not eat it. We talked a little and the burden of it was a fear that we could not endure the terrible thirst a while longer." William Lewis Manly (1894), Death Valley in '49, Ch. 10

"There was now before us a particularly bad stretch of the country as it would probably take us four or five days to get over it, and there was only one water hole in the entire distance. This one was quite salty, so much so that on our return trip the horses refused to drink it, and the little white one died the next day." William Lewis Manly (1894), Death Valley in '49, Ch. 11

If Roland decides to camp at Chucupate this year he could wait for the group at the Mountain View minimart in Lake of the Woods.The climb up to Chucupate would make up for the climbing from Big Johns to the mini mart.  I would like to mark Roland as finisher this year

Erin, you began your list with only riders who EXACTLY followed the course. That is an unambiguous criterion and you'd be watering it down when allowing substitutions and alterations, especially among riders aiming for time and place. So keep the exact route criterion for a deservedly narrow finisher list.

You can add other finishers separately, there clearly is a difference between finishing in Santa Barbara with some modifications (the most common one seems to be skipping the trail next to the road at Pine Mountain Club) vs riders who never make it past Mt Pinos. But no point in looking for compensation to make up for a route deviation (hop up Big Pine on one leg, do it twice?) I always finished in Santa Barbara, but with route alterations. Art always finished, but stayed on the route. There is no extra credit for other complications (e.g. one year I was involuntarily riding single speed from about Miranda Pines to the end, made the decision what to do after Romero easy!). So keep the the "pure" finishers category, and if you wanted to make the history section more complete, add a "modified route" finishers category separately.  

This week: Camping doesn't make the route any shorter, only gets the first few annoying miles out of Frazier Park done earlier (my least favorite part of the ride, with 166). But because I won't go back to Frazier Park in the morning, it'll be a route deviation that morning. There is no compensation for that, it does not qualify for the pure route finish. 

Kathy and I rode the Mt. Pinos loop yesterday, no snow on the road, but the first trail after the Nordic Base still plenty of old snow (first photo). McGill trail only  a few minor patches that might even be gone next week, plus maybe 5 fallen trees, but is otherwise its lovely self (last photo). Middle picture is the horse trails before the climb gets going.

Roland, why don't you camp at Chucupate Campground, take the easy ride downhill in the morning and then start with the group. Chucupate is marked in the waypoints.  Also it will be totally empty because the road up there is closed until May 1st.

I had that in mind initially in 2017, maybe this time, but then I was too awake and instead kept climbing. Despite the storm (the climb was not comfortable, the wind was intimidating, temps were so cold that my water froze in the tent), I really enjoyed the night and early morning on top of Mt Pinos. The outdoor adventure that is part of the appeal of those trips. I rolled back down and backtracked to meet you guys on the road, but timing is tricky and downed trees on the single track slowed me down just enough so that I only encountered Shelly and Angela, the rest of you had already turned off the road (http://trackleaders.com/lospadres17) Of course, I wasn't going up Mt Pinos a second time, but Jeff already caught up with me at The Place, Art the next day.  Big Johns has always been challenged with a group this size, so better not to add to the stress.  

I plan on riding this year and join you on the shuttle. I have knee problems these days, but shouldn't be unsurmountable. I may do a deviation again, though. I liked the one from 2 years ago, going up Mt Pinos at night and camping on top even though it was rough weather (very cold, snow, and very strong wind). 

It is a tough route, even without the Caliente range. The touring route is perfect for 2 long days, making it a very efficient bikepacking trip because it feels like a much longer ride. Getting on and off the bike 100 times helps with that feeling. Actually, around Mono, I briefly had trepidation that this would become a death grind like 3 years ago. But it isn't, progress is slow and at times frustrating with all the washed out areas, but it is interesting. Managed to sink into the mud over my ankles. It looked so dry with big cracks, but actually was very soft.

Yeah, the first night up on Mt Pinos was cold, but I brought the right equipment to have a comfortable night. The nighttime climb was nice and it was very pretty in the morning with a tiny bit of fresh snow. Beats staying indoors even on a cold night. For staying high up on a mountain, Mt Pinos is nicer than Big Pine. I hiked up Big Pine around sunset, but it isn't very attractive; Bluff made for a much nicer campsite even if just for creek. After descending Mt Pinos, I backtracked to the turnoff at Darling to see the group, but the downed trees slowed me enough that most of you had just come through.

Past Ventucopa, there actually is a trail near the rock quarry that goes across the river bed, comes out at the sharp turn on the other side. I tried that, worked fine (a bit of sand pushing) and avoids pavement and traffic.

