Fresno Cycling Club’s 2024 Bass Lake Powerhouse Double Century

What an absolute banger of a double century! By far the most fun I’ve had on a DC to date.

A different start to this weekend’s events. At work I’m enrolled in a “Management Training Academy”. It is “a foundational training series designed to provide clear, standardized expectations and development opportunities for all university personnel who manage non-student employees”, and when your bosses push you to enroll and attend you do just that. There are five “core courses” of which you’re required to attend four, and each session is on a Friday. Now, I already burned my one absence last week in order to drive with Kant to Best of the Bay. For this weekend, I’d planned on attending my scheduled afternoon session from 1:30 to 3:30 and then leave directly from work to Clovis. On a whim I reached out to the organizers to see if I could attend the morning session instead. I was given the green light which allowed me to leave campus four hours earlier than expected.

After making a quick stop at the house to pick up a couple items I’d forgotten, I set off for Clovis. The drive went well only experiencing heavier traffic north of Bakersfield. Along the way, my phone kept going off with notifications from the group chat we had going on for the event. The plan was to meet somewhere for dinner. I sent a message directly to Robert that I was on the way early and to keep that fact under wraps to serve as a surprise when I got there. It all came together perfectly with me arriving at the restaurant at 6:15 just 15 minutes after the scheduled start time.

Robert and a few others left early to get a jump on some rest. I couldn’t stay too much later as I still needed to check-in for the ride and get unpacked. With Robert and I sharing a room I’d hoped to get back early enough that he wouldn’t be asleep. Well, I walked into the room and be damned he was already out like a light. I tip-toed throughout the room getting all my stuff squared away and Shadow set up for the ride. Eventually went back down to the front desk and grabbed some linens for the hide-a-bed and crashed out myself.

I’d set an alarm to get up early enough to see Robert, the Mendoza brothers, and Naven off at 4:00. Of course my body was having none of that and I woke up earlier than expected around 2:00. A short time later I heard Robert stirring and decided to just bite the bullet and get up. The two of us chit chatted a bit while eating breakfast and him getting ready to roll out. We went down to the start and I saw the four of them off only a half an hour later than planned.

At dinner the night before Joy, Stu, and others discussed start times. I had argued to start at 5 whereas others wanted to start at 5:30. With Robert’s group getting a later start than expected, I sent a message over to Joy and Stu that we might as well roll at 5:30. Besides I was nowhere near ready and I didn’t want to rush.

Out of the gate we had a solid crew of maybe 12-20 riders. The first 20-miles were as flat as a board. This allowed our group to get lined up and cruise. We made a left turn and when I spotted the climb ahead I dialed it back and let the lightweights go. Eventually I would catch back up and we would all stick together for the most part until the first stop. I did drift back occasionally, preferring to focus on not blowing up to keep up on the climbs.

Between stops one and two, I would occasionally catch up with our pack but just beyond mile 40 started the largest climb of the day. I knew there was no way I was going to keep up and I just let the group go. I was surprised to watch Stuart go up the road with the climbers. I equate Stuart to be my cycling twin, we weigh nearly the same and have similar power profiles. As I would watch him go all I could think was, “Son you gotta let that go”. I would eventually pick him back up, but I think the efforts started to take their toll. He was definitely looking the worse for wear around the 3rd stop in Auberry. From that stop until lunch we stuck together with him on my wheel getting a little recovery.

We rolled into lunch and found the lead back we’d started with had only arrived maybe five minutes prior. While we ate I asked Stu if he was up to rolling out with the lead pack. He said he was up for it and with that we wrapped up lunch a short time later and rolled out.

The next 35 miles were the most fun I’ve had on a DC to date. I was right on Roehl’s wheel as we got back on the road. After a solid pull he rotated off and I took up the lead. I got into a zone and just rode. Honestly it was a very zen experience. I was feeling awesome, the legs were feeling awesome, everything had come together and was going great. Our decently sized group just motored for what felt like forever. We made a brief 5-minute stop around mile 123 and continued on. As we rounded the corner onto California, I dropped back to see if someone else wanted to pick things up, and, as the pace slowed, I came around and took up the lead again. At mile 136 we hung a right onto Piedra Rd and I had no choice other than to drop back with the small climb ahead. Our group got split into two and I would go on to pick up the trailing group, but our large train was done for the day. Rolling into MR5 (RS6), it was too cool to hear the excitement in everyone’s voices describing my pull and complimenting me on an amazing effort. Core memories for me right there.

