Bartlett Lake route, including extra climbs, from Paradise Valley area. Approx 7,500-8,000 ft of climbing.

February 6, 2010

With the Death Valley Double looming on the horizon (only four weeks away), I went on a test/training ride to Bartlett Lake, to see where my fitness stands.

The stats? 150 miles with somewhere over 7,500 ft of climbing, in about 13 hrs total (6:10 am to 6:59 pm.)

The verdict? The Death Valley Double is 197 miles and 9,000 ft of climbing, with a 17 hr cutoff. So I think the Death Valley ride is doable — if the weather cooperates and it’s not the wind-fest they apparently had in 2008, where lots of riders opted out of the full double.

According to the AdventureCorps website, last year, in 2009, the weather was great, with temps in the 80′s.

I’m hoping it’s that way this year.

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It’s been a few years since I’ve ridden out to Bartlett Lake, even though in my opinion, it’s the best training route in the Phoenix area. If you need to get in some serious training, you can’t beat the rolling hills out to Bartlett Lake.

The Bartlett Lake ride starts at the turnoff from Cave Creek Rd northeast of Carefree (what’s often called the “Towers”). From my house its 32 miles to that point, and then another 14 down to the lake. Even though the lake sits in a hole, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s just an easy downhill to get there. Yes, the net elevation loss is about 1,400 ft, but there are some serious climbs (6-9% grades) along the way. And then, four miles from the lake, it’s a long drop down, a 7% grade average –which of course you need to climb to get back out.

It’s a tough ride out to Bartlett Lake. I had forgotten just how tough. This portion of the ride was a wakeup call. My average speed for the first 65 miles was a lowly 12.2 mph. Double Century my sore bottom!

I virtually crawled up the climbs, and was passed by numerous riders I had seen coming the other way, miles from the lake bottom — meaning I had several miles head start on the climb out. Said riders zoomed by me like I was standing still.

I don’t seem very strong on the hills. But endurance? Yeah, I got that.

If I rode from home straight out to the lake and back, it’s a 92 mile ride. But I upped the ante and threw in all the major climbs along the route, including the high point of the day, past the towers and on the way to Seven Springs, near the intersection of Old Mine Rd and Seven Springs Rd. This high point I like to call the “Tonto Crest,” which tops out at 3,400 feet. I was going further to where the pavement ends near Seven Springs, but I opted to cut that short and turn around at the Sears-Kay Ruins, an ancient Hohokam site.

On the way down from the Tonto Crest, a cyclist joined me, riding a classic steel-framed road bike. He noticed I was all decked out for night riding and wondered where I was headed. When I told him I was out training for the Death Valley Double, he commented, “It’s not every day I meet someone training for a double.”

I told him most of my friends thought I was crazy.

His reply?

“Don’t listen to them!”

Turns out this cyclist’s name was Todd, and had completed the Race Across America in 1990, 2,930 miles in just over ten days. He was rookie of the year.

Talk about inspiration!

After parting company with Todd, I climbed Dynamite Hill, Jomax Hill, McDowell Mtn Ranch Rd, and at the 112 mile mark, Hidden Hills (the top of Via Linda). Climbing Via Linda seemed easy in comparison to the hills of Bartlett Lake — like carving butter with a knife.

Coming down from Via Linda, I met two riders by the side of the road changing a flat. I stopped to see if they needed any help. Turns out one of the riders was from the Tri-Scottsdale group. He was helping a damsel in distress, and since they had no extra spare tubes or CO2 cartridges, I rode with them for a while in case she had further trouble.

After hearing that I had ridden 120 miles to that point, my two temporary companions seemed amazed when I was still able to climb out of the saddle and spin up to speed.

“Aren’t your legs burning?” they asked.

“They feel good,” I said, “especially now that we’re on the flats and I’m not climbing anymore. It’s sure a lot easier!”

After parting ways with these two riders I headed towards home. To make my goal of 150 miles, I still needed to get in another 25, even though home was only 6 miles away. So what to do?

Climb another hill, of course!

So at the 130 mile mark, I climbed Hummingbird Rd, a hill I often train on during the week — the same hill that a few weeks ago I had joked about climbing at the end of a 134 mile ride.

Today, I wasn’t kidding.

And today, in comparison to the tough climbs of the day, I zoomed up Hummingbird without much ado. Oh, my legs were getting tired, but I could have ridden further if needed. I toyed with the notion of doing repeats up Hummingbird, but in the end decided I’d had enough climbing for the day. (Ya think?) Instead, I did laps around the Paradise Valley area until I had 150 miles covered.

I reached home at 6:59 pm — my goal had been to make it in by 7 pm. Ha!

Since I had started just after 6 am, this meant a 13 hour ride. To match the Death Valley ride, I’d have to ride another 50 miles, and climb another 1,500 ft or so, and due to the 17 hr cutoff, I would have 4 hours to do this extra riding.

Surely I can do that — I think. Do I want to be getting in at 11 pm? Not if I can help it!

As the accomplishment of this 150 mile training day starts to sink in, I’m getting excited.

Gosh, I just may be able to pull off the Death Valley Double!