Looks like Marin S. is backtracking and is going to bail. That is too bad. I know she has already ridden the Sierra Madre Ridge before, I wonder what happened, maybe she ran out of water.

Running low on food would be my guess (or maybe she just had enough riding, 2 days were enough for me). Would have taken her until tomorrow afternoon and evening, so 4 full days after the last resupply, which is a lot to carry.

I planned to camp tomorrow (Thursday) night, getting second thoughts now. But in any event, will pack warmer than I have in years.

I also was in the Carrizo Plain last week, here is where the "proper route" goes through. That is on top of the Caliente Ridge, before the radio tower. In previous years, I would get there Saturday morning, camped about 1/3 up the climb out of the plain. Lots of nice turnouts that are normally empty, but last week there were quite a few people camping even during the middle of the week. Probably will be even fuller this weekend. Many more nice camp possibilities on the ridge, but I wouldn't make it there the first day.  

The Carrizo Plain (or rather the two ranges on either sides) is spectacular this year , I've never seen it like this, usually it is just the dready brown.

There is a new bikepacking route across Germany: http://btg.voidpointer.de/de/index.html
This month was the inaugural ride, it is an excellent route. My tripreport here:
http://rolandsturm.blogspot.de/2016/07/bikepacking-trans-germany.html

I

I find the Rohloff gearing very wide, more than most 2x10 and similar to my 3x10. Reputation for reliability in tough conditions is deserved. Even on last month's Stagecoach 400, there were at least 4 broken derailleurs - because of a single muddy day.

As reliable as Rohloff's are, eventually you need to replace the seals. According to the folks at Cyclemonkey who just serviced my hub,  oil seepage is just a nuisance, no danger to the hub, and easily fixed (although it was $200). And by the time that starts, other drivetrains are long gone.

So Rohloff is a good choice for tough conditions, has a good range. I personally didn't like the grip shift, though, and the next bike is back to derailleurs. 

Missing out on this year, too (can't stay out overnight this weekend), although I may get out for the day on Saturday and look for you.

I did the Ojai loop a week earlier than Erin. Excellent training ride for some climbing and a preview for next months Los Padres tour (the climb up Sierra Madre road on day 2 of TDLP feels very similar to the climb on Sisar on the Ojai loop, same needs for having enough water).  http://rolandsturm.blogspot.com/2016/02/day-ride-in-mountains-around-ojai.html

I could only do the 25th (need to be home overnight the April 1 weekend), but would do my usual thing of skipping the final single track sections around SB and instead roll back along the beach route after Montecito. So between proper and touring route. Or maybe I even downgrade to the touring route because I haven't done that route yet and have seen the Sierra Madre climb often enough. 

Trip report of TransNorth California 2015: http://rolandsturm.blogspot.com/2015/11/mountain-biking-across-northern.html

Blake disappeared quickly, all out by himself. The peloton caught the other two escapes (Kurt Sandiforth and Isaac Chilton) early, Kurt around mile 100 because he broke his derailleur and scratched and Isaac Chilton around mild 225 because his knees caused problem (Blakeitis maybe?). The rest of the group stayed surprisingly compact and everybody finished the same day. All about the same speed and only sleeping time seemed to matter.

Almost time for the second Trans North California, time to have it's own thread.
http://transnorthcalifornia.blogspot.com
So two great events out west next weekend. If it weren't for TNC, I'd probably join the Coconino route again.

A point-to-point, but some tough logistics will always keep it small. I plan to ride out of Mendocino, so add another day or two of road touring afterwards. In fact, the challenges to get out of Mendocino probably will keep this event at an ideal size (and given that the one bus a day from Fort Bragg to Santa Rosa can at most have two bikes, good to keep it small).

No idea how hard it is or if water is a constraint (a common challenge in CA as well.)



 

Looking forward to some trip reports. So far from what I hear it seems to be most comparable to the Colorado Trail, except at lower elevation, but more heat? How much hike-a-bike (up or down) is on the Caldera route? I estimate that I walked about 1/4 (so 100+ miles) on the Colorado Trail.

The only two potential finishers for the 500 came from sea level. I guess they have had plenty of time to acclimatize by now.

Except for 1 or 2 spots, Caldera doesn't seem to go that high to cause real problems, so that would be a plus. Going from sea level to Colorado, somewhere around 11k seemed to be a threshold for me where riding became difficult even on relative gentle climbs. Acclimatization took a week before over 12k became comfortable (and only in the sense of being able to sleep and no headaches).  But Caldera may throw in some suffering in the heat to make up for that?