Sierra spring ride

================================================== ====================
Spring Tour in the Sierra 26-28 May 2008

As last year, snow pack in the Sierra wasn't as deep as on average
years of the past when we rode between tall snow banks. However,
spring weather has been unpredictable, swinging from hot to cold. For
instance, the Celebrated Jumping Frog (Mark Twain) of Calaveras County
Suffered from 100°F weather while just before it was freezing cold.

Memorial Day weekend came and went under cloudy cold skies, so I and
friends postponed our attempt to ride over the hill to that weekend in
the belief that the weather reports were accurate (partly cloudy).
Monday evening John Woodfill, Jeremy Shaw and I loaded our bicycles
and touring bags into the car headed for Sonora that lies at the base
of the Sierra at 1826ft elevation on the intersection of HWY49 and
HWY108, convenient for making a loop over Sonora, Monitor, and
Ebbetts. It is 130 miles from Palo Alto to the Sonora Gold Lodge
where we have stayed often for these rides.

http://tinyurl.com/3k5ne3 (Sonora)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday 27 May 2008

After a nights rest we got on the road at 06:00 as planned and headed
east out of town toward Sonora Pass (Hwy 108) under overcast skies
that didn't promise sunshine any time soon. We could always say it
was good climbing weather but that doesn't require grey skies only
cool air.

The first big climb starts on the divided four lane section that got
us up to Twain Harte (4100ft) named after Mark Twain and Bret Harte.
From here the road climbs through former Saw Mill towns and mountain
resorts to a high point at Cold Springs (5650ft).

http://tinyurl.com/6nafpl (Twain Harte)
http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/harte.html (Bret Harte)

The winding road on the map that passes the "C" of Cold Springs is
the former Pickering Lumber RR that went for more than 100 miles
through vast mountains to Soap Creek near Ebbetts Pass. From Cold
Springs a swift descent took us to the Strawberry Store (5000ft) where
we crossed the South fork Stanislaus River. The sun hadn't done us
much good today, so the temperature reached 40°F here.

http://tinyurl.com/5bykuy (Strawberry)

Looking up through the clouds we occasionally saw that trees high
above had mid-winter white, with branches coated in fresh snow. This
was not a good omen, considering that we would climb to near 10,000ft
elevation at Sonora pass.

We climbed along the canyon of the Stanislaus to a high point at
Donnells Overlook (6200ft) from which a striking panorama of mountains
to the north along Ebbetts Pass and the central valley down the grand
canyon of the Stanislaus with Donnells lake 2000ft practically
straight down. In spite of reports we had heard, there was plenty of
snow in shady places along the road here looking better than expected
from a coat of new snow.

http://tinyurl.com/6ovem3 (Donnell's Overlook)

From the overlook the road descends for over a mile losing 500ft to
Clark Fork JCT after which the road becomes less civilized as it
climbs steep whoop-de-doos on its way to Dardanelles Store (5765ft).

http://tinyurl.com/6ycltv (Dardanelles)
http://tinyurl.com/5n5g2h

We got a "hot lunch" of microwaved burritos and some candy bars and
soda pop to bolster sugar and fluids for the beginning of the steep
stuff. A couple of miles up the gradually climbing valley we reached
Kennedy meadows and the warning signs of road sections with 26% grade.
The climb to the "Rock Window" starts at 6268ft and ends with a steep
kicker at the window 6713ft, after the mid zone lets up a bit.

This is the first introduction to what makes Sonora Pass the true test
of bicycle hill climbers, but after that there are a few steep bumps
on the way to the 8000ft sign, before "The "Golden Stairs" that
quickly rise to the 9000ft sign as it climbs along Deadman Creek. The
4th of July is more than four weeks away, but the ski slope for the
traditional slalom race on the opposite the STEEP ess-bend looks
great. To make up for that, it had begun snowing lightly after the
Rock window.

The gradient levels off to ordinary highway grades just after the
9000ft marker, a refreshing feeling after the golden stairs.

http://tinyurl.com/5mwzg7 (Golden Stairs)

Meanwhile the snow hadn't ceased but rather turned from tiny puffballs
to fluffy flakes that occasional passing traffic swept into fog-like
swirls across the pavement.

