Put this one on your calendar for next year - I already have!

The ride was very well organized, well supported, the food was good and plentiful, it was challenging enough and the countryside is breath-taking!

It is a bit of a drive… about five hours from the Grass Valley/Nevada City area.

We were getting pretty hungry by the time when we reached Gardnerville, NV. Luckily, we stopped in at the JT Basque Bar & Dining Room (1426 US Highway 395 N, Gardnerville, NV 89410 (775) 782-2074). The staff was great, the food was fantastic and the prices reasonable. It was obviously a popular place for locals.

Whitmore Baseball Fields, where the ride starts and finishes, is south of Mammoth Lakes - if you are coming from the North, keep an eye out for a green church on the left side of Highway 395. The fields had public rest rooms (as well as port-a-potties for the riders). There was plenty of manicured lawn for tent camping and parking for self-contained trailers and RVs. Also, there was a pool nearby with free showers and swimming for after the ride.

It’s hard to guess how many riders participated (about 640, I hear). We didn’t wait for anything throughout the day. Aid stations (food, water and electrolyte replacement drinks) were well stocked with a variety of goodies and the folks there were friendly and helpful. There were plenty of port-a-potties (short waits). There was very little traffic. There were frequent sag wagons cruising the route, so if anyone needed one, they probably didn’t wait too long. A bike mechanic was at the rest stops.

The ride was well worth the trip!

The view from the parking area.

Sunrise brings bicycles!

Registration was quick and easy.

We started at 8 a.m.

The road toward Benton, south of Mono Lake.

Easing back to the end of the pace line.

We're approaching Mono Lake.

Near the Mono Mills rest stop.

Heading toward Sagehen summit.

The highway expansion joints could loosen your teeth!

The lunch was great! I ate and ate...

I wonder if the expansion joints will aid digestion?

The rest stop before a 6 mile climb.

The beginning of the climb.

She defied gravity on the climb, too!

I was captured by the PhotoCrazy cameras as I rode by.

And now, for the numbers…

The ride was 95 miles, and my elevation graph looked like this (5624 ft. ascent):

Elevations for the High Sierra Century

At 50 miles, before lunch, we were averaging 18 mph! At the end of the day, I averaged 16.5 mph, my average heart rate was 153 b.p.m., and my average cadence was 80 r.p.m. I probably was riding a little too hard for the first half… I didn’t have a lot of energy left at the end of the ride!

- Frank Pedrick

Photos, except for “PhotoCrazy” are Copyright 2008 Frank Pedrick