Me, too. Love the 395 corridor. I've ridden a lot over there, especially out of Bishop. I've done a few rides out of Mammoth Lakes, as well. I've ridden a lot in Death Valley, too. Wonderful biking country (but, pick your season). Nice, detailed report, DL. How much snow is still up on top?
________________________________ From: cyclotourist <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, July 1, 2010 11:23:47 PM Subject: Re: [RBW] Mono County Rivendell Riders 1st Tioga Pass ride I spent a lot of time in HS & college visiting directly to the south of you in Inyo County. Bishop was a second home for a while. Thanks for the ride report and tailwinds both ways next time! On Thu, Jul 1, 2010 at 10:55 PM, Daddy Longlegs <[email protected]> wrote: >Greetings Fellow Riders, > >>In celebration of the end of the 2nd fiscal quarter, the Rivendell >>riders of Mono County California decided to undertake a festive jaunt >>to the top of (or as close as we could get) to the top of Tioga Pass, >>eastern gateway to Yosemite National Park in the beautiful High >>Sierra. >>From our assembly point in the June Lake Loop the ride would take us >>north on Hwy 158 to the junction of US 395. North on 395 to Lee >>Vining, CA ( Proud Home of the most expensive gallon of gasoline in >>the U.S.) and then westward and upward to Tioga Pass. The trip was >>approximately 50 miles rt with 5000' of climbing. >>For those of you unfamiliar with the Eastern Sierra allow me to give >>you a little background. >>Mono County encompasses about 3200 sq miles from the crest of the >>Sierra Nevada, eastward into the Great Basin to the Nevada border. >>About 15,000 people live in the county and as far as I can tell Mrs. >>Longlegs and I are the only Riv Riders here. However, on a per capita >>basis of 1 Riv rider per 7,500 people, I reckon that puts Mono County >>darn near the top of the class in the Riv Rider population density >>category. >>There are miles of open road here and very little traffic. The >>possibilities for s24O's are endless (90%percent of the county is >>open,gubbmint land). When we are out and about it's not uncommon to >>surprise dear, bear, wild horses, coyotes, mountain lions and bobcats >>along the way. As a matter of fact we watched a doe chase a bobcat >>around a hillside for 10 minutes, just the other day. At the moment >>wild flowers are in full bloom everywhere. It's an amazing time to >>ride.. >>About an hour before the MoCoRivriders were scheduled to assemble for >>the ride, Mrs. Longlegs discovered that Pesty, our diabetic cat, was >>out of insulin. So off she went on an emergency run and the big Ride >>was down to one rider. >>The 15 mile per hour tailwind heading north to Hwy 395 was not >>auspicious. A beautiful day, yes. Perfect 75 degree temperature, yes. >>Cranking 1000 vertical feet downhill in the first 18 miles with wind >>at back, definitely excellent. >>However that very same breeze, when it came time to start climbing the >>pass, was now square in the face. >>Normally,in these parts, the mornings during the summer are fairly >>calm. Sometime around 1 pm the wind will come up, out of the mountains >>and funnel down the passes, increasing in intensity as the afternoon >>progresses.The ride had embarked at 10 am with the hope of avoiding >>the afternoon zephyr. >>As a side note: Tioga Pass(Hwy 120) is a segment of the new ACA Sierra >>Cascade route. If anyone is planning to ride this section and is going >>North to South we definitely recommend hitting the pass as early as >>possible! >>The Official Bicycle of the MoCoRivriders is a 68cm Atlantis. The >>bicycle and this bulky rider cruised up the highway into the pass and >>topped out at 9500' about 1/1/2 miles shy of the Yosemite Park >>entrance in a little over 2 hours. the average grade, according to the >>GPS was 3.9 % Some short steep portions probably hit 6%. The canyon >>narrows down near the top and the wind is funneled down between the >>mass of Mt Dana to the South and Tioga Peak to the North. As the road >>came 'round the shoulder of Tioga Pk. into this defile the headwind >>ramped up in intensity significantly. The breeze became stiff. It was >>a sign. That sign said, Turn around. Haul ass down this hill and get a >>well deserved cold beverage of your choice down at the gas station at >>the bottom! >>And so it was written. >>The Atlantis performed admirably going down the highway. We flirted >>several times with 50mph.The bike tracked straight,stable and true, >>although the wind kicked us around a couple of times Traffic was light >>enough to allow this rider to take the full lane for the majority off >>the downhill run. On three occasions we pulled off to let vehicles >>pass-by. The shoulders of Highway 120 above 8000' are sketchy to non >>existent. Taking the lane is recommended >>It's sort of like riding Devil's Slide on Hwy 1 out by Pacifica for 9 >>1/2 miles. Fun!. >>Enjoyed a beer and some excellent victuals at the Tioga Mobil Mart at >>the Hwy 120/395 junction and then headed home, into the wind. >>Took some snapshots, they are here: >http://picasaweb.google.com/108387001740020584799/MoCoRivRiderTiogaRide >> (don't know if I pasted this link correctly) >>Two hopes: 1) that this is not too long a post, especially for a first >>timer 2) that we'll see some of you folks for a ride in the Mono Zone > >>Cheers, >>Daddy Longlegs > >>-- >>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>"RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>[email protected]. >>For more options, visit this group at >>http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- Cheers, David Redlands, CA "Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." ~Bill Nye, scientist guy -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
