From: bushnell@iscnvx.lmsc.lockheed.com (William D. Bushnell)
Subject: RIDE: Mammoth Lakes area and Minaret Rd.
Organization: Lockheed Missiles and Space Co.
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 00:30:20 GMT


Equipment: I ride a 1991 Bridgestone RB-T with 28mm Avocet ROAD K20 tires
           inflated to 115 and 125 psi (front and rear).  The bike weighed about
           44 lbs. for this trip.  Route log measurements were supplied by an
           Avocet 50 cyclecomputer. 

Route Log:

--------			-----------------	-----	-----------
location                        altitude/climbing       miles   time of day
--------                        -----------------       -----   -----------
Chateau de Montagne                 7880/0               0.0       8:40a
Minaret Rd. & Hwy 203               8050/170             1.4       8:48a
Minaret Rd. & Mammoth Scenic Loop   8280/410             2.4       8:55a
Mammoth Ski Lodge                   8890/1070            5.6       9:18a
Minaret Vista                       9240/1420            7.1       9:32a
Minaret Summit                      9140/1420            7.6       9:52a
Devil's Postpile Ranger Station     7580/1470           14.6      10:16a
Sotcher Lake                        7670/1620           15.5      10:52a
Minaret Summit                      9160/3220           22.6      11:46a
Mammoth Ski Lodge                   8860/3220           23.9      12:15p
Minaret Rd. & Mammoth Scenic Loop   8290/3270           27.2      12:38p
Mammoth Scenic Loop & Hwy 395       7630/3450           33.1      12:56p
Deadman Summit (Hwy 395)            8080/4100           38.7       1:39p
Hwy 395 & Mammoth Scenic Loop       7640/4350           45.1       2:15p
Chateau de Montagne                 7900/5160           53.3       3:03p

Total Time: 6:23
riding time: 4:10
average speed: 12.8
maximum speed: 44.5
index*: 74
irp* (Index Rate-of-Progress): 12
mirp* (While-Moving irp): 18

* Send me email if you want more information about these statistics.

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

On short notice, I was invited to join some friends up at their rented condo
at Mammoth Lakes for the week of 7/18-26/92.  Since there are some good riding
roads and since the scenery is magnificent in that part of the Sierras, I
decided bring my bike along.

Thursday, July 23, 1992

The day is crystal clear and cool as I start riding up Minaret Rd. and head
towards Minaret Summit.  In intend to ride over to Devil's Postpile and then
out to June Lake and back.  This is my first day at 8000 feet, and being a
"near-sea-level-dweller", I huff and puff as my body tries desperately to
digest breakfast and to supply oxygen to my legs.  As I climb the steady grade
toward the Mammoth Ski area, I notice that most of the passing cars have
mountain bikes strapped to their roofs.  As I near the Ski Lodge, it is clear
that a big event is happening on the Mountain today.  Hundreds of cars are
parked along the road, and in front of the big lawn between the Mammoth
Inn and the Ski Lodge, manufacturer and retailer booths displaying large banners
have been erected.  Apparently, I have arrived in the midst of the NORBA 1992
World Cup Mountain Bike Race.

I continue on to Minaret Summit.  From Mammoth Ski Lodge all the way to Red's
Meadow, Minaret Rd. is closed to the general public.  You must either walk,
ride a bike, take a shuttle bus, or have a reservation at one of the
campgrounds along the way.  These restrictions mean that the road is relatively
free of motorized traffic.  After another short hill, a dip, and then another
hill, I reach the ranger's kiosk at the pass.  Just before the kiosk I turn
right and head up to Minaret Vista.  The views of Mt. Ritter, Banner Peak, The
Minarets, and the headwaters of the San Joaquin River to the west are
magnificent.  Minaret Summit lies on the Pacific Crest, so one could argue that
this is the southernmost crossing of the Sierra Crest, only Minaret Rd. doesn't
connect anywhere on the west side.

After taking several pictures, I get back on my bike and head down the west
side of the ridge.  For the upper three miles of the descent the road is narrow
and steep, but not too steep.  I manage good speed, but I take care not to lose
control on the turns.  Fortunately, the road descends in two long switchbacks
and remains visible far ahead, even while a few points in between are obscured.
Since traffic is very light, I use the entire width of the road most of the way
down.  The air is cool, dry, and smog-free (or nearly so).  This is fun.