We took the classic photos at Sonora Pass summit (9643ft) trying with
difficulty to capture the experience. I didn't wait long before
beginning the descent that begins steeply at the summit with hills and
curves that can be dangerous for unsuspecting travelers.

http://tinyurl.com/4qpfcz (Sonora Pass)

A few hundred yards down the road, a right hand bend and dives down a
20% grade in a dip that crosses Sardine Creek followed by a similar
climb to a curve that comes shortly after crossing the creek. I
reached 55mph in the dip and, as usual, had to brake hard on the 20%
upgrade to safely make the tight curve on crest of the bump.

Farther down there is another surprise that I first discovered years
ago while competing with a good descender between deep snowbanks and a
wet road. Just after a verge that obscures the road, hiding a steep
tight ess turn. Today it was dry, and besides, I know where it is
even with no warning sign.

After the "bottom" of the hill at the pack station in Levitt Meadows,
a few steep ups and downs got us to Pickel Meadows and the Marine
Mountain Warfare center. The extent of large permanent buildings st
the USMC camp and airstrip is a shocking difference from earlier times
when the installation was almost entirely in tents and a PSP landing
strip in the sand.

http://www.calumetindustries.com/?page_id=138 (PSP)
http://tinyurl.com/62pcsr (Leavitt Meadows)
http://tinyurl.com/5bz5wt (USMC MWCenter)

A good impression of the grades on Sonora Pass is shown in the many
contour lines crossed just above the curve at Leavitt Pack station.
At Sonora JCT, Hwy 395 & 108, a strong wind looked like it might aid
us down the canyon of the West Walker River, but alas it turned into a
headwind after we got back down to the river. It was 14 miles down
hill to Walker (5400ft).

http://tinyurl.com/56ksw9 (JCT 108 & 395)

We dropped in at our usual Toiyabe Motel where Sam Foster, the
proprietor told us that Jeanie Barnett had been there a week before on
a solo ride in better weather. We got Angus Burgers at the Walker
burger bar and settled for a good night in a heated room. It was
still snowy cold but dry by now.

http://tinyurl.com/67thzn (Walker)
http://www.walkerriverfishing.com/Index.html (Toiyabe Motel)

That was 95 miles that seemed longer.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday 28 May 2008

At about 07:00 We got rolling down Hwy 395 to Topaz where we got a
good breakfast that would get us up and over the two passes ahead.
What we didn't get was a clear sky that had been predicted.

http://tinyurl.com/69h3bm (Hwy 395 & Monitor)
http://tinyurl.com/5ea4fk (Lower Monitor)

Although sheltered form wind that was picking up on the climb, a
steady trace snow began falling about half way up the grade.

At the county line the grade flattens out and makes big sweeping turns
to the summit hidden in a grove of aspen where a natural stone
monument marks the summit. The view here is striking because to the
west the road descends slightly, perfectly straight across a broad high
prairie having a second lower summit about a mile away.

http://tinyurl.com/58v8xg (Monitor Pass)
http://tinyurl.com/5cdma6 (monitor Meadows)

The descent begins gradually with a large loop around Sagehen Flat and
passing Heenan Lake before diving down Monitor Creek canyon. A stiff
headwind made coasting here was difficult because at speed, wind
turbulence interfered with steering the bicycle.

http://tinyurl.com/5ok8wb (Sagehen Flat)

Tada! When we reached Hwy 4 and the East Carson River, the sun came
out and warmed my gloves and body... but it didn't last long. As we
crossed the river and headed up Silver Creek toward Ebbetts Pass, the
climb begins at the Silver Mountain historical site, a high brick kiln
surrounded by piles of debris.

http://tinyurl.com/6bskv4 (Silver Mountain)

As the road zigzags up the canyon wall, it rounds two hairpin turns,
the upper once having been called "Cadillac Turn" from years ago, in
the days of drum brakes, such a car overshot the curve to tumbled to
the shores of Nobel Creek about 300ft below. The first time I rode
here, some unidentifiable rusty auto wreck was visible below.

http://tinyurl.com/5zh74h (Kinney Reservoir)

Although the light snowfall increased after Kinney Reservoir (8353ft)
the road climbed at a moderate rate among trees to the (8737ft)
summit, a mile farther is marked by a sign next to a cattle guard. A
long continuous descent reaches the North Fork Mokelumne River
(7069ft) in Hermit valley before we began climbing Pacific Grade, the
"golden stairs" of Ebbetts Pass. It began to snow more heavily,
requiring to lower the bill on my bicycling cap enough that I could
just see the road without the snow getting into my eyes.

http://tinyurl.com/3pwwhn (Mokelumne Hermit Valley)
http://tinyurl.com/4d7kyn (Pacific Creek and Climb)

On the way up to Crossing Pacific Creek and on to Pacific Grade Summit
(8087ft) the road crosses many contour lines in a short distance.
Insides of hairpin turns were too steep to ride because sand remained
from highway sanding crews for previous snowfall.

