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The Second Coming
Gold Rush Randonnée - The California 1200K (2005)
by Ken Bonner
John Marino Competition for ultra riders of the season
Bonner has ridden over 100,000 km of official brevets and randonnées, including 21 - 1200k rides: Paris-Brest-Paris, Boston-Montreal-Boston, London-Edinburgh-London, Gold Rush, Last Chance 1200, Rocky Mountain 1200 and Cascades 1200. The Gold Rush was the second of his 2005 quad: Cascade, Gold Rush, BMB and Last Chance. Bonner was kind enough to write the story while "tapering" for BMB - by riding a million meters in British Columbia.
In the beginning, there was California. California begot Davis, which begot the Davis Bike Club, which, in turn, begot the 2001 Gold Rush Randonnée. In anticipation of the predicted Second Coming of the Gold Rush Randonnée in 2005, a relatively large number of true believers indicated their intention to make the pilgrimage to Davis and the subsequent enlightening struggle on bicycles to the high desert of northeast California, and return. At the beginning of the excursion into the high hills, one hundred committed rando-riders assembled to hear the final words of warning and encouragement as they sweltered under the "cool" 95° F evening sun. An excellent and accurate route description is at the Davis Bike Club website
Jack Holmgren photo |
The talk among riders during and after the 2001 Gold Rush was the high level of personal support at the controls. The high level of personal support was very evident again. The home-cooked meals, ice-cream and words of encouragement at Taylorsville were typical of support at all of the controls. This year everyone's personal story revolved around the high temperatures (higher than 2001) during the afternoon of each day, particularly in the valley where Susanville is situated (mile 248 and mile 512). A number of riders decided that the 100° F was more than they could endure on the climb to Antelope Summit, which one could see from the control - no shade and the full strength of the sun bearing on one's back. (This rider recorded a high of 112° F in the shade on the way to the top of Antelope Summit.)
The heat, hills and mechanical problems took a toll and a number of riders decided to stop. After an initial sense of despair that they could not finish the ride, many of these riders offered to help out at controls, or in the GRR sag vehicles. The surprise for a number of these folks was how much fun they experienced helping out and meeting so many more enthusiastic folks than if they had continued riding. Typical of this group of rando-riders, veteran long distance rider John Guth, wrote "Thanks Davis Bike Club - best DNF anyone could have, especially a bike rider with no bike, 3000 miles from home, wandering around northern California in a jersey, spandex tights and no shoes for three days."
Jack Holmgren photo |
The trip out to the former gold and diamond mining area of Oroville is mostly traversed in the dark. However, the roads are essentially flat, with a tailwind and warm temperatures (83° F at midnight in Oroville) making for a pleasant journey to the beginning of the climbs to the high desert. The climb up to Jarbo Gap in the dark provides lots of time for the "deep" night-time conversations to which many rando-riders look forward.
The climbs on GRR are mostly of several miles in length. True to the course description, these climbs are generally in the 6-8% range, except for the much talked about Janesville Grade - which is rumoured to be in the 13 to 20% range. This hill is fun to go down, but a bit of struggle on the return trip (mile 540) with a 10% approach, 100° F temperature and tired legs.
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In spite of the concentration of climbing in the middle of the randonnée, two recumbents were part of the lead group of five riders for the majority of the ride. It would be interesting to see how these recumbent riders would fare on the Cascade 1200 or Boston - Montreal - Boston 1200, where there is significantly more climbing than most other 1200K randonnées.
If one consumes plenty of liquid and rides at a moderate pace, one can enjoy the scenic offerings of the ride. Some sights to look forward to are
Encountering wildlife is not a likely occurrence. There are clouds of small insects, which seem to arrive at sunset in such places as the wild life refuges and the Feather River Canyon (unless one is looking for extra protein, don't open your mouth too wide while cycling!). A bear, a few coyotes, a mountain lion and one large dead rattlesnake were reported. At the high desert water stop near the California Forestry station, the unflappable Bill Bryant, RUSA President, was asked by the staff if everything had gone alright (Bill was sleeping overnight in a tent). Bill responded in the affirmative. The staff person then gave a sigh of relief, and told Bill that they had been having trouble with mountain lions in the area!
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This is not the Hollywood/San Francisco area of California with which most folks are familiar, but for those who are looking for a less urban experience, one should check out the tourist bureaus of towns along the GRR route for interesting features of the area. Davis is noted for a campus of the University of California and for a cycling-friendly small town experience. Oroville has many attractions, including access to the recreational areas of Lake Oroville and the Feather River Canyon. In addition to access to wilderness recreational areas, Susanville has several wall murals worth viewing. One of the riders wondered where all the antelope were to be found, since there were so many places, which included "antelope" in the name, for example, Antelope Lake and Antelope Summit. Perhaps they are found "home on the range" in Wyoming!
The next Gold Rush Randonnée is scheduled for 2009. Put it in your calendar now, then ride the Last Chance 1200, Boston-Montreal-Boston, Rocky Mountain 1200, Cascades 1200 or Paris-Brest-Paris in the interim and come prepared for a friendly, supportive and unique 1200k randonnée.
Preparing for brevets and 1200Ks
Qualifying for RAAM
John Marino Competition
1200Ks in 2005:
[ Cascade
| Gold Rush
| Boston-Montreal
| Last Chance ]
Gold Rush:
[ 2001
| 2005
]
| First Finishers | |
| First Men | Time |
Keith Fraser |
58:26 |
Tony Mellisop |
58:26 |
Bryce Walsh |
58:26, RAAM qualified |
Tim Woudenberg |
58:26 |
Ken Bonner |
63:36 |
Michael Sturgill |
64:18 |
Scott McIntosh |
64:53 |
Ed Kross |
65:51 |
Peter Hewitt |
66:29 |
Peter Morrissey |
69:54 |
Jeff Weible |
70:31 |
Dana Bradshaw |
70:33 |
Kenneth Holloway |
70:33 |
Ove Nilsson |
70:41 |
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First Women |
|
Nancy Guth |
77:43 |
Merry Vander Linden |
77:43 |
Janet Christiansen |
79:19 |
Patty Jo Struve |
80:01 |