Continuing our trip down memory lane,
The year was 2002; it the first time I had attempted riding the Whitney Classic. I had just gotten a new road bike the year before, but I was hesitant about doing the entire ride. At this point, Summit introduced a new version called "Two Out of Three". Riders would ride two of the three biggest hills on the course (Hillcrest and Whitney Portal, while skipping the dreaded Towns Pass) and the total mileage would be about 85 miles or so. With my good friend Christian Rawles, we signed up for the "Two Out of Three" option.
I don't remember much of the start, or how hot it was, but Christian and I started at 7:00 PM at Panamint Springs, right at the base of Hillcrest. Things went great as we rode together and talked...I can still remember how quiet and still the night was, and how bright the almost-full moon was shining. Of course, we quickly realized why it was so quiet and still--we were protected inside the Panamint Valley. Once we topped the crest of the hill, we were hit the full force of a cold wind. The temperature easily dropped 20 degrees, and the 36 miles into Lone Pine were looking very cold indeed.
After the sweaty exertion of climbing Hillcrest (8 miles, with a 3,000' elevation gain), we were soaking wet and suffered through the trip into Lone Pine. After a quick SAG stop, we pointed our bikes up the Portal Road and began to truly suffer.
I've been lucky enough to ride all over the United States, and some parts of Europe, and can truly say that I hate the Whitney Portal Road more than anything other surface on this planet. It's not particularly long (13.7 miles) or steep (4,666' elevation gain), but it is deceptively hard. It's dark. It's usually cold. You are usually alone. And unlike other climbs that have slight undulations where you can catch a breather, the Portal never stops. It winds up and up, relentlessly torturing your calves and quads and various other body parts.
The year was 2002; it the first time I had attempted riding the Whitney Classic. I had just gotten a new road bike the year before, but I was hesitant about doing the entire ride. At this point, Summit introduced a new version called "Two Out of Three". Riders would ride two of the three biggest hills on the course (Hillcrest and Whitney Portal, while skipping the dreaded Towns Pass) and the total mileage would be about 85 miles or so. With my good friend Christian Rawles, we signed up for the "Two Out of Three" option.
I don't remember much of the start, or how hot it was, but Christian and I started at 7:00 PM at Panamint Springs, right at the base of Hillcrest. Things went great as we rode together and talked...I can still remember how quiet and still the night was, and how bright the almost-full moon was shining. Of course, we quickly realized why it was so quiet and still--we were protected inside the Panamint Valley. Once we topped the crest of the hill, we were hit the full force of a cold wind. The temperature easily dropped 20 degrees, and the 36 miles into Lone Pine were looking very cold indeed.
After the sweaty exertion of climbing Hillcrest (8 miles, with a 3,000' elevation gain), we were soaking wet and suffered through the trip into Lone Pine. After a quick SAG stop, we pointed our bikes up the Portal Road and began to truly suffer.
I've been lucky enough to ride all over the United States, and some parts of Europe, and can truly say that I hate the Whitney Portal Road more than anything other surface on this planet. It's not particularly long (13.7 miles) or steep (4,666' elevation gain), but it is deceptively hard. It's dark. It's usually cold. You are usually alone. And unlike other climbs that have slight undulations where you can catch a breather, the Portal never stops. It winds up and up, relentlessly torturing your calves and quads and various other body parts.
On this particular night, the wind was frigid, and any sweat that we worked up was quickly blown away. By the time we reached the final SAG stop, at the base of the Portal switchbacks, I was truly hypothermic. Uncontrollable shivering. Clattering teeth. Minimal sensation in my extremities. Soaking wet in my cycling gear, I was a giant popsicle.
Years of eating ice cream prepared me for the bitter temperatures.
Ginger was sagging that year, and she put me in the van, got me out of all my wet clothes, and cocooned me inside of a giant down sleeping bag we had. After a cup or two of hot noodles, I dropped into a dead sleep.
Christian, better prepared than I was, rehydrated a bit, put on a couple more layers, and rode on to finish strong. After an hour or so of being inside my warm, down womb, I recovered enough to put back on my wet clothes and pedal the remaining 3.6 miles (and almost 2,000' of climbing) to the finish. A picture made at the finish line shows a smiling Ginger, but I have the hollow, far-away look in my eyes, dreaming of a hot shower and a long nap. . .On the positive side, we managed to raise $7,263 that year...not bad for almost freezing to death.
By the way, we've been stuck on $3775 for a week now....how about a little help?
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