The Hollywood Racks F6-2 Expedition is a value and feature oriented rack that is an excellent fit for the Toyota Prius… only the 2 bike version is recommended for this car.
http://hollywoodracks.com/parts-accessories/parts-trunkR-express.html
The Hollywood Racks SR-1 has been a fixture on the back of my 1993 Jeep Wrangler for almost 18 years and actually still looks great for it’s age. Since the rack permanently resides on the spare tire, I cut the straps to fit (leaving a few extra inches) and hot-melt-glued the ends back to each strap (see picture-coming soon). This cleans up the look and keeps the ends from flying about.
When transporting bikes, keeping the bike frame from swinging and the handlebars from rotating are always concerns. Using a strap to secure the front wheel and frame of the bike directly to the SR-1 rack (see picture-coming soon) easily eliminates the problem.
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Spare Tire
2 bike
MSRP $139.95
http://hollywoodracks.com/specialty-racks/SR1-spare-tire-rack.htm
Comments are welcome.
Hollywood Racks is pleased to release an exciting new updated version of our very popular “Boomer Bar”. The new Bike Adapter Pro will also have an XL version, on the way soon!
Bike Adapter Pro
part No. BA-PRO
MSRP $34.95
http://hollywoodracks.com/parts-accessories/bike-adapter.htm
The Bike Adapter Pro is an artificial top tube that allows ladies bikes and bikes with non-traditional frames to be used with most hitch racks. New features include heavy duty, non-twisting tubing and secondary interlocking gate “catches”.
minimum opening: 14.3”
maximum opening: 27.4”
Before I dig into the Eastern Sierra Double report, I wish to apologize to my loyal Rebel readers, since you haven’t had an update on Double Centuries, Rides with Unreasonable Climbing, or other Senselessly Ambitious Endeavors Upon a Bicycle for over a month now. Not since the Davis Double, in fact, and my first lame excuse is that I’ve been far too busy riding to sit down and write about it. After The Davis Double I had but one free Rebel Rides weekend before launching into consecutive weekends of the Eastern Sierra Double, Ride Around the Bear, and the Grand Tour Double. The only other Rebel who really knows what this was like is Joe Rayburn, since he not only did the same three somewhat challenging events, he did them all with a faster finishing time that I was able to muster! On top of all this, I had to take a few hours to work for a living and grab the odd hours of sleep, all of which left precious little time for typing. As if all this wasn’t enough (I certainly thought it was!), my venerable computer, circa 1996, picked last week to die, apparently in its sleep, and from natural causes. Which left me nothing to type upon, had I found the time (which I hadn’t). I now have a new computer, so let the narrative begin!
This whole three-part odyssey began on Friday, June 3rd 2005 with the long drive out the 5 to the 14 (Mojave), to the 395, then across the high desert, through Lone Pine, finally ending in Bishop some seven hours after departure. Jackie was wise enough to have me drive the whole way, knowing that I would certainly be too used up to do my share of the driving on the return trip! Regardless, I was feeling good, and expecting to be able to finish this Double, having worked support here two years previous, plus having driven and ridden parts of the course at that time. Still, driving the course and riding it are far different things, in addition to which there were still a large number of “mystery” miles I’d missed on the earlier visit. The pre-ride dinner was organized by the Very Famous Lynn Katano, and attended by a large number of Known Double Riders, all of whom had a great time ingesting all manner of (mostly) Italian inspired carbohydrates at The Upper Crust pizza restaurant in Bishop. The conversation was mostly bike related, but no one seemed to mind! Rebel wise it was Tom Parkes, Joe and Judy, plus Jackie and your faithful scribe. Cathy Wagner and Jim Deal would be joining us for the ride the following day, while Judy and Jackie were prepared to work the Final Planet Ultra Checkpoint in the almost microscopic town of Benton, CA.
At registration we had learned that there would be several starting times, beginning with one at 4:00 AM, which struck me as unreasonably early. Yet I was perfectly content with the 2nd option, i.e. 4:30 AM, as were (apparently) lots of other riders, about 60 in number by the guess of my blurry eyes and mostly sleeping brain at that hour. A funny sense of camaraderie pervades what passes for a peloton at these early start times, as if we are all asking ourselves the logical, yet rhetorical question, “What are we all doing here on our bicycles at this hour of the morning?” and further, “What possesses us to want to ride our bicycles for 200 miles, and up 10,000 vertical feet of altitude?” Not that any reasonable answers were forthcoming, nor would they be particularly useful if they had been! Regardless, there we all stood like good attentive soldiers as Deborah Kaplan Bowling (Ruler of Planet Ultra) read us the Rules of the Ride, what to watch out for out there on the road, what Not to Do, and what would happen to us if we did! Upon being sent off forthwith into the darkness by Mrs. Bowling, my first and only concern was to stay on the course, not get lost, and not accumulate any “bonus” miles (for which I am, regrettably, infamous).
