From: bushnell@iscnvx.lmsc.lockheed.com (William D. Bushnell)
Subject: RIDE: Tioga Pass and Tioga Rd. through Yosemite
Organization: Lockheed Missiles and Space Co.
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 02:03:48 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
--------                        -----------------       -----   -----------
Hwy 120 & Hwy 395                   6780/0               0.0        10:20a
Ellery Lake                         9370/2520            9.1        11:54a
Tioga Pass                          9790/2950           12.2        12:16p
Tuolumne Meadows                    8490/2950           19.5        12:50p
Tenaya Lake                         8070/3220           27.0         2:11p
Olmsted Point                       8320/3470           29.5         2:33p
Tuolumne Meadows                    8480/4160           39.6         3:27p
Tioga Pass                          9790/5480           46.8         4:38p
Hwy 120 & Hwy 395                   6850/5480           58.9         5:10p

Total Time: 6:50
riding time: 4:27
average speed: 13.2
maximum speed: 49.0
east ascent to Tioga Pass (riding time): 1h27m
index*: 81
irp* (Index Rate-of-Progress): 12
mirp* (Moving irp): 18

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

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

Not even 60 miles?  Well, I had two reasons for not pushing myself on a longer
ride today:  One, I overextended myself two days earlier, and I didn't want a
repeat performance of the unpleasant symptoms, and two, since Hwy 120 or Tioga
Rd. through the Yosemite high country is one of the most scenic roads in the
Sierras, I wanted to have time to take pictures and enjoy the scenery.  It makes
little sense to attempt distance/speed records here.  I decided to limit my
ride to Hwy 120 from Hwy 395 to Olmsted Point overlooking Tenaya Lake, Cloud's
Rest and Half Dome as this is the most interesting section.

Saturday, July 25, 1992

After sleeping in after the extended happy "hour" the night before, I finally
pull out of the parking lot in front of the condo.  I drive from Mammoth Lakes
up to Lee Vining before starting the ride.  Unfortunately, this means I won't
have much time to warm up as Hwy 120 begins climbing right from Hwy 395, and
then has only a short semi-level stretch before beginning the long upgrade in
earnest.

When I arrive at Hwy 120, the air is already warm.  I'm carrying three water
bottles today, and I've promised myself that I'll keep drinking water even if I
don't always feel thirsty.  After checking over my bike, I ride a tenth of a
mile down to the intersection of the two highways before resetting my meter.

The first mile of climbing is hot and windless, but before long the road levels
off.  On the left there's a spigot for drinking water.  I stop and top off my
water bottles.  A tenth of a mile later is the Inyo National Forest Ranger
Station at Lee Vining.  This is the last opportunity for water until I reach
the campgrounds near Tioga Pass.

As I continue up from the ranger station, the road rises very gradually for the
next mile or so.  But suddenly, after passing through a gate, the road begins
the long upgrade to Ellery Lake.  To the left down the slope is the pretty Lee
Vining Creek and meadow.  To the right up a long gravel slope is Lee Vining
Peak.  Ahead I can see some higher peaks:  on the left two peaks at the end of
the Dana Plateau, and on the right Lee Vining Peak.  Mt. Dana is still hidden
from view.  I stop several times along the way to take some pictures.

The road is smooth and in good condition, and the shoulder is usually wide
enough to comfortably accommodate a bicycle.  While traffic is somewhat heavy,
it is no worse than Hwy 9 here in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  On the way, the
road passes through a large scree slope that looks like it slides constantly.
As I ride by I can hear rocks and pebbles falling and sliding.

After about an hour and a half of nearly constant grade, I reach Ellery Lake.
The sign reads an elevation of 9538, so my Avocet 50 is reading low, as usual.

From Ellery Lake to Tioga Pass, the road ascends very gradually.  The mountains
rising on either side are magnificent:  Gaylor Peak and Mt. Conness on the
right and Mt. Dana on the left.  Traffic seems to be getting heavier as I
approach the entrance station.  A van full of teenagers passes by; one of them
is pumping the bulb of a toy horn.

At the entrance station, about 40 cars wait to enter the park.  I pass
carefully on the right.  As I wave my entrance fee receipt, the ranger waves me
through.  I've made it!  Nearly 3000 feet of climbing!  (Actually a little
more than 3000 feet, but the Avocet isn't giving me full credit.  Tioga Pass
lies at 9945 feet.)  I rest for a few minutes and enjoy the scenery before
continuing on to Tuolumne Meadows.

Unfortunately, Hwy 120 through Yosemite National Park is very narrow with a
6-inch to non-existent shoulder, and is heavily traveled by cars, trucks,
vans, and---worst of all---Winnebago campers.  With the clear, warm weather in
the Sierras we've had for the last week, everyone is crowding into the park.

The road from Tioga Pass down to Tuolumne Meadows is a nearly constant gradual
downhill.  The road is narrow and traffic is heavy, but I manage to maintain
enough speed to keep most of the cars from passing.  Before long the great hulk
of Lembert Dome comes into view, and after crossing the Tuolumne River, I pull
into the parking lot of the store and grill.