After the corner of the only switchback, the overall grade becomes more gradual
and I have to pedal over slight upgrades in places.  As I near the turn-off for
Devil's Postpile, I pass the driveways for a couple of campgrounds and
Starkweather Lake.  An odd name for a place out west, Starkweather Lake sounds
like a New England name rather than a Sierra name.  Most places in the Sierras
are named after miners, prospectors, early settlers, early settlers' things
like "Dirty Sock Springs", their wives or lovers, or are named after Indians or
Indian things.

Finally I turn right and head into the Devil's Postpile National Monument.  The
road twists briefly downhill before ending at a picnic area where there is a
ranger station and restrooms.  After locking my bike to the railing at the
ranger station, I take the short, 0.4 mile hike to the Postpile itself.

The Postpile is a volcanic plug thrust up to the surface and cooled to form
thousands of hexagonal columns.  A sign at the base warns that the monument has
become more geologically active in the last 12 years, and that earthquakes can
happen any time.  Recent earthquakes have caused some of the columns of the
monument to peel away and come crashing down.  Anyone in the path of a falling
column would probably die.  Therefore, one should not linger near the base of
the monument.

I suspect that the monument is best viewed in the evening, as the morning sun
and the accompanying glare make it difficult to view.  After a few minutes I
walk back to my bike.  The picnic tables are more crowded now, and a group of
kids have shattered the morning silence playing music on their boom boxes.  I
look over to glare at them and notice that some are playing Nintendo games,
oblivious to the surrounding beauty.

I get back on my bike and climb back up to Minaret Rd., turn right, and head
to Sotcher Lake.  From the road, Sotcher Lake looks like a mosquito bog, but
through the trees I can see the larger part of the lake.  Because of my
ambitious plans, I decide not to stay too long.  So, I eat a snack and begin
the long return trip up to Minaret Summit.

The air is warmer now, and since I've only been at altitude for about 15 hours,
I pedal slowly.  After about 54 minutes, I reach the ranger hut at the summit.
The temperature is 71 degrees.

"Nice ride, huh?", says the ranger.

"Yeah.  The weather's great.", I add.

"Did you ride all the way up from Red's Meadow?", he asks.

"No. I just went as far as Sotcher Lake.  I'm planning to ride out to June Lake
this afternoon.", I answer.

From here it's downhill all the way to the turn off for the Mammoth Scenic
Loop.  I begin coasting downhill toward the Mammoth ski area.  When I reach the
big lawn in front of the ski lodge, more booths have been set up, and mountain
bikers and their friends are lounging around watching people who are also
watching people.  Loudspeakers blare advertisments and MTV-type music.  There
doesn't seem to be an event happening at the moment, but the urgency in
the voice over the loudspeaker hints that the excitement is about to begin--a
complete contrast to the calm and serenity just a few miles on the other side
of Minaret Summit.  I decide to eat some of my lunch and watch the activity.

"What race is happening now?", asks large woman in stretch polyester pants.

"I'm afraid I don't really know how this event is organized.", I reply.

"Oh!  Well since you have a bike I thought you'd know!", she says.

Everyone is riding mountain bikes, and I ride a touring bike with skinny slick
tires and drop handlebars.

After a several minutes of resting, I get back on my bike and start down the
hill.  More cars have parked along the road; about half of them are small pickup
trucks with shells or vans stuffed with all sorts of bicycling paraphernalia.
Many picnic from their tailgates.  As I pass down the parade route, resting
mountain bikers eye me warily.  What a sight I must be riding a
last-year's-model touring bike laden with pack and kickstand instead of a fully-
suspended composite mountain bike frame with all the latest whiz-bang gizmos and
wearing a sloppy oversized sweatshirt instead of a smart fitting peacock-colored
jersey emblazoned with the names of manufacturers of the latest and greatest
thingamadoodles!

