cw trek ice road bikers — the sequel

Day 1: Heading For High Country Meadows

october 5-7, 2007| by John Siebenthaler: photos©john siebenthaler

taking business to market Our transition checkpoint from pavement to dirt required a quick stop for an odometer reset. With the mileage zeroed out we set about the business of navigating a new route, which for me meant keeping one eye on the trip roll, one eye on the GPS, and one eye on the trail. This is the ultimate multi-tasking for the task challenged.

The riding was great. Brief showers earlier in the week had dampened the dust considerably. The air was as clear as I’ve ever seen it, and the sun even popped out to warm things up to a very comfortable mid-40s. Halfway to our lunch stop the weather again turned overcast as the temperature began slumping back into the 30s. By the time we’d reached the first water crossing we detected signs of sleet and those who now realized their cold weather gear was somewhere other than on their backs began wondering how bad it might get over the next 110 miles before we could put our feet up by the fire.

When you live east of the Rockies, south of the Mason-Dixon and at a 35-foot elevation which means that your hurricane flood zone designation doesn’t require evacuation, the blinding blizzard at 6,000 feet frame of reference is a little thin.

Mike’s hands were already feeling the effects of the cold. I tossed him the gloves I’d been wearing so he could double up and pulled on the Weathergear pair I’d brought along for just this occasion. I buttoned up the collar on my ride jacket to help protect my throat against heat loss and then rechecked our bearings. Everything looked good and the cheeseburgers on the other end couldn’t come soon enough.

Right On Schedule
Even though we were among the last out of Oakhurst, we pulled into our lunch stop right on schedule. Jones Store’s located just a few miles south of Yosemite. As we rode up the sun broke through right on cue, just long enough for me to get a few shots off before I headed inside to huddle around the wood stove and wait for some hot food.

The next time I looked out a thick, wet snow was falling hard enough to have already covered the bike seats. In 2004 a similar situation came up. It was the last day of Trek, and we had to get back down off the mountain to Oakhurst. An early blizzard blew in before dawn and with it the possibility that the pass to Shaver Lake could close, necessitating a longer route around Lake Huntington and thus more exposure.

Lessons learned that year were the reason I had Under Armor and Thor cold weather gear this trip. Lessons forgot meant my rain suit was on its way to the lodge packed safely away on the gear truck.

Alternate Plan B
For Scott, it didn’t look good. Riding in nothing but an MX jersey he was really feeling the effects of the cold. After scrounging an event tee he scored a sweat shirt from CW editor Dave Edwards. Since at this point we were still about four hours on a good day of following the roll chart from our destination, we decided the more prudent decision might be the quickest road ride to Sierra Summit.

I cancelled the ride course and punched in Sierra Summit as the new destination.  With fastest way selected, at 75 miles the Zumo calculated we could make it in just under two hours. We filled up at the quaint manual gas pump, headed into the storm and for the rest of the ride passed through the most incredible weather I’ve ever ridden in.

At first the precipitation alternated between sleet and snow. As we dropped down in elevation, we’d pass through brief rain showers. At one point we rounded a curve only to encounter several miles of inches deep slush blanketing the road, just as if someone’d laid down a giant Icee carpet. Abu's Quickee Mart Slurpee machine couldn't have spread a better layer. The only thing funny about that was the large group of touring riders headed in the opposite direction without a clue about what lay ahead.

By the time we reached North Fork we had to take a break. The Buckhorn Saloon and Restaurant on Main Street provided the perfect setting for hot coffee and storm strategy. Scott immediately headed for the open fireplace. The heat of the roaring fire threatened to melt his gloves as his soggy sweat shirt quickly began steaming. Meanwhile Eric scrounged a roll of duct tape to fashion face guards against the cold. My bandana was holding up fine.

This Is Really Gonna’ Sting — Really
Our next destination was Shaver Lake. At an altitude of 5,600 ft. that meant we’d get colder by a bunch before we'd get warmer. We pulled our still wet but nearly room temp gear back on, remounted and continued to drop down in elevation over the next few miles. For a short time, we enjoyed a perfect back road ride highlighted by warm shafts of sunlight on the grassy hillsides.

But almost immediately after turning onto 168 at Pine Ridge for the rest of the ride in, the brief respite vanished as we climbed back into the storm. The sub-freezing temperatures wouldn’t let up until we finally pulled into Sierra Summit over an hour later, encrusted in layers of ice and snow, desperate for a drink and a fire.

My goggles were coated in frozen sleet. My hands were okay, but my fingers were frozen stumps hooked to a permanently on Taser. Even with brushguards, which helped deflect some of the wind, and the better than nothing but still not that good Thor cold weather gloves, my digits just quit working. And at that I was in better shape than a lot of others.

The Under Armour Cold Gear mock jersey worked perfectly. I’ve also taken to wearing Under Armour’s skull cap. Bought to add a layer of wicking material between the helmet liner and a sweaty head during hot rides, the dryfit microfiber also works very well as an added thermal layer in cold weather.

For Others It Was Worse
Experts say the most body heat escapes from the throat and top of the head, so keeping those two areas protected made a big difference. My bandana, usually worn for dust filtering, helped protect my throat as well as providing face protection against the wind driven snow.

As the rest of the ride straggled in over the next several hours, many soaked to the bone and freezing cold, it was clear this wasn’t your average weather event. Even world-class enduro rider and Baja and ISDT champion Scot Harden could only shake his head as he all but sat in the stove blazing away in the lounge. Welcome to Trek.