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Everest Challenge Pre-Race Update 7 (2011)

These are details sent by race organizers, with attention drawn via highlighting to key points and certain items not relevant to the race omitted.

See the key locations page for maps. See also the Everest Challenge web site.

Everest Challenge Update #7

September 19, 2011

The Eleventh Everest Challenge Bicycle Stage Race and Fun Ride, California/Nevada State Climbing Championships, and totally fun weekend has some interesting and drastic news!

If you have not heard, the EC Stage 1 course will be run BACKWARDS from the usual course. See Update #6 for more details, and the rest of this message as well.

The earlier Updates are online at www.everestchallenge.com.

HELP??

Yes, we can still use your help. Friends, SO, or other nonriding folks. Particularly on Saturday. We are a small outfit, and rely on the help of interested folks to run the EC. Interested? Pick up the phone or drop me an email. And THANKS!

STAGE 1 AID STATIONS

Some Stage 1 Aid Stations will be different due to the reversal of the course direction. If you are familiar with the course, the roads are exactly the same, it is just as if we are running the event backwards.

If you are new to the EC, get a map and follow along— the Course Map on the website has the climbs color coded. Originally it was red/green/blue. Just follow the lines in the opposite order. Starting at Millpond, go South to Ed Powers. Right on Ed Powers, then Right on CA168 [see the turn by turn callout for stage1 and turn-by-turn callout for stage 2]

Course will be neutral until the turn onto 168, 2.7 miles into the course. This means there will be a lead out car that you will follow at a slow speed until racing begins. Up and up and up you go, to the LEFT turn at South Fork, 13.0 miles in. At 15.0 miles, Bishop Creek Lodge Aid Station. At 20.0 miles, South Lake Summit Aid Station, and you turn around and retrace your path back to Millpond.

Round Valley— Keep going through Round Valley, following the first few miles of the original course, to the Round Valley School Aid Station at mile 46.7. Up up up to the Pine Creek Aid Station at mile 54.6, then back down to the school, turning LEFT on North Round Valley. Follow the road to the right onto Birchim, then LEFT at the T onto Lower Rock Creek at mile 64.8.

Lower Rock Creek— Follow LRC up into Mono County, through Paradise, to the Paradise Fire Prevention District fire station at mile 70.0. We will have an Aid Station at the PFPD, which is a new location. Past PFPD at mile 72.5 begins the NEUTRAL ZONE at Swall Meadows Rd. This will be heavily signed and monitored, and your behavior there will determine whether we can get permits to run the EC in 2012. Stay out of the middle of the road, stay in single file, and behave yourself. The end of the NEUTRAL ZONE is the end of LRC at US395, mile 76.8. Left on US395 for one mile to LEFT on Rock Creek Rd. at Tom's Place Aid Station, mile 77.8. There will be a water-only Aid Station halfway up the climb at about mile 83, and the Mosquito Flat Summit is the Finish at mile 88.4.

Our famous hot food and soup at the Finish awaits, as do your drop bags full of warm clothes. More about that next. There is very little parking at the summit, but lots at Tom's Place , back where the Aid Station is. You can ride back to Millpond (yes, we put up signs) ¨C all downhill except for that 500' hill near the top of LRC ¨C or catch a ride. If you are getting a ride, have your friends meet you down at Tom's Place and just ride down. Private support cars are NOT ALLOWED above Tom's Place, as there will be a lot of riders still climbing and descending. There is no room to park at the top anyway.

NON-COMPETITIVE START TIME CHANGES

In light of the fact that the course will be 13 miles shorter, we will be starting the Non-Competitive riders at 6:50 instead of 6:20. All other start times will be as shown in the race flyer.

CUTOFF TIMES

Since this is essentially a new course, the cutoff times to each Aid Station on the cue sheet are approximate. The cutoff time at the finish is not. 6:00pm *sharp* is the cutoff to be a finisher of Stage 1.

Note that the course is 13 miles shorter than before, so you have the same time as always to ride a shorter course. The earliest groups start from 6:30-6:50am, so this gives at least 11:10 to finish the 88.4 miles. Of this distance, about 20 miles is descending from South Lake and 8 miles is descending from Pine Creek. If it takes about an hour for those two descents, this leaves 60 miles of climbing and flat terrain, and 10 hours to do it, so a 6mph minimum climbing speed gets it done. Faster speeds on the flatter parts of the course should get you to the finish in plenty of time. If your climbing speed drops below 6mph, you are in danger of finishing later than 6:00pm. This assumes that you do not stop at the Aid Stations for any longer than it takes to fill your bottles, grab a snack, and get going again. Stay on the bike and you will have plenty of time.

For riders in the later start groups, you will have at least 10:20 for the 88.4 miles. 9:20 for the 60 miles of flats and climbing requires only about a 7mph climbing speed. Lots of time, so be sure and get a bottle and some food at every Aid Station. It will pay off long before the Finish.

DROP BAGS

Even when it is hot in the Owens Valley, it is usually brisk at 10,000'. You will probably want some warm clothing for the descent, and we will take it from the Start to the Finish for you. Use your shiny new drawstring bag! We will have tape and a Sharpie for marking, and the bags will be lined up by bib number at the Finish. Get you bib number AND your name on the bag. We do not want to end up with anonymous bike wear!

BOTTLES AND TRASH

I don't know if anybody does not realize this, but the EC is not very much like the local office park crit where you can just toss your bottles into the bushes and then go get them later. You need to drop your bottles at the Aid Stations where we can find them and pick them up. Trash of any kind is the same. We will be happy to pick it up for you, but we need you to drop it where we can find it. That is at the Aid Stations. OK?

MONO COUNTY ROADS DEPARTMENT and PFPD

Those ¡°CAUTION ¨C cyclists single file¡± signs and the ¡°25 mph¡± signs, both along Lower Rock Creek Rd, are courtesy of the Mono County Roads Dept. who have also been very helpful in our preparations for this event. Of course, they are also very interested to see exactly how the EC impacts their communities, so there will be officials from Mono County on the course observing, shooting video footage, and in general watching what we do. Of particular concern is the area along Lower Rock Creek above Swall Meadows Road. This is mile 72.5 to mile 76.8 on Stage 1.

Paradise Fire Prevention District (one of the groups the EC sponsors if you have been reading the earlier Updates!) has also agreed to let us have an Aid Station at their fire station. The fire station is a favorite place for locals to stop for some shade and a cool drink. Water is around the back. Thanks!

More EC info next time, about Aid Stations on Stage 2, support vehicles and SAG, numbers, and more!

Steven P. Barnes
AntiGravity Cycling
Everest Challenge Race Director
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