Soon I leave all the commotion and begin the brief gradual downgrade to the
Mammoth Scenic Loop turnoff.  Three miles later I turn left and pedal up a
brief hill at the start of the Mammoth Scenic Loop.  The Mammoth Scenic Loop
isn't really a loop at all.  It's just an alternate route to the Mammoth Ski
area connecting Minaret Rd. to Hwy 395 north of the Hwy 203 junction.  The road
begins with a brief uphill and then a long straight downhill followed by
another moderately long uphill.  Then the road begins a long descent to Hwy
395.  As I speed down the final descent, I pass a couple of cyclists riding up
looking hot and sweaty.  It must be warm.

When I reach the bottom, I feel tired.  It doesn't feel very warm to me,
though, so I continue north on Hwy 395.  I begin riding up a short hill and
then level for a stretch.   A headwind blows.  After a quick dip, the road
begins a long gradual downhill.  Near the bottom there is a left turn for a rest
area.  My water bottles are running low, so I decide to stop.

Now I'm starting to ache all over.  I drink alot of water and rest.  I've found
that drinking alot of water helps flush the lactic acid out of my system.  I
check the thermometer.  89-degrees!  And it feels like 70! Something's wrong.
The air must be very dry and I must have lost a lot of fluids.

After resting a few minutes I resume riding north on 395.  Not feeling
particularly energetic, I pedal slowly.  I think I'll scratch June Lake and
turn around at the approaching summit, aptly named "Deadman Summit."  The
grade is just over a mile long at 6%, but by the time I reach the summit I feel
nearly dead.  Now I definitely don't want to head down the other side, and I
start to worry about the climb back up the Mammoth Scenic Loop Rd.

Managing my most energetic posture, I duly take my picture* next to the summit
sign and then turn around and head back down toward Mammoth Lakes.  Glorious
downhill!  It feels good not to pedal.  Unfortunately, the downhill doesn't
last very long, and soon I find myself pedaling again.  Several minutes later I
reach the rest area again.  This time I rest for about 15 minutes before
continuing back to Mammoth Lakes.

As I start riding again, I feel light-headed and slightly dizzy.  I've been
drinking lots of water.  I don't understand why I'm starting to feel sick.  The
ride back up Mammoth Scenic Loop Rd. is no fun at all.  I spend the entire time
watching my altimeter tick off the feet climbed and the odometer tick of the
tenths of miles to the end.

Finally I make it back to the condo.  I'm thoroughly exhausted, and now I feel
chilled.  I'm also disappointed.  I've only ridden just over 50 miles and 5000
feet of climbing!  It's not fair!

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

After showering I went straight to bed.  I learned later that I had probably
suffered from a combination of heat exhaustion, salt depletion, and altitude
sickness.  The six hours immediately following the ride were quite unpleasant
with diarrhea, a fever over 101, and a splitting headache.  Yes.  I guess I had
overdone it for my first day at altitude.  The dry heat didn't help either.
Since I eat a diet low in salt, I'm going to carry salt tablets with me from
now on.  I'm also going to look into bringing along electrolyte-replacement
energy drinks on long and/or hot, dry rides.  A couple weeks earlier I had
suffered similar, though less severe, symptoms after riding 112 miles locally
on a hot and muggy day.

The next day was an off day.  Feeling lazy, I rode the gondola to the top of
Mammoth Mountain and ate lunch up there while I enjoyed the view.  In the
afternoon I took a leisurely trip with my friends out to Convict Lake (Now
there's a wild-west sort of name!) some 10 miles southeast of Mammoth Lakes.
I had originally planned to ride through the Yosemite high country, but I put
those plans off for the third day.  Unfortunately, this meant that I would not
get to ride over the much dreaded Sonora Pass and back on my last day as I had
originally planned.  I did drive home over Sonora Pass just to get a look at
the road and take a record of the mileage and altitude between Hwy 395 and
Kennedy Meadows, the interesting section of Hwy 108.  Oh well, there's
something left for next time.

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

* I bought this marvelous little tripod called the Ultrapod from REI.  It's
  very small and light, and it comes with a velcro strap so I can strap it to
  my bike or any other pole, post, or tree and can take self-photos using the
  timer function on my camera. I highly recommend it for the picture-taking
  cyclist.

-- 
bushnell@lmsc.lockheed.com	(Bill Bushnell)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles