Searching for Gold in the Sierras

 

For this year’s 1200k, I targeted the Gold Rush Randonnee in Davis, California. The Gold Rush had been on my radar but it never quite fit my calendar until this year. I flew into Sacramento a couple of days before the ride and really enjoyed settling into Davis. The extra days gave me time to get my bike assembled and for a great shakedown ride to Steady Eddy’s, a fantastic coffee shop in Winter, California.

 

GRR started in the dark at 4 am. The group rolled into the darkness on a beautiful and quiet morning. The group rolled along easily, without any sense of urgency. This continued through the streets of a still dark Sacramento and out along the Garden Highway heading north along the Sacramento River.

Although the pace was pretty reasonable, I was already having some stomach issues in the early miles. Nothing major, it just seemed like some minor cramping. I probably could have held on the to group, but I eventually decided to pull off for a nature break. I figured the group ahead would do the same at some point, but it didn’t seem like they ever did. I wasn’t terribly worried and just rolled on solo. When I arrived at the first control in Wheatland at mile 57, the group had already been in and out and was preparing to leave. After a couple brief words, they were gone. I loaded up on breakfast and Pepto tablets and took off by myself. 

The remaining section across the Central Valley was uneventful. The temps were starting to rise reminding me of the need to keep moving so I could get to higher elevations before the temperatures climbed too high. Soon enough, my Garmin lit up announcing the first climb of the day-and 10 miles long at that. The climb turned out to be a stair step climb which went well. There were some steep sections but nothing too bad. In no time, I rolled into the second control at the Oregon House Store at mile 103. The control was combination deli and convenience store. Several other riders were there eating but everyone seemed to be on their own schedule. I had a nice sandwich, loaded up on sunscreen and headed back into the meat of Day 1. 

Leaving Oregon House, we almost immediately started climbing again before a steep, hot descent to Bullard’s Bar. The short descent felt like dropping into an inferno. There must have been some weird mountain wind thing happening to push hot air up the canyon. At the base of the descent, volunteers had set up a small aid station with water, drinks and snacks next to a massive dam. 

Leaving Bullard’s Bar was the start of a 12 mile climb, with the control at Camptonville providing a mid-climb break. Finally finishing of the climb led to an amazingly beautiful alpine descent. I came to attention near the bottom of the descent when I came around a tight corner to see a black bear slowly walking across the road. He passed maybe 20 feet in front of me before awkwardly climbing the steep hill on the right side of the road as I passed. The highway was perched above and along a beautiful flowing river which made for some amazing scenery.

 

Upon arriving at Downieville, quite a few other riders were present. I wandered around the small grocery store looking for something I could eat, already struggling from the common randonneuring condition of seeing absolutely nothing edible. I finally settled on a ham and cheese sandwich. Unfortunately, the first bite told me the sandwich was frozen. Not frozen like it just came off the truck - frozen like it had been in the back of grandma’s freezer for 5 or 6 years and crystallized. So, I threw it away and settled on a thick slice of banana bread. I was able to get it down, but it was a battle.

 

Leaving Downieville was the biggest climb of the day - 17 miles to the top of Yuba Pass. The climb was fairly steady, mostly around 5-6% and scenic. But still, 17 miles is a long way to climb. The crest of the climb at mile 167 led to a fast and glorious winding descent to the valley below.

 The balance of the day’s ride trended downhill. I arrived at the Gold Pan Lodge in Quincy right at 10:30pm. Day 1 ended with 214 miles and 11,500 feet of climbing. 

I left Quincy after a hearty breakfast enchilada around 5:00am. In the first few miles of darkness it was hard to have a good feel for the terrain I was traversing. It felt like rolling hills, but I found out it was generally trending uphill. At one point in the dark, I moved to the right intending to move onto a paved pullout to allow a logging truck to pass. However, in the dark, black dirt looks just like black pavement. So, I ended up steering into a loose dirt parking area that caused me to fall fairly hard on my left side. I got up, brushed the dirt off, jiggered my brake lever back into position, and decided I was good to go. The sun came up as I rolled across the beautiful Indian Valley. The broad valley was covered in a light fog. 

As the sun broke through, I pulled to the side of the road for an impromptu snack and nature break. 

The timing was good because shortly after leaving, the road started climbing towards Antelope Lake. At first, it was fairly tame, but eventually the road pitched up in a spectacular climb. The road signs said the road was not maintained in winter months, but the pavement was perfect and the scenery was as good as anywhere I have ridden. The road followed a rushing creek up a narrow wash. 

By the time I arrived at Antelope Lake, I was cooked from the sun, the heat, and the climb. I sat in a luxurious lawn chair longer than I should have at the control but it was much needed relief. 