After Mosquito lake a short climb got us out of the Mosquito lake bowl
for the descent to Lake Alpine (7303ft), This can be fast, but to make
up for that, snow changed to near blizzard conditions with a headwind.

http://tinyurl.com/4eq44g (Lake Alpine)

Another Climb got us out of Lake Alpine and gave us a swift descent to
Bear Valley after the Mt. Reba I207 ski highway. Bear Valley Lodge
and grocery store, with burger bar was my goal. I explained to John
that as cold as I was, through and through, with icy wet feet I could
not make the last 55 miles to Sonora, so John and Jeremy decided to
get the car and come back to get me. That was a cold four hour ride
into a headwind down to Parrots Ferry, finishing with a 1020ft climb
to Columbia, that I was not prepared to complete.

http://tinyurl.com/6ewmwq (Vallecito JCT Hwy4 & Hwy49)
http://tinyurl.com/55mn76 (Parrots Ferry)
http://tinyurl.com/5s439j (Columbia)
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/Sonora+CA/Bear+Valley+CA/

We had marginal cell phone communication from which I knew when they
had gotten to the car and when they would return to Bear Valley. It
was an unfortunate ride with weather much colder and wetter than
predicted. I still found the part that I completed an exciting
adventure. It was certainly more difficult than another tour, in 1967
with pleasant weather, but before Ebbetts Pass was plowed, after which
riders came home to complain about the Leningrad Death March, stories
that gave rise to today's Markleeville Death Ride.

That was a 54 mile day that was planned as 108 miles.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremy_s_shaw/page2/

An interesting story, but why did you post it 3 times to this group on
May 30, and then again on June 4?

Jeff Orum wrote:

An interesting story, but why did you post it 3 times to this group
on May 30, and then again on June 4?

It appears that way on your server but after making corrections, I
replaced the original article. On my server there is only one copy.

http://tinyurl.com/5egnjn

Jobst Brandt

On 06 Jun 2008 15:25:12 GMT, wrote:

Jeff Orum wrote:

An interesting story, but why did you post it 3 times to this group
on May 30, and then again on June 4?

It appears that way on your server but after making corrections, I
replaced the original article. On my server there is only one copy.

http://tinyurl.com/5egnjn

Jobst Brandt

But Jobst, surely you know many if not most usenet servers stopped
accepting cancellations 5-6 years ago?

Pat

Email address works as is.

Patrick Lamb wrote:

An interesting story, but why did you post it 3 times to this group
on May 30, and then again on June 4?

It appears that way on your server but after making corrections, I
replaced the original article. On my server there is only one copy.

http://tinyurl.com/5egnjn

But Jobst, surely you know many if not most usenet servers stopped
accepting cancellations 5-6 years ago?

So what? WOuld you rather have a report full of typos and a bunch of
URL's missing?

Jobst Brandt

On 2008-06-08, wrote:
Patrick Lamb wrote:

An interesting story, but why did you post it 3 times to this group
on May 30, and then again on June 4?

It appears that way on your server but after making corrections, I
replaced the original article. On my server there is only one copy.

http://tinyurl.com/5egnjn

But Jobst, surely you know many if not most usenet servers stopped
accepting cancellations 5-6 years ago?

So what? WOuld you rather have a report full of typos and a bunch of
URL's missing?

Given that Supercedes and Cancels are so often ignored, that's exactly what
Patrick probably got, /along with/ your corrected post. I certainly saw
each and every copy come through, separately.

As usual, blame spammers/trolls/flamers. had they not abused cancels so
flagrantly, most servers would still accept them.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff

On Jun 4, 9:12 pm, wrote:
================================================== ====================
Spring Tour in the Sierra 26-28 May 2008

As last year, snow pack in the Sierra wasn't as deep as on average
years of the past when we rode between tall snow banks. However,
spring weather has been unpredictable, swinging from hot to cold. For
instance, the Celebrated Jumping Frog (Mark Twain) of Calaveras County
Suffered from 100°F weather while just before it was freezing cold.

[snip]

We had marginal cell phone communication from which I knew when they
had gotten to the car and when they would return to Bear Valley. It
was an unfortunate ride with weather much colder and wetter than
predicted. I still found the part that I completed an exciting
adventure. It was certainly more difficult than another tour, in 1967
with pleasant weather, but before Ebbetts Pass was plowed, after which
riders came home to complain about the Leningrad Death March, stories
that gave rise to today's Markleeville Death Ride.

