May 7: From CR-11 off of Rt-50 to about 10 miles north of the CR-10/Rt-6 junction on CR-10. Total mileage was 36 miles in 5:50 hrs of cycling with elevation gain of 4100 ft.
Ok since most you you probably wont’ read this until tomorrow morning, on Mother’s Day, my suggestion is this: get yourself a nice BIG cup of coffee and reserve some time plow through this blood and guts story! So today what I needed to do was split up the route into two sections because to do all at once from where I ended yesterday, with no support, would probably be a really bad idea, as the total mileage would likely be close to 80-90 miles. In order to split up the route into two supportable sections I had to find a road to get me to what would be the half way point, thus making two separate sections that I could ride today and tomorrow.
Well, I found it about 35 miles west of Ely up on Rt-50. It’s called CR-11 and it goes into the ghost mine town of Hamilton and then connects with the trail I need to ride east today, and then take the west section tomorrow. Sounded good…BUT the stretch to Hamilton is 10 miles of dirt-gravel and it reaches 8K in elevation - all climbing! I’d hoped that the ladies could drop me off at the junction and save me that 10-mile climb to be done on two days, but that was wishful thinking. My best case scenario was having them get me in about 5 miles so I’d just have 5 of climbing to the junction.
Second issue today was the weather, with the prediction of rain/snow all day with these little windows of good weather intermittently sprinkled every several hours. So I got up this morning and it was just blue sky and clouds in Ely. Checked the doplar radar and the weather report for Hamilton. Radar revealed this massive front of freezing race and snow just about 30 miles west of my intended route for the day. Hamilton (yea a weather report for a ghost town) weather said there was a period from 9 AM to 2 PM where the possibility of snow and showers was down to 25%. Between that window the possibility of precip was 50+%.
I hemmed and hawed for over an hour this morning, tracking that blob of ice/snow storm west of Hamilton. It seemed to be moving southwest. Finally, with the sky blue and filled with puffy clouds here in Ely, and what with my good luck or riding between storms yesterday, I dressed and let the ladies know that we were at least going to go west and check out the area. If it was good, I’d go, if it was bad then we’d come back here and sit the day out. We got up there, turned onto CR-11 and it looked a bit iffy but I thought I’d have plenty of time to get the hell out of there before the weather changed around 2 PM. You could see that ice storm blob just to the west in Eureka.
Well, we didn’t even drive down the road a half mile and I saw this thing get a little shaky further up the line, so I decided that I’d just have to bite the bullet and go the ten miles on my own. No chance did I want the van stuck with me or without me. So there it was. Told the ladies I’d be 3-4 hours - Hopefully - and maybe 5 hours if the going was tough. And off I went, climbing and climbing and climbing. Felt like total shit from yesterday’s ride, so that made things even worse. Man, the legs just were not there today. Looking at the GPS mileage as the miles ever so slowly ticked off. Got to seven miles in and the weather definitely looked to be falling apart on me. Then I hit these lenses of snow that totally X’d the road, forcing me to ride right on the edge of the road by this ditch.
Went through about 3 of those and finally got to the ghost town of Hamilton. I’d gone through a lot of wet spots so I began having issues with rocks and mud getting wedged into this little open space on my front derailleur. Now I had this issue last year, so I stopped and got a stick to pop the gravel out. But then it happened again and again, all the way to the ghost town. And by then snow was spitting down on me. Went into this vacant metal building to find some kind of metal rod to use to pull all the gravel out of my front derailleur. Also put on my goretex and polypro glove under my mt biking glove and pushed on through the snow and freezing rain.
Right out of the ghost town, that’s where things turned to total shit - muddy and water covered track for 2 miles. It was a total mud fest, and getting worse by the minute with all the snow and freezing rain. Finally mucked my way to the junction where I’d get on CR-10 and head east to meet the ladies where I’d finished yesterday. A little wooden sign indicated Cathedral Canyon to the right, and Ellison Creek Guard Station to the right, which is what I new to be my route. But the sign said Ellison Creek GS to be 17 miles, and I was thinking, “Shit, this could be a real killer if the whole track is mud choked, in addition to the looming bad weather.
And just when I started up the right branch, to begin a climb back up to 8K, my bike literally came to a complete stop. Looked down and all this half dried mud was caking on my wheels to the point to where they wouldn’t even turn. I mean totally clogged front and back with this thick, dry mud-clay mixture. Stopped, rotated the tires in reverse to get the clods out, remounted the bike and within five pedal strokes it was at a complete stop again. Went through this a couple more times before I yelled “UNCLE!” “Guess I’m going to have to push up to the pass,” I thought. But then as soon as I started pushing, not more than 10 later I feel my bike come to a complete stop. I mean the wheels wouldn’t even move. I’d have to roll the bike backwards so the clods would peal off and then roll again. Did this several time more and it was just as futile.