From there, the route continued to trend upward before finally reaching the descent at the Janesville Grade. I had been warned about the steep gradient of this descent and the warning was spot on. The bike seemed like it was just hurtling off a cliff as I dropped. I can’t remember ever being glad a descent was over prior to the Janesville Grade. I rolled into Susanville a few miles later desperate for food and drink. Luckily, the route passed a small grocery store so I loaded up on snacks highlighted by a beef and bean burrito. Leaving Susanville, we joined the Bizz Johnson rail trail for the long 14ish mile, climb out of the valley. The trail was gravel, loose in spots but reasonably rideable. I’m not a gravel fan and usually avoid gravel so I struggled a bit keeping up my momentum but it was an adventure and the views were fantastic. I was thrilled to see Mark Behning manning a trail side aid station with snacks, water, and kind words where we left the trail.

 

After leaving the Bizz, the terrain eased for the remainder of the day. I took a long stop at the grocery store control at Westwood. I basically wandered the aisles grabbing anything that looked digestible. Apple sauce, pudding cups, an ice cream bar, and an electrolyte drink made up the main courses. We then descended to and around beautiful Lake Almanor. The road along the lake had beautiful views of distant mountains beyond the far shore. 

The only remaining highlight of the day, was an unplanned stop in Greenville. It was obvious the town had recently been completely destroyed by fire. Very few buildings were standing. There was, however, a very new looking convenience store, so I dropped in for a snack. The young man behind the counter told me the town had been destroyed by the Dixie Fire a couple years prior and the residents were still fighting with insurance companies and government agencies trying to rebuild.

Leaving Greenville, I rejoined the outbound route from the morning across Indian Valley and back to Quincy- arriving around 9:30pm after 174 miles and 9,000 feet of climbing.

I rolled out of Quincy at 5:00 to start day 3. On paper, day 3 looked a lot easier than the previous 2 days, but it wouldn’t quite work out that way. The route featured two long climbs in the early miles and then mostly flat for the rest of the day. After a cold trip to Graegle, we had a long, steady 9 mile climb on Gold Lakes Road. before a quick descent to Bassett’s Station before a repeat of the last several miles of the Yuba climb. 

I felt reasonably good on the two climbs. I wasn’t setting any records but I was having fun and making steady progress. After the second trip over Yuba Pass we dropped into a large, flat valley that seemed more like Wyoming or Montana than the Sierras. Headwinds and heat seemed to rise together and I limped to the intersection of Frenchman Lake Road at Chilcoot where a volunteer had an aid station set up. Shortly after leaving, I started meeting riders returning towards Quincy. I misjudged how far it was to the turn around by about 15 miles leading me to seriously overestimate how far I was behind these riders. That lead to a major mental low point which continued for several miles. The mid-sized climb to Frenchman Lake was stunningly beautiful. The road passed underneath tall rock spires that reminded me of the scenery of the Black Hills of South Dakota. 

Arriving at the Lake and the campground turnaround, I wasn’t able to find the water so I did a dry turnaround and returned to Chilcoot. I grabbed a big lunch at the C-store and sat down to eat. Just as I did so, a young girl, maybe 8 years old, sat down directly across from me at the table and regaled me with stories of the town, her family, and ranching. I didn’t get much of an opportunity to say much but after riding alone all day, it was entertaining to listen.

I left Chilcoot with Arvi but I wasn’t able to stick with him for long. 

Heading back across the valley the relentless sun and headwinds wore me down. I was really struggling but was approaching what looked like a small town. I had hopes for a stop, but the grouping of buildings did not have any services so I kept rolling. Soon I saw a sign for a highway rest area. I had visions of vending machines of pop and snacks but was disappointed to find just restrooms and warm tap water. I made the best of it by drinking warm water and raiding my emergency food supplies. That was enough to get me over the long, steep climb on Grizzly Road where my Garmin was showing pitches of 13-14%. We passed Lake Davis before descending back to Portola and a grocery store meal of Coke and pudding cups, which I ate with a “spoon” I improvised from the pudding’s packaging. The rest of the ride back to Quincy went smoothly and I arrived around 10:30pm. Day 3 totaled 179 miles with 9,800 feet of climbing.

 

Riders had been warned to start day 4 as early as possible. The day’s stats looked relatively tame, with only about 3900 feet of climbing over 179 miles. However, the last 90 or so flat miles were across the Central Valley and was notorious for having strong, hot headwinds. With the warning in mind, I rolled out of Quincy for the last time right at 4:00 am. I rolled easily along in the darkness, descending the Feather River Canyon. At times, the descent was steep- at others times barely discernable. The dark miles passed blissfully along. I was making good progress with minimal effort. As light seeped into the canyon, I was able to enjoy beautiful views of the river flowing through the narrow, high-walled canyon. Every so often the highway would cross the river on a series of old metal bridges.  

