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| Thunderheads in Death Valley |
30th Annual Mt. Whitney Classic - Event Report
September 24, 2011, By Rick Wallace
The photo above was taken half way up Towne Pass (one of the roads out of Death Valley), quite a dramatic day for weather during this years running of the
Mt. Whitney Classic endurance cycling event. No matter how many times I have participated in this event, each year has its own personality which always keeps me coming back for more??
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| Stuart Adams getting ready |
The preparation alone takes nearly as long as riding the event; cars serviced, bikes serviced, tool kit and spare wheels, coolers, water, drinks, ice - lots of ice, food, clothing, helmet, numbers, donations, hotel rooms, logistics, formation of teams, reflector tape, lights, travel, and on, and on.... But that's what makes an event like the MWC so special and challenging. Before I get too far into my report, the event has been put on by
Summit Adventure for the past 30 years, and is Summits equivalent of a fund raising Golf Tournament - but held in the most desolate parts of California - sounds like a hoot!
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| Fast Friday and Big Mo and Brandon talking strategy - 112 degrees and counting |
The MWC benefits the programs of Summit
Adventure, an organization that uses the wilderness as a tool
to challenge people to grow. Summit
offers families, adults, youth, and groups a rare opportunity to leave their
"comfort zone" behind and experience change in a way that helps them
clearly define their identity, source of security, purpose and direction in
life. Summit is about transferring insights and
lessons learned into action in our day-to-day life. Summit
has programs in fatherhood, motherhood, leadership and for those physically
challenged, and is a non-denominational, non-proselytizing Christian
organization.
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| Fast Friday suiting up |
The event covers 134 miles, started at 3:00 p.m. on
Saturday September 24th in Bad Water, Death Valley, California (282 ft. below sea level), continuing
through the night and finished late in the evening at the portals to Mt. Whitney
(8365 feet above sea level). It traverses three major climbs of 17 miles, 13 miles and 12 miles, two of
which by Tour de France classifications are considered “Out of Category”
which means “really steep, and long.” Total elevation gain for the ride is
15,300 feet. This year, as is normal, we encountered serious heat which topped out at 115 degrees in Death Valley,
and a pleasant 54 degrees at the finish. We also had some interesting winds, rain, thunder and lightning in Death Valley which made for some dramatic views.
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| "The long and winding road....." |
So this year we fielded three teams from Southern California, after last years Fast Friday team set a new Team Record for the course at 7:48. STORM,
Fast Friday, and Fast Five.
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| Fast Friday - Stuart Adams, Scott Thomas, Brandon Turley, Mo Azcarate, and SAG by Kimberly Turley |
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Fast Five - Chris Marsh, Bill Fish, Ken Nuemeyer, John Luke, Matt Grainger and SAG by Sean Marsh
STORM - Rick, Judy and Pete Wallace, Ron Allin, Mark Lavan, and Kevin Steele |
So the event begins many days and weeks prior to actually arriving at the start line and a tremendous shout out to all the team mates who allowed themselves to be recruited into this crazy event! Thank you for taking the time to train, plan and participate taking time away from your families to support Summits cause - it is very much appreciated!
To the tremendous financial support received by our donors, without you, Summits mission could not become a reality for so many participant's each and every year. To the missionary work conducted in Ecuador, immersion experience in Israel and leadership development in the outbacks of the Sierra Nevada - your donations really transform lives - thank you!
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| Summit Adventure - on Mt. Rainer, Washington |
The gun blasted, or was it a horn...can't remember, and the band of cyclists were peddling off into the mouth of an oven. There is always quite sane discussions at breakfast, on the drive over, and when Steve Atkins gives his, "Start slow and back off from there..." speech, but it never fails when the bell rings , normal humans turn into wild dogs!!!
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| Let's go, the start at 282 feet below sea level |
Not 37 seconds into this 9+ hour event, my heart rate is pinned, my legs are screaming, along with Stuart's screams of mercy at his team mate Mo to, "back the ...off", oh we are all having so much fun!! Mo continued to spit people out the back of his Colombian express, until he was off the front and became a mirage of nothing but tan legs....
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| The Colombian Express; Mo, Stuart, Chris, and Matt |
There were splits and bridges, gaps opened and closed for the first 10 miles, but finally the teams settled into a bit of a rhythm. Kevin and I kept a strong yet steady pace once the dog-pack raced off after Mo, and I think we actually said 5 1/2 words to each other before we handed off to Mark and Ron. They pulled super strong through the first check at Furnace Creek (15 miles out) and setup the Tandem Team of Pete and Judy perfectly in the salt flats north of Furnace Creek. We enjoyed 10 - 15 mph tail winds through the valley and the tandem was on fire at between 20 - 27 mph.
