| This makes the
4th time we've ridden from Dardanelle on the
West side, over the top and down to Leavitt Meadows (USMC winter
warfare training camp) on the East side...and back. October
14, 2001. |
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So who are these guys? Didn't get their names, but they
were both riding bikes they'd picked up at Chain Reaction, and had
read the website and decided to try the pass themselves.
They left a bit earlier than us so we didn't see them until they
were on the way back. They left at 8:15am.
Our group consisted of Eric from our Los Altos
store, Richard Brockie, alumni from our Redwood City store, Jeff
Kazan, one of our reps, and myself. We started out at 9:40am.
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| 10:07am I'm
always a sucker for a picture of cyclists riding next to a
noisy stream. |
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| 10:22am finds Eric powering up
one of many steep sections, heading towards the dreaded
"Window", home of the 26% grade! |
11:08am Despite what Martha
Stewart would have you believe, you do not have to go to New
England for magnificent fall colors. This is Richard Brockie,
doing Klein proud (click on this photo for an enlargement). |
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| 11:23am and we see Jeff coming
up over the steepest section of the "Golden
Staircase." Ouch! If you can make it to the 9,000
foot sign, you've got it made. |
11:24am catches Jeff heading
into the easier part of Blue Canyon. From here to the top is
a relatively easy climb. |
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| 11:42am and Jeff's made it to
the top! Not a record time, but not too bad, either. |
12:32pm and we're approaching
the turnaround point at the USMC winter warfare training camp. |
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| 12:47pm and we're heading
back. The marine base was locked up tight, but we persuaded
a couple of base guards to let us fill our bottles from their 5
gallon jug. They wouldn't allow a photo though! |
1:12pm The first big climb on
the way back... one of many. The return climb isn't as
continuous, but it often feels worse than the west side,
particularly as you near the top. |
1:19pm Above, Eric deals with a nasty little wall, emerging
over the top and wondering what could possibly be next... but the
answer is always the same. Beautiful views, few cars, and
another big climb!
1:27pm Right, yet another postcard-worthy
view. This one may be worthy of an enlargement, and possibly comes
closest to catching the essence of the east side of the pass.
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| 1:45pm You climb up (and up)
and up (and up some more) to get to one last spot where you can
take a bit of a breather. Of course, at 9,000 feet, it might
just feel like your last breath! |
2:17pm The inset shows Eric
pointing to what lies ahead... the final climb to the top.
The seemingly- impossible final section. One of the most
unfriendly pieces of road imaginable. Up,
up, UP! |
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| 2:27pm Just 10 minutes later
and Eric's rounding the final bend to the top. This is one
of those obligatory photos that ends up in every Sonora Pass
scrapbook. |
2:43pm We're heading
down! In this case, down into Blue Canyon and the Golden
Staircase. That green sign at the end of the straight
section is 9000ft. |
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| 2:44pm I finally take a photo
almost worthy of the immense beauty and steepness of Blue
Canyon! It took me four trips to finally land this one. |
3:03pm I pull off to the side
and get a shot of the others way way way down the hill (and no, I
can't see them in this shot either, but they're there). |
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 3:20pm
We're back! The two newcomers, Eric & Jeff, said they'd
never ridden anything line this before, and it definitely lived up
to their expectations (so far, there's only been one person who
thought that I've over-hyped this nifty little ride).
One thing to note before trying this ride on
your own. The water situation can be extremely
serious. You're going to go through at least four large
bottles of water, and the only reliable place you can find it is
at the start (in Dardanelle). We checked water faucets at a
couple campsites on the east side... none worked. And none
of the marine encampments, where we'd gotten water on past rides,
were occupied.
I'd strongly suggest carrying along some
sterilizing tablets, or perhaps one of those water bottles with a
built in filter, on any ride over Sonora Pass. In hindsight,
we've been very lucky to have not run into serious issues with
water on our past rides.
Other things to note- don't forget the sun
screen, and don't forget to eat! Try and force a decent
breakfast down, even if it's going to make you feel sluggish for
awhile. Don't worry, you're going to be needing those
calories later. And as for gearing, even a very fit cyclist
is going to wish for a lower gear than he/she has, no matter what
their lowest gear is. It's just that type of a hill.
I've done it with a 39/27 double, but it would most certainly be
easier with a triple! My ideal gearing would be a 39/29 or
maybe 39/30, but Shimano doesn't make anything larger than a 27t
rear, unless you want to put a mountain-bike cassette back there.
Will we go back again next year?
Absolutely! It's just one of those things that you dream
about ahead of time, dread while you approach the first nasty
climb, suffer greatly and wonder why you're there in the middle,
and then afterward believe that you've had the time of your
life. And you did! --Mike--
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