The ride started in Bishop, California, on June 5, 2010. We left early in the morning, and rolled around through some farmland around Bishop and Round Valley. After Rest Stop 1, we had a super long climb out of Round Valley up to Tom's Place. We then arrived at Rest Stop 2.
After Rest Stop 2, we adjoined U. S. Highway 395 for a few miles. The road was crap. It had all this gravel on it, all over the shoulder. There was no way to avoid it. For 8 f***ing miles, we had to roll over that crap . . . on our skinny ass road tires. I was just praying that I would not get a flat or, even worse, a flat due to tire wall wear (which would be much harder to fix).
We finally got off that infernal highway, and had yet another tough climb to Mammoth Lakes. We then veered off onto Mammoth Scenic Loop. We climbed so high that there were patches of snow on the ground. This was my first time ever biking next to snow!! And biking above the snow level (in summer, no less)!
Even better, we hit a nice downhill on Mammoth Scenic Loop. Unfortunately, the road had all these cracks in it, so it was thud, thud, thud all the way down. But after all that climbing, I was not about to slow down. No sir.
We got back onto 395, and once again, it was gravel, gravel, gravel. Fortunately, the gravel eventually subsided, and the shoulder went back to normal. And we had another tough climb. I had to stop at least once, because I was starting to get a little tired. But I pressed on. And eventually I saw a sign: "Deadman Summit, Elevation 8,047 Feet." Yes! The top! And over 8,000 feet. I have never biked so high in my life. This was awesome.
From there on out, it was mostly descent. We descended past June Lake, Silver Lake (which was actually very blue, and beautiful) and Grant Lake. We then hit 395 again, rode through Lee Vining, and then arrived at lunch. At that point, I was really tired.
I ate my Subway sandwich slowly, and just took a moment to relax, overlooking Mono Lake. I needed it, because there was still another peak to climb. So I finished my lunch, relaxed a bit, and then headed back out.
We returned on 395, but this time headed to State Route 120 and headed east. I was starting to feel better now, so I started jamming down that highway. We then started our last long climb of the day. It was getting hot. I reached the "false summit", and then continued through this field. Then, all of a sudden, I got caught in a vortex. I got hit by a sudden gust of headwind, which then immediately turned into a crosswind, and then immediately pushed me as a tailwind. Weird!
One more climb, and then I reached the highest point of the ride: Sagehen Summit. 8,139 feet. I got my picture taken, relaxed for a little bit, and then started up again, reveling in the fact that the rest of the ride was mostly downhill!
I started jamming down State Route 120, enjoying my well-deserved downhill after all that climbing. But then, we hit these nasty (and I mean, nasty), cracks in the road. Thud, thud, thud . . . for about 20 miles. Oh my goodness, it was awful! I thought for certain that, either my wheels would become untrue, or my tires would pop from all the pressure of hitting those cracks. And actually, one rider did crack a rim. But I survived. Bike abused . . . but not broken.
After the last rest stop in Benton, I hit U. S. Highway 6 South. I wanted to finish the ride in under 16 hours, so I just jammed down that highway as fast as I could. I think I averaged about 23 mph. Anyways, I pushed really hard, helped by a bit of a tailwind, and flew into the city of Bishop. After a few aggravating stoplights, I arrived at the finish line: 15 hours, 32 minutes.
Once I arrived at the finish table, I gave the ride officials my name. And they told me that I had just won the Planet Ultra Grand Slam! The Grand Slam is when you finish at least 4 Planet Ultra double centuries (or multi-day rides) within a calendar year. And thus far this year, I had finished the Camino Real Double, the Solvang Spring Double, the Heartbreak Double and (this one) the Eastern Sierra Double. This ride also represented my sixth double of the year, when you include the Death Valley Spring and Borrego Double Ordeal.
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