Jobst,

Great adventure. I have only one issue--your ride did not inspire the
Markleeville Death Ride. Let us return to some of the give and take
that occurred in this very forum almost exactly two years ago. (My
comments are double quoted; yours are single quote.):

No one doubts that you called your heroic 1957 adventure a Death Ride.

I never called my ride a death ride. Don't put words in my text. I
clearly stated that riders who crossed the Sierra over unplowed
Ebbetts Pass with me returned to Palo Alto and told tales of a death
march from that ride. to my dismay sponsors of organized rides soon
touted their tour as a death ride. Talk of a "Death Ride" was rife in
the years after our ride.

The question before us is, what inspired the current Markleeville
Death Ride? The answer is easy to ascertain, since the participants
are alive and well and all within range of a computer with email.
Wayne Martin (the first organizer of the Markleeville Death Ride) was 11 or 12 years old when you did your famous ride--I
cannot imagine that an event that occurred before he (probably) took
up cycling inspired him to start the Death Ride--especially when you
ask Wayne "What inspired you to start the Death Ride?" his answer is
always "That awful day 5 on the 1976 SuperTour."

You can call it what you want, but the term of "Death Ride" took
shape immediately after our ride with the hike over unplowed Ebbetts
Pass starting from Markleeville. This sounds much like the claims of
who started the Mountain Bike. You might want to argue that one as
well:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/mtb-history.html

As to the broader notion that you can "invent" the Death Ride concept,
which gives you some sort of (I guess) trademark rights, I disagree as
well.

Whoa! What's with rights and trade mark? Get off it! I ride bike
for the fun of it and not for any other reason. I don't care what
people call their ride. My point is that the idea arose from a ride
that I recall clearly and the riders comments afterward.

Setting aside the fact that two years ago you claimed these rides took
place in 1957, not 1967 as you do today, your claim that your
adventures inspired "The Markleeville Death Ride" (a name that you
also disavow--"to my dismay sponsors of organized rides soon touted
their tour as a death ride") is as false today as it was in 2006. Note
that you do not even have the label right--you refer to the "Leningrad
Death March" in 2006, while Wayne Martin called his tour the "Death
Ride."

I never argued that your cycling companions did not call your
adventures a Death March, Death Ride, Ascent to Hell, or Dinner with
My In-Laws. I am sure your companions (though obviously never
yourself, since you found the description so distasteful) called the
ride all these things. Again the clear point--WAYNE MARTIN DID NOT
NAME HIS TOUR AFTER YOUR RIDE. Period. End of story.

I suppose you can continue to persist in your belief that your 1957
(or 1967; whichever is correct) ride from Sonora over Sonora Pass and
back over Monitor and Ebbetts Passes inspired the Markleeville Death
Ride. You can also believe in Fairies, Astrology, and that earthquakes
are caused when the giant turtles upon which our earth rests shift
their weight. However, just as there is absolutely no evidence to
support a belief in Fairies, there is absolutely no evidence to
support your belief that you inspired the Death Ride.

One more thing. While it may be true that Joe Breeze built the first
"successful" mountain bike (if "successful" means fabricated and
sold), Joe did not invent the machine. That honor belongs to the late
John Finley Scott, professor of Sociology/photographer/railroad
enthusiast/and cycle adventurer extraordinaire. John built his first
"Woodsie" bike in the 1950s and used it to conquer some incredible
places, including Death Valley's Telescope Peak in approximately 1957.
(I have seen the splendid photograph.)

Perry Stout

Perry Stout wrote:

================================================== ====================
Spring Tour in the Sierra 26-28 May 2008

As last year, snow pack in the Sierra wasn't as deep as on average
years of the past when we rode between tall snow banks. However,
spring weather has been unpredictable, swinging from hot to cold. For
instance, the Celebrated Jumping Frog (Mark Twain) of Calaveras County
Suffered from 100°F weather while just before it was freezing cold.

[snip]

We had marginal cell phone communication from which I knew when they
had gotten to the car and when they would return to Bear Valley. It
was an unfortunate ride with weather much colder and wetter than
predicted. I still found the part that I completed an exciting
adventure. It was certainly more difficult than another tour, in 1967
with pleasant weather, but before Ebbetts Pass was plowed, after which
riders came home to complain about the Leningrad Death March, stories
that gave rise to today's Markleeville Death Ride.