Hanging around and taking everyone in, I noticed that Stu was missing. When the lead team rolled out I decided I’d hang back to wait for him. Thankfully, he rolled up a short time later, before the lead group left, and we let them go while he got some rest and a refuel. He also shared that he’d fallen behind when he’d had to stop to fix a broken spoke that had been slapping his frame.

Leaving MR5 and setting out for Trimmer Springs and stop seven I was feeling good but a familiar light nausea started creeping up on me. Two miles later we started a four mile climb and I started to feel worse and worse as the sun beat down directly on my back with a perfect tailwind effectively making it no wind. I was surprised to watch Stu power past me as I struggled to keep the pedals spinning. Eventually we’d hook back up at the top and roll on together until the turn around at Sycamore Creek Bridge and RS7.

At RS7, I was starting to feel cooked. I wasn’t in a state as bad as last week, but I could tell I was well on the way there. I was offered and wanted a Coke and Ramen, but once I put the Ramen to my lips my stomach churned in disagreement. With Stu sitting next to me I asked if I could borrow one of his arm warmers turned ice packs. He’d learned from another DC to tie an arm warmer at one end, stuff it with ice, tie the other end, and you have an instant ice pack. As I passed it under my arms and along my neck it felt amazing. It didn’t take long for my appetite to return and to start feeling much better. Before we set off, Stu offered to top up the ice pack and let me roll with it to the finish.

As a quick aside, I think this situation is a funny turn-a-bout in circumstances. Early on when Stu was suffering from the heat and extra efforts, I thought I’d be hanging and helping him the remainder of the day. He took the opportunity to get some easy miles and recovery by following my wheel before lunch. It’s funny how the script was flipped after MR5 and he was busy shepherding me to RS7 and the turn around. As they say, “Teamwork makes the dream work”.

While all this was happening Robert happened to roll in with the group that he’d been with for most of the day. He asked if we wanted to roll back together to help beat the winds that were starting to pick up out of the west. He also made sure to mention that we better not “Do me dirty and leave me in the dust”. I promised I wouldn’t and the three of us set off for the finish.

Making our way to the finish I started feeling better and better. The combination of ice pack, Coke, and ramen breathed new life into my tired legs. The three of us had an awesome ride. We made a quick stop at MR5/RS8 to chow down on a bowl of chili and to allow Stu to pick up his evening lights he’d left in a drop bag. Other than that we just crushed it all the way to the finish.

Absolutely awesome ride. There is really no other way I can describe it. This DC has been hyped up to me all season long and it didn’t disappoint. The only DC that comes close is Davis, but they each have their strengths and weaknesses.

I would say, overall, Davis has the ‘better’ support in that they had just huge spreads of anything a cyclist could ask for. I was really impressed with the five gallon water jugs pre-filled with electrolyte mix and separate three gallon water jugs. However, the roads were worse in spots and that doesn’t include the full on gravel section.

On the flip side though, Bass Lake’s stops felt more organic. Each stop had a very personalized touch to it. First stop had breakfast with french toast and sausage. Adobo at the second stop. Frito pies at stop eight! The uniqueness of each stop gave me an overwhelming feeling of “cycling community” versus “event”. This was compounded by, what felt like, our personal chaperone for the event Roehl. The man really poured it on and, whether he knew it or not, did an outstanding job acting as an ambassador for Fresno Cycling Club and the entire event and its staff. I mean that’s a tough act to beat. Bass Lake certainly has its share of bad roads, but I feel it was constrained to one particular stretch which, unfortunately, was a tricky descent.

I can hear some comments now, “Hey what about Carmel Valley”? As I shared with Robert on the road, Carmel Valley was a great DC, but how can you compare a staff ride with the event itself? I mean that’s like comparing apples and oranges! Robert and I had an absolute blast conquering those miles. Celebrating our wins at the summits of those nasty climbs was a treasure. My Carmel Valley weekend was absolutely amazing, but trying to compare it to either Davis or Bass Lake does a disservice to all three.

Ultimately, this is a double I’d do again in a heartbeat, and I’d put Carmel Valley and Davis on that list too.

New bike fund: $73.58 (+$0.25)
🎷🐛 181.86 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
456 vehicles @ 2.3 per mile, 0.6 per minute, Speeds: 39.8 mph (avg), 69.8 mph (max) — by MyBikeTraffic.com
Clear-Clear, 59°F-75°F, Feels like 60°F-73°F, Humidity 66%-44%, Wind WNW 2mph-NW 3mph – by Klimat.app
— myWindsock.com Report —
Weather Impact™: 1.5%
Headwind: 52% @ 5.4 – 11.2 mph
Longest Headwind: 48m 54s
Air Speed: 16.9 mph
Temp: 55.2-85.1 °F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
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