Backpackers mill about and car tourists crowd the parking lot searching in vain
for an empty parking spot.  It would be nice to have a dedicated bicycle path
through Yosemite somewhere away from the road that only bicycles are allowed to
use.

After refilling my water bottles I continue along the Meadows.  At the west
end, I stop at the turnout and eat lunch.  This turnout is where east-bound
visitors first glimpse Tuolumne Meadows, an alpine meadow nearly two miles long
and one mile across surrounded by mountains and peaks 2000 to 3000 feet higher.

After eating I continue west on Hwy 120.  The road rises briefly and then
begins a long descent before rising again.  At the top of the second rise, I
stop.  An older man and his wife are just getting out of their car.

"How far'r you going today?", the man asks.

"Just down to Olmsted Point.  This is the best part of Tioga Rd.  I came up
from Lee Vining this morning.", I answer.

"Good luck.", he says.

"Thanks."

I get back on my bike and start down the final hill toward Tenaya Lake.  Soon
the road opens up allowing an impressive view of Pywiak Dome on the left, Tenaya
Lake ahead, and Polly Dome on the right.  When I reach the lake I continue along
the shore and then climb the short grade cut into the granite on the way to
Olmsted Point.

At Olmsted Point I take a couple of pictures.  Several people are milling about
enjoying the view.  After watching me strap the camera to the horn of my bike
seat and take a self-portrait, an elderly couple approach me and ask me to take
their picture.

"Do you mind?", the man asks as he hands me his well-worn auto-focus camera.

"Not at all.  Let's see, why don't you two stand over there.", I say pointing.
"That way I can get you both in between Cloud's Rest and Half Dome.", I reply.

Click.

"Do you ride any marathons?", the man asks.

"No.  I like to ride for fun and to enjoy the scenery.  I'm only riding about
60 miles today--not really marathon distance.", I reply.

"That sounds far enough for me!", the man exclaims.

With that we exchange good-byes and I start back on Tioga Rd. toward Tenaya
Lake.  I stop several times on the way back to take pictures at the Lake and to
take pictures of rock climbers on Pywiak Dome.  The two long hills on the way
back to Tuolumne Meadows are not as difficult as I had expected judging from the
speed of my earlier descent.  Before long I reach the Meadows, and as before I
stop at the store to refill my water bottles and use the facilities.

The rock formations are more impressive in the afternoon sun than they had been
earlier in the day.  I stop to take a picture on the bridge in front of Lembert
Dome.  If I had had an extra two hours or so, I would have locked the bike and
hiked up to the top.  The view from the top is worth the short hike.  I could
see some hikers on the top.  It looked as if they were trying to find a
shortcut down the steep slab side of the dome.  Many years ago, I foolishly
tried to walk up the south side of the Dome to find that the slab became
steeper and steeper, and was finally too steep for comfort.  Fortunately, I
managed to retreat by sitting and slowly inching my way down.

Unlike the climb from Tenaya Lake, the climb from Tuolumne Meadows to Tioga Pass
is more difficult than I expect.  The grade is shallow, but the hill seems
interminable, and the Winnebagos seem more frequent and impatient.  Too bad I
didn't ride this road during the week!  Maybe I'm still tired from two days ago,
but I stop several times to take pictures of Mt. Dana, Mt. Gibbs, and Mammoth
Peak to break the monotony.  On my way up the long hill, I notice a couple of
men chopping a long-dead and fallen tree.  I seem to remember reading somewhere
that one isn't supposed to collect down wood in this area.

A little more than an hour later, I reach Tioga Pass again.  After stretching my
muscles and after putting on my new leg warmers and checking over my bike, I
begin the long descent down the east side.

After an initial downhill, the road levels off until it gets past Ellery Lake.
Now the fun part begins.  This reminds me of the east side of Carson Pass, only
it's about four or five times longer.  My speed gets up to the mid-40's and
then stays there.  A large camper appears ahead moving very slowly down the
hill.  I can see that there is no oncoming traffic, so I pass.  Fortunately, I
do not come upon any more traffic until just before the bottom of the grade.  I
reach my maximum speed while negotiating an inside corner.  It's quite
thrilling to manage a corner at 49 mph.  Even on a relatively shallow turn, the
bike leans quite a bit.  I might have broken my previous speed record on
Spooner Summit if I had had a favorable wind.  Winds were blowing up the east
side and up the west side of Tioga Pass, so I had headwinds on all the
downhills.

I continue straight to the car parked at Hwy 395.  What took me about two hours
to climb required only 23 minutes to descend, but it was fun.  When I reach the
car, the air is hot and dry, much warmer than at the pass.  The thermometer
reads 85 degrees.

Well I made it this time, and while I'm still a bit more tired than I would be
normally after a 60-mile ride, I don't feel at all sick as I was two days
earlier.  Since I missed seeing June Lake on Thursday, I drive the June Lake
Loop on my way back to Mammoth Lakes.

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