Fortunately there were sixty odd red flashing lights upon sixty odd double rider’s bikes (some conspicuously more odd than others!), such that I was able to follow the course, relying on the Dangerous Assumption that they actually knew where there were going, and how to get there. Eventually the dawn awakened and cast its gentle light upon us, and thus we were able to read the road signs, see the mileage accumulated upon our bike computers, and otherwise find our way much more securely than during the wee hours of darkness. The terrain through here was mostly flat, with only gentle rises and drops, the road surface varying from Really Pretty Good, to Very Rough But Acceptable. I tried working pace lines with various riders, but it was a fragile arrangement at best, as most riders seemed still to be looking for their Perfect Pace. Fine with me, really, as I knew better than to push this early, esp. with the knowledge that the Dreaded Sherwin Grade was waiting to greet us just beyond the first Checkpoint. Arriving at said first checkpoint (mile 29.6) I first clicked off my rear flasher, then dropped off my Cateye headlamp with Eric Smith (www.redbikephoto.com), before sampling a banana, a Cliff Bar, and a huge handful of grapes! Not much of a breakfast, perhaps, but certainly good enough for the moment, and supplemented by the Sustained Energy mixed in with the water in my Camelback. That done, it was a relatively quick stop, after which I took off with three riders from the C.C.C. (Christian Cycling Club), all of whom claimed to know the course, making it a bit less likely that I would get lost! Their leadership didn’t last long though, since at the first upward tilt of the Old Sherwin grade they stopped to disrobe (off with the jackets, off with the leg warmers!), leaving me on my own. Fortunately, there really wasn’t much of a chance to get lost before the next checkpoint!
The first part of the climb was through the town of Paradise, then it went up some switchbacks, and through this part I was climbing fairly well, passing several riders. A tandem stoker called out “Hey Rebel Rider!” when I passed by, yet I never did find out who this young lady was. Sometimes I think I should be a bit more social, and this was one of those times. Still, I was concentrating on the climb, and it was steep enough to be taking up most of my attention. Jackie says I get too focused on the ride sometimes, and therefore miss a lot of the things going on around me, . . . and she may be right! As I continued to climb, I noticed my energy resources were dwindling down a bit, as I shifted to ever-lower gears, and eventually reached the point where I needed to shift out of my 42 x 25, and drop it into the granny gear on my triple, in order to continue my upward progress, albeit at an even slower rate. My speed at this point was hovering in the 6 – 8 mph range, depending on the intensity of the grade (more intensity = slower speed!), along with the other signs of exertion, i.e. heavy breathing and noticeable lactic acid build up in my legs. Altogether not a lot of fun! Eventually, and at long last I did reach the apparent summit, and enjoyed a high speed (yet all too brief) descent before Old Sherwin reared its ugly head for a 2nd time. On the brighter side, this was a visually dramatic part of the canyon, with sheer cliffs and a rapidly running stream off to the right of the road. All the better to keep my mind off the pain in my legs! Moreover, through this 2nd ascension my passer / passé ratio worked out pretty evenly, regardless of the fact that most of the riders I passed were older women who started at the 4:00 departure. Sometimes it pays not to get lost in the details, however, and this was surely one of those times!
As I rode over the Real Summit of Old Sherwin Grade, I was already feeling quite tired, and not at all confident about finishing this double. Sherwin had kicked me hard, and I was still reeling from the fight! Several miles later, and after a couple of fine descents and a few more climbs, I came upon Checkpoint #2, overlooking Crowley Lake, at 48.7 miles, not even a quarter of the way into the day’s ride. Considering how I felt at that point, my meager progress was rather depressing, but there was really no point in dwelling on it, since I certainly wasn’t about to give up just yet! On the brighter side, the Crowley Lake Checkpoint folks were all full of good cheer, quite the animated lot, really, so I was encouraged to eat some Fig Newtons, more grapes and a dessert of a couple of Oreos! Yes, nutrition is a wonderful thing! I topped off my Camelback here as well, and then just as I was getting ready to shove off, Joe Rayburn pulled into the checkpoint. I’m not sure when Joe started, but it must have been about an hour after me. It was good to see another Rebel though, esp. since this double was so under populated with our non-club (Rebel) riders compared with the Davis double, where we had sixteen Rebels two weeks previous.