The downward slope lasted for approximately 45 miles until the start of the climb of Jarbo Gap. Unlike most of the other climbs of the GRR, Jarbo Gap was magical. The slopes were gentle. The road hung on the side of the mountain with stunning views and the light was beautiful. Over the top led to the descent to Oroville and the first headwinds of the day.

Arriving in Oroville, I decided to make a full meal stop at McDonald’s. McDonald’s is not my first choice for rando fueling, but at 10:00 on day 4, an Egg McMuffin and hash browns sounded divine. I ended up taking a long break, because after having a leisurely breakfast with 3 or 4 other riders, I went across the street to a c-store to stock up for the last 95 miles. There I ran into Jacek, who I had met at the Cracker Swamp 1200 in Florida the previous year. We chatted for a bit and tried to leave together, but Jacek was too strong and I ended up riding solo within a few miles. That would continue all day. As promised, the winds across the valley were strong all day so the miles went by slowly. I stopped several times to restock on food and water.

 By the time I arrived where Mark Behning was manning a control at mile 117, I was struggling mightily. Doing the math, I wasn’t completely sure that I was going to make the final 62 miles to the finish by the 10:00pm cutoff. I sat in Mark’s lawn chair for a few minutes, downed a Coke and bag of Chips before slowly pedaling off. About 20 miles later I stopped at a grocery store in the small town of Grimes. Not seeing anything that looked digestible in the aisles, I decided to take a chance with a made to order cheese quesadilla. I thought they might be bland enough and soft enough to get down. Unfortunately, the lady who made the quesadilla, loaded it with beef. It ended up being very heavy and greasy. It only took a couple of bites to realize this wasn’t going to work. Unfortunately, the location of the store’s only garbage can required me to hand the uneaten quesadilla back to the cook. She felt bad seeing that I hadn’t liked her creation and comped me a couple of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. The rest of the day was a steady diet of slow progress into a persistent wind. Darkness came about 10 miles from the finish.

 

I rolled into the finish about 5 minutes before 9. Most of the other finishers were sitting on the front steps of the hotel eating pizza and drinking beer so I received a warm welcome. It didn’t take me to long to join in the fun. 

With a finish time of 88:55, GRR turned out to be one of my slowest 1200’s. Overall, I had a great time. GRR was my first 1200k with numerous long, mountain climbs. The route advertised 39,000 feet of climbing. While that was correct, much of the climbing was focused into relatively short sections of the course. So, the climbing totals seemed understated. The scenery was world class. Deb and her crew did a great job supporting the ride.  GRR provided a great experience with the right balance of challenge and adventure.  

Totem Poles, Sea Views, and Lord Stanley's Cup

 

The 2024 Van Isle 1200 starting in Saanichton, British Columbia turned out to be a terrific adventure.  The Van Isle 1200 had been on my radar for a few years but the event had not been held since 2014. I had a hard time finding many 1200s that fit my work schedule this year, so this was a perfect time to give the Van Isle a go.

 

As I travelled to Saanichton, I really did not know much about Vancouver Island. I had a general sense that the southern part of the island was well populated, the north was more wild and remote, and the scenery would be impressive. In pre-ride planning, I learned that there were significant stretches of the route without services.

 

Throughout most of my life I have been involved in hockey, either as a player, fan, or official. After falling behind 3-0 in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, Edmonton won game 4. This meant that I would be in Canada during the Stanley Cup Finals, a Finals in which a Canadian team was fighting for the Cup. The hockey series was a noticeable backdrop to the ride.

 

After arriving in Saanichton late on Monday night, I spent Tuesday reassembling my bike and doing all the normal pre-ride fussing and fidgeting. As I got my bike together, I discovered that my rear brake was not working. Luckily, there was a great bike shop a couple of miles from the hotel and they were able to bleed the hydraulic line and get me on the road. I did a really nice, scenic shakedown ride on quiet roads and beautiful ocean views. 

Spencer Klaassen joined me on Tuesday night and we settled into the hotel pub to watch Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Edmonton won again, which kept the locals in a jovial mood and guaranteed that the Finals would continue into the ride.

 

Thursday morning’s 5 am rollout was one of the more relaxed 1200k starts I can remember. Everyone in the field of 18 riders seemed happy with slowly easing into the ride. We headed into Victoria on a main highway, although the early hour meant there was very little traffic on the highway. The organizers designed a route that passed all of Victoria’s main sights, including the harbor, Parliament house, and old town Victoria. After a brief control stop, we left the city on a combination of bike trails and highways, along the south side of the island.

