Sierra Quest Tour 2014

[Carl Sanders]

Sierra Quest Tour 2014 (SQT)

 

09.06 - 09.20.16

15 consecutive days of riding; covering 915 miles including 99,000' of climbing. 

 

SQT Goal: To establish a new and epic mountain bike route that traverses the entire western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Summary: This was an mountain bike tour like no other. Carl attempted to pioneer a new and continuous adventure cycling route across the full length of the Sierra Nevada mountain range on mixed terrain. He traveled solo and unsupported; passing through six National Forests, three National Parks, across 12 major river drainages and visited two historic fire lookouts along the way. Adventure cycling is an emerging new outdoor sport. The Sierra Quest Tour was an opportunity to showcase and promote this exciting new means by which to explore our world by bicycle.

Route Description: During two weeks from 9.6 to 9.20.14, Carl traveled solo by mountain bike, equipped with light-weight Revelate frame bags and miscellaneous camping gear, covering  over 900 miles of dirt and paved roads, including some unusual single track trails and rock strewn 4X4 tracks, while climbing nearly 100,000' of ridges, passes and peaks along the way. Carl rode a Gary Fisher carbon 29er Superfly with Stans Crest rims and used a dyno-hub and auxillary battery to charge his various electrical gadgets.

The journey started at Tehachapi Pass, 30 miles east of Bakersfield at the southern terminus of the Sierra Range.  Fifteen days later, the Quest was completed when Carl crossed over Fredyoner Pass, at the northern end of the Sierra, some 40 miles west of Chico, and just south of Mt. Lassen.  

The Sierra Quest has been mapped using <ridewithgps.com> and has been divided into 15 unique continuous segments, each averaging about 60 miles over 9,000' climbing per day. Re-supplies of food, fuel and any needed gear was mailed in advance to six different US Post Offices found along or near the primary route.

Along the Quest, Carl will visited two historic Civilian Conservation Corps fire lookouts built in the early 1930s, each situated along key vantage points over the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. The Breckinridge fire look out at the southern end of the range and later the Sierra Buttes toward the northern end served as fantastic places to survey the mighty Sierra range and provide a unifying theme to this grand bike adventure.

Given extreme drought conditions across the entire Sierra range and the King Fire that exploded directly in his planned course of travel, Carl had to quickly devise numerous detours long the Quest in order to find water and avoid wildfires. These unique conditions forced the Quest off many southern Sierra ridge lines that lacked any water and in the central part of the range, down onto to paved roads that avoided the rapidly spreading fire and billowing smoke. Consequently, the total milage and elevation was slightly less than the 1,000 miles of riding and 125,000' of climbing expected. 

The unexpected diversions were all part of the adventure. Crossing paths with numerous black bears and deer hunters kept it interesting. Camping alone or a few sites from an old beat-up van in an otherwise empty area, kept Carl alert. By chance encounters with other travellers were often entertaining.

Only one broken spoke and one flat tire. No other mechanicals or injuries.

As the Quest still is not fully complete, with epic mountain riding still unfinished and unknown connectors between areas by-passed this year, plans are already underway for another go in the near future. An earlier start in the season or some snow and run-off may likely be key to full-filling the vision of this Quest.

In the works is an audio/visual presentation of the Quest that will tell a more complete narrative of this journey.

Tracking Progress: for those interested in maps and photos of Carl’s northward progress, he rode with a Samsung Galaxy S5 (415.870.5125) using a live-tracking app that downloaded to the <ridewithgps> website, as cell reception permited. Maps, comments and geo-tagged photos can be viewed by:

1.     Sign up with <ridewithgps> (free!)

2.     Select ‘starter membership’

3.     Select ‘Friends’, then ‘Friends to Add’

4.     Search for ‘Carl’ (do not include his last name), then scroll down near the bottom of the list and select ‘Carl Sanders’

5.     Select ‘Add Friend’ and look for ‘Request Sent’

 

Carl will then receive/accept your request and you can then view his progress northward!

 

Contact Info:

Carl Sanders

415.870.5125

a href="mailto:[e-mail]">[e-mail]>

[shiloh]

You're a madman Carl.  It's good to hear that you and your bike survived.  I'm sure the shop will be seeing you soon as your bike is likely completely worn out.