Leaving Checkpoint #2 there was a four mile long gentle descent, all the way to the intersection with route 395, on our way to Mammoth. From there the climbing started again, down Sherwin Creek Road where Joe went flying past me, then up Minaret, still climbing but with Joe in sight, yet he was becoming ever smaller in the distance. From there it was up to the Mammoth Scenic Loop, and quite scenic it was with lovely mountain vistas, and snow still in evidence in shady sections along the roadside. I almost missed a turn along here, but fortunately a Planet Ultra SAG driver was inspired to yell at me and get my attention. Not that I could have gotten terribly lost, since the way I was headed led to dead end before long, but still, it was nice not to veer off course! Not too far further on I caught up to a couple of riders from San Jose (according to the logos on their jerseys, anyway), and we traded off pulls up and down some not terribly brutal hills, and finally into Checkpoint #3, Crestview Safety Rest Area.
Safe from what was never really explained, but food was plentiful so we were safe from starvation and The Dreaded Bonk (that’s when your blood and muscles run totally out of glycogen) for the time being. Deborah Kaplan-Bowling was also to be seen at this checkpoint (remember her from this morning?), and when talk of the pending next stop (for lunch!) was mentioned, she was quick to advise that “You all have over a thousand feet of climbing to do before you get to lunch!” That remark inspired me to dump a couple more cup-fulls of Sustained Energy into my Camelback, with the thought in the back of my mind that I had yet to recover from the beating that Old Sherwin had delivered. Not that it mattered much, since no one was going to ride this thing for me, and at least it was still relatively early in the day (a few minutes after 10:00 AM). After a bit more sampling of the assembled food items I was back on my bike, looking forward to the Next Challenge, this one with the foreboding (yet somehow appropriate!) name of Dead Man’s Summit! Okay, so I wasn’t really “looking forward.” I was dreading it, to be honest, and just to make matters worse, John Claire passed me at the start of the climb, looking to be in a full sprint relative to my miserable pace. I’m not sure how old John is, but he’s at least ten, maybe fifteen years older than me. Sure doesn’t slow him down much! So I’m already going slow, and now this Old Guy passes me like I’m standing still. What else can go wrong?
That’s a dangerous question to ask, of course, even to one’s self, but once over the top of Dead Man’s Summit, there was a wonderful and reasonably long descent (still on Highway 395 here) of almost four miles, with everything going right for a change. Then a left turn onto June Lake Loop and now I was on the section of the course that I’d ridden two years ago. Perhaps familiarity bred confidence in this case, but whatever the reason I was feeling much better, thank you. I came upon a rider wearing a “USA Randoneers” jersey (Randoneers do “brevets” to qualify to ride Paris-Brest-Paris, a 1200K event run every four years in France), and ask him if he’d ridden P-B-P. “Yes,” he answered with traces of an authentic French accent; “I will ride it in 2007. That is my goal!” Since I’d ridden P-B-P in 1991 we had a great conversation about that event, as we cruised around the deep blue of June Lake at +/- 20-mph. This June Lake Loop is a lovely winding road, with some corners so sharp that we were passing SUV’s on the insides of the turns! The sun was reflecting off the lake, and the whole setting was just about postcard photo perfect. By and by we were passed by a small pace line, with a speed differential so slight that we were able to latch on the back without any apparent effort! Funny how one’s attitude can turn around so severely in such a relatively short period of time, but at this point I was feeling much better, stronger really, and quite confident about completing the double. Fortunately this pace line was quite safe and populated by competent riders, such that we pretty much motored on into the lunch stop, positioned deep into the valley that surrounds Mono Lake.
Of course, as we descended into the Lunch Stop we were quite aware that we would be climbing out of this “hole” directly after we’d eaten. We knew this because we could see a long string of faster riders already making that climb as we dropped into the valley, through the rather small town of Lee Vining. Okay, another climb, so what? We all knew there was 10,000 ft. of climbing on this double when we paid our entry fee, so it shouldn’t be such a surprise, should it? That said, lunch was the usual (for Planet Ultra) Subway sandwiches (Turkey, Ham or Veggie), plus Chips and Cheeto’s, sodas (Mountain Dew is a favorite with double riders), along with the usual Cliff Bars and assorted fruits found at the other checkpoints. I ate lunch with the French rider and his equally French son (in a matching USA Randoneer jersey!), plus a few others who had all been part of the aforementioned pace line. Joe was getting ready to take off shortly after I arrived, but at this point I was in no particular hurry to get back on the bike and climb up the hill! Eventually though, I did return to the task at hand, resisting the urge to join other riders taking cat-naps in the shade of the many trees, and on the perfectly manicured (and bright green!) lawn of the park.
