Death Valley Double 2013, 'Last One'

[Carl Sanders]

Arriving 15 minutes ahead of the 7:00 AM start at Furnace Creek Ranch, put me in the second wave of 60 riders at 7:10 AM, 10 minutes behind the lead group. No bother. This was the last double of my season and I was planning on taking it easy for a change. 

I carried a camera and fully intended to take in the sights and experience of another long ride in the desert. Death Valley is an amazing place to ride; wide open vistas, the rocks and bones of the earth exposed, alluvial gravel fans spread out below the mountains and smooth relatively empty roads made for truly a epic experience. The Death Valley Double was mostly an out-and-back excursion, heading north from Furnace Creek, over to Stove Pipe Wells, then north again and finally east into Nevada where we turned back around with a side trip out to Ubehebe Crater on the return leg.

I grabbed shots of the long shadows of the riders on the road heading out toward Stove Pipe Wells at sunrise. Salt flats, sand dunes and alluvial gravel made for a Mars-like landscape in the background. Camera pointed toward myself, I tried to capture the feeling of pedaling through a seemingly endless, expansive desert realm.

Quickly the pace lines fell apart and I settled into my own lonely groove on new aero bars; forearms resting comfortably on foam pads, hands forward, as if in prayer. Over the course of 200 miles, there were numerous long spells, where, despite the 10 or more miles of visibility, I could see no riders fore or aft. Falling into a spell, I'd stare down at my Garmin, attempting to maintain a high 90 - 100 rpm pedaling cadence as the asphalt rolled by beneath m

Despite the ten minute delay in my start time, I had surprisingly passed nearly all double riders in both the second and first waves by mile 95 at Scotty's Junction in Nevada. Heading back toward Scotty's Castle, it seemed only five more riders remained ahead of me. 

Crazed by the desert solitude, I took off after the lead group of five.

The mellow temps in the 80s and gentle breeze made for ideal endurance riding weather. 

Still on my own, stopping at each aid only long enough for a quick re-fuel and re-hydrate, I crouched into my aero position and pedaled off into the never-ending distance. Rather surreal.

Another self-portrait at Ubehebe Crater, then a gentle climb back over the Death Valley Wash, and then a long rolling descent to the final insult at Mud Canyon. The six miles at a 6% grade at mile 169, just about cracked me, as I took out three more riders on this painful little climb to Hell's Gate.

One last sunset shot with Corkscrew Peak for a back drop, and then I charged on for the final 11 mile drag race back to Furnance Creek in the fading light. Tired, I must have been, spacing out on the white line along the road edge. One white line painted over another, appeared to speed by beneath me like two film reals run through the same projector. Like some crazy oscilloscope, I was mesmerized by the two white lines snaking back and forth in some weird low-frequency vibe. It seemed I was stationary and the road was moving by under me like some weird tread mill.

'Focus!' I demanded of myself as I targeted the final undulating stretch of road leading to dark patch of green in the waning light, that was the finish at Furnace Creek in the far distance.

As I lay totally spent on the grass by the finish tent at 6:40 PM, I kept hearing my name being mentioned by the race officials. I figured they were trying to sort out my time and place. Finally I got up and went over to their tent to see what the fuss was about. One official asked if I was Carl Sanders and when I responded with an affirmative, he handed me a note saying that I needed to contact my friend Mark right away and that my wife Lynne was in the hospital!

I would learn that Lynne had fallen off her horse and had a severe head concussion. Her condition was not critical, but she would be spending the night at Marin General Hospital for observation. Not physically or mentally capable of making the 10 hour drive back home that night, I made plans for an immediate early morning departure the next day.

Back home in record time, I found a somewhat groggy and pained Lynne who has been slowly recovering ever since. Thankfully, she's gonna be alright.

Crazy finish to my last long day on the saddle this season. 

Apparently, my total elapsed time of 11:32, was forth fastest for the day, just behind Darren Hancock at 11:29, Brian Volkoff at 11:27 and a blazing fast 10:59 finish by the first female and fastest rider of the day, Sarah Cooper. Damn!  So close...