So there I was, with a bike I literally couldn’t even put up the climb, and the weather just turning to total shit. Have to say that for a moment I just felt completely helpless. What were my options? Well, I could ride back to Hamilton, through the mud, which was rideable at least, and then descend back to Rt-5O. But then the ladies would have no idea what the hell was going one. Would they drive back up to my entry point? Could I hitchhike out and go back to Ely? OR…do I continue to suffer through the mud cake climb and hope the terrain changes so I could ride the bike again? OR do I ditch the bike and hike back?
Well, couldn’t ditch the bike, so my choice were turn around or hope things change once I get over that second pass. I chose to suffer on, dragging, pushing, cussing, carrying the bike up the track. My shoes were like 40 lb weight on each foot, and I’d have to stomp them off on flat rocks every 5 or so minutes. I did find section where I could push the bike over the rubble on the side of the track for a hundred yards or so, but mostly I was just backing the bike constantly to uncake the mud from between my wheels. Did this for 3 miles up the track, and by that time my ride time was over three hours.
Thought there could be a good possibility of me doing a bivy in the mountains if that track never changed from the cake-fest of mud. Kept pushing on and on and on, and finally reached within about a half mile of the pass at 8200 feet, and by God, the track seemed to be a bit drying a bit from the lower section. I mean my wheels would turn without mud clogging up. So I cleaned all the mud off my shoes, cleats, and off the bike so the wheels would turn, mounted the bike and boom, the chain fell off the little cookie. Did the about 4 times and the chain dropped every time. So I manually put the chain on the middle ring, and I was able to ride. BUT I was in the middle ring and I just could not turn the pedals on that last section of climb.
Finally said the hell with it and dismounted and began pushing again, this time with the wheels turning, so I did have that going for me. Just couldn’t figure out why the chain wouldn’t work on the little ring. Stopped to check out the issue and found this big chunk of gravel wedged between the little cookie and the middle cookie, so it was derailing the chain on every revolution. Got out this piece of metal rod I’d gotten in the building in the ghost town for digging out mud and pebbles from my front derailleur. Was able to pry the gravel chunk out and off I went. Topped out and began the descent, knowing that I’d have another 8K pass to climb before the 18 mile descent down to Rt-6.
Was able to crank out the descent and then the next climb began. The track was still dry, so it seems as though the rain and snow had not even fallen on this particular area. So the climb began, and it was just tough as nails. My legs were just cooked from pushing and dragging the bike so that made this climb doubly more difficult. Finally got to a point to where the pitch of the climb was crazy steep. So much for my pride…I was off that puppy and pushing like hell, stopping every several hundred yards to catch my breath and take a break. God, that thing went on forever, and I’d see these other tracks going to heaven and I’d wonder if that was my track? Again, if one of those was my track, I’d be doing the bivy gig for sure cuz I was running on empty.
After pushing that bike up the pass for about 2 miles, at 1.7 mph, I finally hit the top - and it started snowing and spitting freezing rain again, with a crazy cold wind. Dawned all my cold weather and got to descending. By the time I was at 30 miles into the ride I was at over 5 hours in and just cold as hell. My hands were frozen despite my glove, and my winter cyclocross knickers were just soaked. I had goretex rain pants, but I was at the point to where I just wanted to pedal my ass of and get the hell off the mountain. I worried all the time about the track turning to a muckfest again, but nothing I could do.
Finally, I rode right into the sun and out of the freezing rain and snow. But damn, I was just so freaking cold it was crazy. And then, as I rounded this bend I see the van on the last ten miles of the descent, and there is Judy waving at me. Thanks GOD! Suppose I could have finished the descent, but I was shivering darned near uncontrollably. Stopped, thinking I’d just warm up and continue, but I was a mess, shivering like crazy in the van despite them having turned the heater up to full throttle. Decided then and there that I’d better just save that descent for tomorrow and go back and get warm.
I was wrapped in a blanket with my hoodie on and shaking like crazy as they drove back to Ely. Got to the motel, made a hot bath and soaked for 40 min, then showered and I was still cold. Vic and Jude were just awesome to me, treating me like a sick kid - washing my sodden laundry, making me dinner, you name it. Then they suggested some hot chicken noodle soup to further warm me up. I’m in on that! Judy drove to a chinese place and got me some Won Ton soup, a quart worth! It did the trick - I ended up pulling all the covers off me in the bed I was hunkered down in.
Ok, so tomorrow? It’s supposed to be worse than today with respect to the weather. Remember what I wrote yesterday….Me 1/Weather 0. Well, we’re all tied up now at 1/1, and I’m not about to temp fate again if the weather is sketchy up there. If need be we’ll sit tomorrow out here in Ely, and look towards next week for good weather, which is expected from Monday thru Friday. And then there’s the section I would have to re-ride to hit the western portion of the track….well, don’t know if that pup will dry out in time so I may have to make an alteration. No way in hell I’m going to be pushing the bike through the mud like that again!
Stay dry and keep warm……….I’m out.