For all of my fret and worry about the terrible climb out of the valley of Mono Lake, when I actually got to doing it, I found it wasn’t really that bad. As I was climbing out I saw Cathy the Vet dropping down into the valley (wearing a lovely pink Giro de Italia jersey!), and I looked for Jim Deal but didn’t really recognize him, though I knew he must have been close to Cathy. Still, it’s always good to see another Rebel, and now it was only Tom Parkes that “out there somewhere” or at least I hadn’t noticed him yet. When I caught up to the French Randoneer he told me, “When you see my son, tell him to ride his pace to the finish and not wait for me!” I said, “Okay, no problem!” as I rode by, but thought to myself, “My chances of catching your son are slim to none!” Along with the asterisked self-note “Even if I do happen to see him, I doubt I’ll remember the message!” That aside, the other subject of lunchtime conversation was The Dreaded Sage Hen. This is one of those Legendary Climbs of Doubles, but since I’d ridden it two years previous, I was in “No Fear!” mode, as other riders shook their heads and worried out loud. The one thing I failed to remember was that two years ago I had maybe 40 miles on my legs when I made the Sage Hen climb. This time I would have 114 miles on them, and yes, that would make a difference!
As I rode along this section of 395 I came up to a rider on very nice older Serotta, and he began regaling me with stories of the area. He started with a detailed explanation of the woes of the drying up of Mono Lake, and the subsequent legal battles that took place before the waters of Brush Creek were once again allowed to flow into Mono Lake. On top of all that, he was quite well informed about the geophysical irregularities of the surrounding landscape. He proceeded to educate me on the movement of the plates that created unusual parts of the Sierra Range from our present location, all the way to Yosemite, pointing to available bits of mountainscape to illustrate his points. While I really found all of this to be semi-fascinating at the time, the major role of his discourse was to distract both of us from the obnoxious headwind, into which were riding. Eventually, and quite fortunately, we made a strategic left turn onto Hwy 120, whereupon the wind effects pretty much evaporated, and we surged into a wonderful descent that could have been aptly named “A Prelude to The Climb.” The transition was rather abrupt; actually, from high speed downhill right into low speed climb! The first part of Sage Hen had varying degrees of ascent, such that we were able to rest a bit between the steeper parts. The further up we went, however, the more insistent the gradient became. By this time, however, a talkative botanist had replaced the educated geophysicist, as he busily explained to me why a certain type of pine tree (Bristle Cone?) was so well adapted to this rather peculiar environment, while nothing else really was. Not that I remember any of those botanical details now!
After the better part of an eternity (and with no disrespect to my informative amateur professors), I reached the “false summit,” which I knew to be false from my previous ride, then a short descent followed by a long straight slog up to the Real Summit of Sage Hen, and Checkpoint #5 at 158.9 miles. This was also the “Light Drop,” so the first order of business was strapping on my NiteRider Blowtorch headlight, inserting the battery in the seat tube bottle cage, and setting up for night riding in general. By this time (I hit the Summit at 5 min. past 3:00 PM), I had a good idea that I’d be able to finish before dark, but I mounted the lights anyway, thinking that the extra weight might even help me get down off this mountain a bit faster. I also filled my Camelback (now almost empty from the hot, dry climb up Sage Hen), scooped in more Sustained Energy (this stuff really does work!), and probably ate a bit more real food, though nothing memorable (apparently)! This Summit was over 8,000 ft. (as was Old Sherwin), and while I did notice the air was a bit thin, that aspect really didn’t cause me any problems. I spotted the young Frenchman at this checkpoint, and (miraculously!) remembered to relay the message from his father! Now it was time to enjoy a Really Long Descent, off the top of the mountain and down into the valley below, much of which was visible from the Summit.