 

By the time we reached Sooke at around 39 miles, the group had spread out. I decided I needed a proper break. My recollection of the pre-ride meeting was that there were limited services after Sooke so I pulled into a McDonald’s for a quick sit-down breakfast. I assumed that I was the last rider on the road at this point so I was surprised to see Spencer at a gas station just after I pulled out of the McDonald’s. He had also picked Sooke for a break. We rode together briefly before the challenge of riding a fixie caught up to him and he dropped back. The section after Sooke turned out to be one of my favorite sections of the ride. The scenery was spectacular. The road passed through a dense forest along the shore with views of Washington’s snow-capped mountains visible across the ocean. 

Following a staffed control with great sandwiches and every other possible snack, we headed inland across the island.  By this point, I had joined Francis Lim from Sydney, Australia and Phil Neff from Seattle. The spectacular scenery continued and we passed through Port Renfrew and crossed the island on a beautiful, lightly travelled road. The road had the definite feeling of western mountains.

 Eventually, the sun and hills started having their effect. We dragged in to Lake Cowichan and were thrilled to find J&V’s Diner, advertising burgers and milkshakes. Apparently, most of the field had the same idea as the diner was bustling with riders. Graham Ross joined our group here. The 4 of us would ride most of the event together.

 

After Lake Cowichan the terrain moderated significantly and the traffic increased. The route included intermittent sections on the Trans Canada Highway, a 4 lane divided highway with a wide paved shoulder, and busy two lane highways with a 2-3 foot wide paved shoulder. A mid-evening stop at Wendy’s was a lifesaver. We returned to the coast just in time to enjoy the fading light of a beautiful sunset over the ocean at Qualicum Beach.

 

We arrived at the overnight in Comox, 242 miles into the ride, just before 1:30 am. At the overnight, the BC Randonneurs volunteers had an impressive spread, a main course of chili with a huge selection of snacks and drinks. I made short work of dinner and opted to rush to bed as quickly as possible.

 

While riding into Comox at the end of day 1, we had passed many miles debating the merits of various start times for day 2. Eventually, we settled on 7:00am. So, at 7:00 am, our group of 4 rolled out. The 35 miles to Campbell River passed easily by. We stopped for a quick photo break just prior to Campbell River and again at the 50^th Parallel monument in Campbell River.

While eating gas station pizza on the outskirts of Campbell River, Thai Nguyen caught up and joined our group. Thai was a strong rider who had run into some bad luck on day 1. He had lost a few hours with a mechanical issue, before powering through and catching us. Heading north the terrain became increasingly mountainous with several long gradual climbs. A highlight of this section was the out and back to the Ocean View Café at Kelsey Bay. The tiny snack and gift shop was built on a wood pier. The pier provided an impressive view of the mountain-lined Inside Passage.

 

After a quick photo op, we rolled back to Sayward. Phil and I left Sayward a couple of minutes behind the rest of our crew, leaving just enough time for a small black bear to walk out on the road in front of us. As he moseyed onto the pavement a few yards ahead of us, I started talking to the bear, suggesting that he wanted to go back in the woods. After listening to me and Phil for a couple minutes, he apparently agreed and retreated into the woods.

As we approached the staffed control at a rest area just south of Woss, BC, Francis and I were discussing how much we were craving a sit-down meal. The staffed control had a large selection of food but nothing that really hit the spot Frances and I were craving. Fortunately, the volunteers told us about a restaurant just off route 3 miles down the road.  Frances and I made a quick decision to move on. Part way there, 2 large elk waked out in front of Frances and slowly crossed the highway.  However, the restaurant provided another collision with the Stanley Cup Finals. We arrived about half way through the second period and it appeared that anyone living within 30 miles of Woss was in the tiny restaurant watching the game. The small staff was clearly not keeping up with orders and it was pretty obvious we were not going to get food here anytime soon. So, we left with the news that Edmonton was leading 3-0 after 2 periods and moved to the gas station next door where we raided the shelves for calories.

 

Our next stop was a small convenience store in Hyde Creek.  Eight or nine riders arrived here at the same time about 15 minutes before the store’s 10:00 pm closing time. The store clerk agreed to stay open while we refueled. While waiting for the others, I struck up a conversation with the clerk by asking if she knew who won the game. She quickly covered her ears and made it clear that I was not to share anything I knew about the game because she was taping it to watch after her shift. She also offered that her little town of 2500 people had 3 players currently playing in the National Hockey League. I later learned the Edmonton won the game 5-1, setting the stage for a game 7 the night following the ride.

