TOURING: ALTITUDE AND ATTITUDE
By Bill Bruce
When I was first approached to join in with three other riders on a 600 mile tour through the California Sequoia and Sierra mountain ranges it was easy to say Yes when the departure date was six months away. But as weeks progressed and plans were being formalized I realized this was for real, and I had better get with the program and do some serious training.
A bit of background....I am retired, 64 years old, riding enthusiastically for about 15 years. I began my recumbent riding in 1989 (Linear/ Infinity, LWB - USS) but for lack of recumbent riding partners, after a couple of years, I sold both bikes and reverted back to (arghhhh) riding my wedgies! Longing for those comfortable rides I fondly remembered, I purchased a used Tour Easy in the spring of 1996, and the love affair started all over again. I havent ridden a wedgie since, but have expanded my fleet to include a BikeE and a Rotator, and completed building a Bentech.
But, back to the present. While this tour was scheduled to be a credit-card tour (sleeping in motels and eating in restaurants) it was going to be mountainous and training was a definite factor. Carrying over a good base from last year, I began spending more riding time in the hills around Fresno (California) and had approximately 2500 miles logged in by our departure date which was June 17th, 1997. Two full centuries, one double century, and many metric centuries gave me a good foundation for spending time in the saddle. (Actually, I shouldnt refer to it as a saddle, as on a TE, it is more like riding a Serta Perfect Sleeper.)
Because I would be accompanying 3 riders on conventional road bikes (2 Schwinn Paramounts, and 1 Schwinn Tempo) I was determined to prove the performance and reliability of the Tour Easy (and to disprove the recumbents cant climb curse). The bike was in top shape, and I was counting on my body to see me through this undertaking. (Undertaking, not undertaker!!)
ABOUT THE BIKE: Tour Easy, size medium, with the following specs....175 crank, with 28/38/54 chainrings, and a 13-30 rear cassette. SPD type pedals. IRC 1 1/8th high pressure front tire, and a Vittoria high pressure 1-1/4 rear. Half Zipper fairing, and a Uni rear wheel disc cover. Rear rack with expandable trunk bag (with about 8 pounds of contents) 3 waterbottles (large). Carried spare 20" front tire, and basic tools and pump. Total bike weight, loaded, approx. 47 pounds.
ABOUT THE GEAR: In addition to the bib-shorts and jersey I wore, which I washed out every night, I carried spare socks, tee shirt and nylon work out type pants (for formal evening wear) a swim suit, jacket, arm and leg warmers, plastic trash bags (for use as poncho) and personal toiletries. (Being one of that high percentage of recumbent riders with a beard, I saved weight by not bringing a razor.) Credit card and cash rounded out my gear.
ABOUT MY RIDING PARTNERS: A couple, aged 60 and 59, and a single man aged 45. The retired couple had accumulated lots of training miles, and while the youngster among us still works, and lacked the training opportunities, he was so psyched up mentally it compensated for his lack of training miles.
ABOUT THE ROUTE: From Fresno our route took us south and east crossing over the Sequoias, to the eastern side of the mountain range, north through the high desert areas through the ski resort areas of Mammoth and eventually up Tioga Pass through the Sierras and into Yosemite Valley, westerly out of Yosemite and eventually back to Fresno. Tioga Pass (elevation 9940') is closed during the winter, and was open for vehicle traffic about a week before we arrived.
If you have access to a California map and follow the route you can see our general directions from Fresno south, then east, then north, then west, and lo and behold we got back home.
CLIMBING is what this tour was all about. The second day was by far the hardest with over 6500' of climbing in 25 miles, with some monster switchbacks and very HOT. It took us about six hours to reach the summit which was about 30 miles into the ride, and left us another 30 miles and 1500' of climbing to our lodging. We were about 15 miles short of our initial destination for the night, but found a great cabin at a little resort right on the Kern River so took advantage of the owners hospitality. He even drove us over and back to a restaurant about 4 miles down the road.
Our third day was very difficult again because of the heat and our scarcity of water. It seems we were always on the verge of running out, and even insulated bottles dont keep that last half of your last bottle cool! While Walker Pass had only half as much climbing as our second day, most of the 4000' came in the last 15 miles over the top. We had a screaming descent into InyoKern.....I was braking at 50 mph. When we checked into our motel it was 104 degrees.
Working our way north up Highway 395 we continued to deal with lots of climbing, but also had a couple of days of high winds. (In your 30/28 and going 5 or 6 mph on the flats...TROUBLE!!)