At this point I was definitely tired, but on the other hand I was quite confident of finishing, and looking forward to many miles of effortless descending! The drop itself was quite entertaining, somewhat high-speed, but nothing in excess of about 45 mph, at least for me. Lots of turns, most of them the “sweeping” variety, with very few that could qualify as true switchbacks. And yes, there were a few short climbs, but these were no problem after all the miles of relative rest, plus really kind of fun, esp. when compared to the annoying expansion joints. The emphasis here is on the “expansion,” as the “joint” parts had become horribly dis-jointed over the years since the last repaving equipment visited this road. Yes, folks, these are the kinds of expansion joints that will make your bike’s headset scream in agony! Not to mention your very own soft fleshy bits, esp. those that actually make contact with your bike, or try in vain to act as shock absorbers for your aching body. So that slowed me down some, yet overall this was a fantastic section of the course, mostly quite enjoyable, with only the incessant thump-thump of the expansion joints to take the shine off the moment. That done, it was another smooth road (New Carpet!), more sweeping turns, and beautiful rural farm countryside taking over from the indigenous desert scrub. By and by we came into the almost microscopic town of Benton, where I was happy to see my lovely wife Jackie distributing food and drink to the weary riders, and Rebel Judy Rayburn was taking names as each rider made his or her appearance! Joe was just about to take off when I arrived in Benton, and I learned later that Cathy and Jim, and then Tom Parkes were also happy visitors to this, the final checkpoint before the finish, in this case Checkpoint #6, long about mile 158.9. The only real downside to this stop was the wind. Yes, a quick check of the flag atop the schoolhouse showed that we would ride directly into a headwind for the final 36 miles into the finish at Bishop.
My initial thought was to write “The less said about this headwind the better,” but suffice to say that I started into it at an optimistic 20 mph, feeling strong coming off the Benton Checkpoint, and finished a couple of hours later, struggling to maintain 10 to 12 mph! Yes, it was ugly. The road was mostly straight, the scenery monotonous, and the wind relentless. Absolutely, irrevocably relentless. Nothing to entertain you or occupy your mind except the constant push into that detestable wind. Torture? No, I guess not quite torture, but the next thing to it! With 160 miles on my legs, and 10,000 vertical feel climbed, neither my legs, nor my brain was excited about working that hard, just to go that slow. And while I certainly understand quite well that “fair” has nothing to do with it, I really felt (in own my tired out and used up way) that this headwind wasn’t fair! But whatever, enough of my senseless and ultimately useless complaining. It was ugly, it was awful, but I did it, . . . we all did it, and eventually (after much pain and suffering) we rode into Bishop. Jackie tells me that the last riders had it easy, since the wind reversed direction after dark. Okay, fine, I guess I’m glad I was comfortable, showered and resting in my motel room bed by the time it got dark! I finished at 5 min. after 7:00, still quite light out, so I never did have to turn on my lights. That’s fine with me too! Oh, and did you notice? No bonus miles!
Jackie got back from her checkpoint about 8:30 PM, but I was way too tired to go out for dinner. I had a yogurt and two Oreos, and went to bed. Still hurting, but it was easy to get to sleep! Sunday morning we had breakfast with Joe and Judy at Denny’s across the street, which was fun (and reasonably tasty considering that it was Denny’s!), filled up the car with gas . . . and that’s about the last thing I remember until we were very close to home. I slept all the way into the city, then we went out to Soup Plantation for major refueling. When we got to the house, Jackie wanted to take a nap, and that sounded good to me too! We slept until 8:00 PM, got up and did a few things, then went to sleep for another seven hours. Sheesh, these doubles do require a bit of recovery time. Of course I knew that, but I also knew I was signed up for The Ride Around the Bear the following weekend, so my recovery would have to be effective to keep me from really hurting on The Bear. For that, and a full workweek, of course. Ain’t Life Fun! All the Rebels finished, although I’m not sure of the exact times. For those details, plus access the “Results and Details” below.
For Full Results, plus lots of entertaining details about the Eastern Sierra Double, please access the Planet Ultra website at: www.planetultra.com and click on the Eastern Sierra tab. As you can see from their photos, this really is a beautiful ride. As doubles go, it’s certainly not one of the easier choices, but neither is it one of the most difficult. Somewhere in between in the overall look of things double-wise; still the most challenging one I’ve ever completed! Maybe we’ll see you there next year?
Rick Burneson / OCRR
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We are excited to offer anyone who makes a productive post on this blog or our FACEBOOK or TWITTER pages an entry into a monthly drawing for a $25.00 voucher for any parts and accessories on HOLLYWOODRACKS.COM. GOOD LUCK!
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Please post any questions, comments or suggestions in this category
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Please post any questions, comments or suggestions in this category
Thanks
It’s always fun to take an existing product and create new and innovative mounting solutions. Having almost always owned a pick up truck, I have used many different bicycle carriers. One of the best new innovations is the bed track system, available as a stock item on many newer trucks as well as an add-on from other sources. With some nuts, bolts and modified washers, our 970 bike fork mount can be nicely adapted. Please follow us on facebook to post your ideas and comments.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hollywood-Racks/124205854301525