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| Kevin and Rick working together in DV |
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| Tandem Team gone wild! |
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| Team whatever?? Two and a half women, One woman and two babies, Wannabees, who knows.. |
We get hunted down by Tom "rodeo" Smith, and had a blast for the next 25 miles switching off pulls with "Team Whatever." Janet Nye, Jair Drooger and Tom Smith kept things lively, and Ron, Mark, Kevin and myself switched several times before the first climb out of Stovepipe Wells, which Pete and Judy got the first taste of the brutal headwinds ripping down Towne Pass.
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| "Rodeo" - Summit's hands on Executive Director! |
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| Kevin "on the rivet", lower flanks of Towne Pass |
Kevin and I spent half of Towne Pass chasing Team Whatever, with "rodeo" leading the charge, but we finally made our move with Ron and Mark on the steep sections pulling a pretty big gap over the top.
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| Ron on fire with a smile! "Climb, what climb?" |
We got word half way up the first climb that Fast Friday was nearing the Summit, with Fast Five only 15 minutes back, both teams were flying. Team STORM worked the pass well and topped out just before 7pm, having just enough light to descend with purpose and speed, using the Wallace Ninja tuck the dial registered just over 60 mph on the newly paved lower section of the descent. Carbon actually makes a "singing" noise at that speed - just pray no coyotes skip across the road....
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| Nearing the top of Towne Pass |
So I hand off to Kevin at the low point of Panimant Valley in complete darkness, ride alongside him long enough to tell him to ride to the lights of Pamnimant Springs, approximately 3 - 4 miles up the road and fully visible - off he goes. Kevin rips it into PS, however, we find no lead vehicle in town to perform the transition??? Kevin having done these relays before, kept hammering up the road. We figured we would find them around the corner before the main climb starts - NOT....Kevin keeps hammering for another mile, then another and another, finally we leave Kevin to go up the road to see what happened?
Well - evidently, and I won't mention names, but the inhabitants of the lead vehicle got so enthralled with a high level financial discussion they forgot not one, but three transitions and went nearly 4 miles up the PS climb. Fortunately, Kevin kept the heat on, saved everyone else's legs, and the financial circus (I mean crisis) of 2011 got solved at the same time, we are a productive team!!
The rotation got reset and we quickly made our way up and through Crowley Point with Kevin and I sharing turns into Darwin. The Tandem team was back on for the long fast descent into Owens Valley. By now the clouds had cleared and with no moon we were treated to the most amazing canopy of stars (see photo below)
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| The Milky Way in full glory - Photo by: Thomas Gibson |
The descent by Mom & Dad into Owens Valley was quick, Ron took it into Keeler, Kevin, Mark and I had a smooth rotation going for 10 miles and then Mom & Dad brought it to the beautiful DOW Villa Spa & Resort....With Ron taking the first 3 miles of Portal, Kevin and I had time to catch a quick shower and new clothes. We had a very solid 4 man rotation up portal.
Earlier we heard that Team Fast Friday, blistered the climb, even with Scott having to sit out with a bum stomach, and set a new course record of 7:35. Fast Five was hot on their heals with a time of 8:10, and we were killing it to try to break 9 hours. We came up just short finishing at the portal with a total time of 9:06.
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| Team STORM at the finish - still pretty warm at midnight |
We are still totalling the donations raised by all three teams, but I estimate it to be north of $20,000, and it looks like the total for the event will be right around $75K. Another very successful Whitney Classic, well run, well supported and well ridden. How do you top that?
Thanks again to my Mom & Dad for their continued support of the event and Summit and their love of the adventure each and every year!! Thanks to all the donors who contributed to a great cause and thanks to all my crazy cycling friends who gave up a big chunk of their personal and family time to be part of the MWC! Until next year - God Bless.....
NEXT YEARS DATES: September 29 & 30, 2012
PS: Donations are still being accepted through the end of October, so if you did not get a chance to donate here is the link to make it easy online.
Summit Adventure Online Donation
Here are a few more photos of the weekend
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| Whitney under an ominous sky Photo by: Thomas Gibson |
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| Thanks to the Good Sam Club for their undying support of the MWC - great folks! Photo by Thomas Gibson |
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| Dramatic weather in Death Valley Photo by: Thomas Gibson |
The End