TIOGA PASS is one of highest passes in California through the Sierras at 9940' and as the day got nearer to climb this pass it weighed heavily on our minds. However, once we started the climb it didnt seem to have the degree of difficulty that we faced on our second day out. We had about 3100 feet of climbing in eleven miles. Commencing the climb at LeVining, at an altitude of 6800' I was already running on a lean mixture of oxygen, and my biggest challenge of the tour came once I passed the 8500' elevation.
Up until this point of my tour I had not found it necessary to get off the bike (other then for taking rest breaks) but I must admit on this climb the thin air got to me. I found myself almost hyper-ventilating and unable to get into a comfortable rhythm of breathing so I would get off the bike and walk a bit until my breathing returned to normal, then get back on and ride some more. This procedure got me the final couple of miles to the top, and once we got going down the other side, when we hit 8000' the air tasted as thick as Karo syrup!
After that first descent we still had another 3000' of climbing into Yosemite Valley with a total of 80 miles! But, I must say, it was one of our most scenic days!
YOSEMITE VALLEY of course was breathtaking, and even with all the tourists (us included) there were enough beautiful sights to go around for everyone! The severe flood that took its toll early in 1997 left some reminders, but all in all the Park has healed, and looked better then ever.
PROBLEMS AND CLOSE CALLS were at a minimum. NO flats, or mechanical problems for any of us. Narrow roads and motor homes were an ever present danger (especially if they forget to put their steps back up). Many days the heat was so overpowering we didnt know whether to drink our water or pour it over us!
On the severe switchbacks there was ALWAYS oncoming traffic which never allowed you to get on the high side of the road and kept you down in the hole which probably increased the grade another 3-4 %!
We were off our bikes taking a break on a long climb, and a wayward truck almost wiped us out coming up the shoulder on a narrow two lane road trying to allow a car to pass. Saw two rattle snakes, both dead! (We thought that truck was going to allow us to join them.)
Bug bites, chapped lips, and heat rash were minor annoyances. After a few days on the road, the wedgie riders were constantly doing a lot of readjustments of their saddle posture (as I sat comfortably in my recliner and smiled).
GOOD THINGS were happening to us all the time! Pulling into remote little spots throughout the mountains, and especially in the parks, the bikes always drew attention. Once the recumbent was spotted it drew even bigger reactions! We all enjoyed the good wishes and I never short changed anyone who asked of me, How much did that cost? Did you make that? Those things cant climb, can they? etc. We met some young hikers who were coming up the Pacific Crest trail from Mexico.
An ice cream truck going between towns stopped and the driver gave us an ice cream bar. Travellers stopped along the highway at scenic overlooks gave us water. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing us on the road, except for a very small number of drivers who gave us the usual salute and honks.
CONCLUSION: Having done multi-day tours in the past on wedgies, I found that touring on my recumbent was far superior. This tour by far was my most demanding, and even after some gruelling days, once our destination was reached, and I cleaned up I felt great! Credit card touring was fun, and I didnt miss sleeping in a tent and sleeping bag! By splitting the motel costs with the other single fellow, this tour cost me less then $600 which was a bargain for value received. (All four of us by the way are still friends!)
This tour has reinforced my belief that the Tour Easy is one of the finest recumbents available for touring, comfort, climbing, and speed. Whether climbing at 5 mph or descending at 50 mph I always felt in control. On a rating of 1 to 10, my comfort factor was a 10! (The hot weather did cause my feet to burn a bit, and when I could afford it, I watered them down also!)
Take advantage of any opportunity to take a tour through the mountains just to show yourself and all you meet that with the right ATTITUDE, ALTITUDE is not a problem. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, AND recumbents CAN climb!!
TOTAL MILES: 633
TOTAL GAIN: 38,000
WORDS TO LIVE BY AND LESSONS LEARNED
1. Always carry a roll of fruit flavored Lifesavers with you, as they greatly relieve a dry mouth when low on water.
2. Never trust locals on their description of the route remaining, especially if they are on a motorcycle.
3. Dont ever eat meatloaf sandwiches in a strange restaurant, but instead order a hamburger well done and dry.
4. Choose a banana and a powerbar for breakfast over any greasy combo breakfast from a chain restaurant.
5. When you need an energy fix, a frozen burrito in a mini mart does wonders.
6. You know you are hurting when you hate downhills knowing there is still another 1000' of climbing left before your destination.
7. Always carry a small bottle of White Lightning with you wherever you may go!
8. Dont use Uni style disc covers on a tour. (Speed advantage not worth the cross wind problem)