Great adventure. I have only one issue--your ride did not inspire the
Markleeville Death Ride. Let us return to some of the give and take
that occurred in this very forum almost exactly two years ago. (My
comments are double quoted; yours are single quote.):

No one doubts that you called your heroic 1957 adventure a Death Ride..

I never called my ride a death ride. Don't put words in my text. I
clearly stated that riders who crossed the Sierra over unplowed
Ebbetts Pass with me returned to Palo Alto and told tales of a death
march from that ride. to my dismay sponsors of organized rides soon
touted their tour as a death ride. Talk of a "Death Ride" was rife in
the years after our ride.

The question before us is, what inspired the current Markleeville
Death Ride? The answer is easy to ascertain, since the
participants are alive and well and all within range of a computer
with email. Wayne Martin (the first organizer of the Markleeville
Death Ride) was 11 or 12 years old when you did your famous
ride--I cannot imagine that an event that occurred before he
(probably) took up cycling inspired him to start the Death
Ride--especially when you ask Wayne "What inspired you to start
the Death Ride?" his answer is always "That awful day 5 on the
1976 SuperTour."

You can call it what you want, but the term of "Death Ride" took
shape immediately after our ride with the hike over unplowed Ebbetts
Pass starting from Markleeville. This sounds much like the claims of
who started the Mountain Bike. You might want to argue that one as
well:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/mtb-history.html

As to the broader notion that you can "invent" the Death Ride concept,
which gives you some sort of (I guess) trademark rights, I disagree as
well.

Whoa! What's with rights and trade mark? Get off it! I ride bike
for the fun of it and not for any other reason. I don't care what
people call their ride. My point is that the idea arose from a
ride that I recall clearly and the riders comments afterward.

Setting aside the fact that two years ago you claimed these rides
took place in 1957, not 1967 as you do today, your claim that your
adventures inspired "The Markleeville Death Ride" (a name that you
also disavow--"to my dismay sponsors of organized rides soon touted
their tour as a death ride") is as false today as it was in
2006. Note that you do not even have the label right--you refer to
the "Leningrad Death March" in 2006, while Wayne Martin called his
tour the "Death Ride."

Quibble. The 1957, if that was what I wrote, was a typo. This ride
took place after I returned from my tour of duty in Europe that began
in 1958. I recall clearly that talk of a "death ride" arose shortly
after our spring tour over Ebbetts pass. I realized that these people
were not out to have a pleasant adventure, but rather to let others
know how tough they were, just as the T-shorts now say, "I survived
the Death Ride" and who cares. What was it on the death ride that was
worth reporting?

Jobst Brandt

In article
,
wrote:

One more thing. While it may be true that Joe Breeze built the first
"successful" mountain bike (if "successful" means fabricated and
sold), Joe did not invent the machine. That honor belongs to the late
John Finley Scott, professor of Sociology/photographer/railroad
enthusiast/and cycle adventurer extraordinaire. John built his first
"Woodsie" bike in the 1950s and used it to conquer some incredible
places, including Death Valley's Telescope Peak in approximately
1957. (I have seen the splendid photograph.)

I refer you to Frank Berto's excellent book "The Birth of Dirt" for a
discussion of the development of the mountain bike. He references the
"Woodsy" bike but notes that it was not the first mountain bike because
no further development happened from it. It was a one-off dead end.
(Berto argues that an innovation must be followed by subsequent and
direct development to be considered the invention.).

And if we are going to go along the lines of first practice, we can go
back to well-known history in France to find people riding
derailleur-equipped bikes up mountain trails in the 1930s, such as Jo
Routens of Grenoble and of course Velocio- long before Scott. But those
are not the first mountain bikes either, by Berto's criteria, because
their descendants were road bikes.

And before that, every non-urban bicyclist from the age of the
velocipedes onwards until the invention of macadam could be arguably
called a "mountain biker" in that all their riding was on dirt. Perhaps
Thomas Stevens's ordinary was the first "mountain bike," having been
ridden and hauled up and down the Sierras, the Rockies, the Great
Plains, the Appalachians and then across Europe, the Alps, Turkey,
Afghanistan, etc. That was 70 years before Scott.

While there were many who influenced the mountain bike, Dr. Scott was
certainly one of the early pioneers. More information can be found
about him at the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame web site:

History of the mountain bike: http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/page.cfm?pageid=4

Nomination to the Hall of Fame: http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/pag...6&memberid=189

Report on his life, including his murder: http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/page.cfm?pageid=10034