 

The remaining 30 miles or so to Port Hardy were fairly uneventful except for a cold, driving rain that soaked us in the final hour to the hotel. I arrived just after midnight weary from the 190 miles, ate as fast as I could, took a hot shower to warm up, and got into bed.

Day 3 started with a short loop through Port Hardy, winding past the harbor, and small downtown. 

The roads were dirty and grimy from the previous night’s rain and my bike was soon coated with fine, sticky sand. The route for Day 3 was basically a reverse of day 2. Going into the day I was dreading some of the long climbs. However, we kept a nice steady pace and the miles and climbs kept ticking away. Back near Woss, the volunteers had set up a staffed control loaded up with much needed food. My general rule is to never try anything new on a 1200k, but I gambled on an egg salad sandwich, followed by a tuna sandwich, Ensure, and lots of other snacks and I left feeling ready to tackle the rest of the day.

 

We arrived back in Campbell River just at dusk. We had debating for quite a while where to stop. Finally, we decided that this ride needed at least one Tim Horton’s stop, so we had a winner. We got to Tim Horton’s about 15 minutes before close, ordered our food, and sat down to eat. Almost immediately, a worker came around and told us they were closing but they would could finish eating. He then turned off all the lights in the store and stood about 5 feet away starting at us as we gulped down our food. Probably could have done without the Tim Horton’s stop.

 

The last 35 miles back to Comox was a struggle for me. I was really uncomfortable on the bike and the 185 mile day with plenty of climbing had me ready for a break. Additionally, some kind of weather front moved through and brought really strong winds. A group formed that consisted of around 8 riders and we all rode in together, arriving back at Comox around 12:40am.

 

The Van Isle has a quirk that changed the entire nature of Day 4. The official route included a ferry crossing just over 4 miles from the finish. The final ferry of the day left at 6:30. In other words, to catch the ferry you would need to be on pace to finish the event in approximately 86 hours (instead of the 90 hour official cutoff). Missing the ferry meant taking an alternative finish and possibly waiting a couple of hours for a shuttle to the finish party. Planning Day 4 to catch the final ferry was a main topic of conversation among the riders. The ferry cutoff also changed the entire mood of Day 4. The fourth day on most 1200s tends to be a rolling celebration. Usually by that point, everyone knows they will finish, large groups form, and the mood is happy. The ferry cutoff kept us focused on the clock and doing calculations all day to make sure we were on pace.

Francis, Phil, and I more or less rode the final day together. Thai only took a short break and basically rode through the night. Graham opted for an early start to try for an earlier ferry.  We did some rando brain calculations and decided on a 6am start, giving us just over 12 hours to make the ferry. We seemed to slog through the day with one eye on the clock and the other counting down the miles. We never really seemed to gain much on the clock. It wasn’t until we reached Crofton about 25 miles before the ferry that we were finally pretty certain we had put enough time in the bank and the pressure eased. The village of Cowichan Bay was a picturesque town set on an ocean inlet. With a few minutes in hand, Phil and I walked out on the pier for some quick sightseeing before tackling the steep climb out of town.

 

With the time pressure off, the handful of miles after Cowichan Bay floated by effortlessly. Phil and I made the decision to stop in Mill Bay, just 3 miles from the ferry, for ice cream with over an hour before the ferry sailed. After a relaxing break, we rolled down to the ferry to rejoin Francis.

 

The half hour ferry trip across the ferry gave me a nice chance to reflect on the whole adventure before the short spin across the peninsula to the finish. On the ferry we had devised a strict plan to expend no energy on the 4 mile ride and we diligently stuck to it. Our finish at 7:29 was met with a cheering crowd of volunteers and other riders. My official was 86 hours and 29 minutes.

 

The day following the ride, I took the bus into downtown Victoria to do some sightseeing. I hobbled around all of the popular waterfront hotspots and had an awesome seafood lunch overlooking the harbor. 

I then went back to the hotel and settled in at the pub to watch Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The bar was full of raucous hockey fans hanging on every play and hoping for a return of the Cup to Canada. Unfortunately, Edmonton lost a close game and Florida won the Cup. In the words of a fellow passenger at the airport the next morning, “All of Canada is sad today.”

Overall, the Van Isle 1200 was a grand adventure. The only negative was that the geography of the island necessitated more riding on busy highways than I would have preferred.  The BC Randonneurs provided amazing support and hosted one of the friendliest, most welcoming events I have ridden. The scenery was spectacular. Pretty sure I will be daydreaming about those ocean views for a long time to come.