AdventureCORPS Presents the March 2, 2013 Death Valley Century, Ultra Century & Double Century

The 2013 Death Valley Century, Ultra Century, and Double Century - Spring edition was held March 2 and provided a fantastic day of cycling in perfect weather. 297 riders began the event: 100 of 111 completed the 105-mile century, 42 of 44 completed the 150-mile ultra century, and 130 of 141 riders completed the double century. The feedback has been positive and the memories will last a lifetime. We salute everyone for lining up, and heading out, to face whatever fate had in store! Luckily for all of us. Mother Nature blessed us with an absolutely gorgeous day to enjoy "Mother Nature's Greatest Sports Arena," Death Valley National Park.

We want to particularly thank the 47 riders who joined us for CORPScamp Death Valley this year, in the week leading up to the Spring ride. Twenty-six of them, noted in the results below in bold, stayed on to ride the Spring ride, as well. Kudos! What a great way to kick off the 2013 cycling season!

We hope our Spring Death Valley riders will join us for another AdventureCORPS event in 2013, such as our new CORPcamp Julian (a Velo & Vino experience held in the San Diego mountains wine country) on April 15-19, Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic on April 21, and the Fall Death Valley Century, Ultra Century, and Double Century on October 26 (registration opens June 1), not to mention the 30th anniversary Furnace Creek 508 on October 5-7 (applications accepted now through March 18).

Attesting to the wide-ranging popularity of this ride, we had riders from no less than 22 American States, plus the UK: AZ, CA, CO, FL, IA, ID, IL, LA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, UT, VA, and WA, plus Canada (BC and ON).

Thanks to the wonderful volunteers who made it all happen! (Let us know if we missed anyone!)

Friday CORPSyoga Class: Laurie Kostman

Start Line: Scott Palka and Catherine Gallagher, Chris and Eric Eisenbarth

Badwater: Steve Barnes, Ginger Kuhn, Anna Stowe, Joaquin Candel, Lauren DeLillo, and Alex Beckers

Ashford Mill: Wayne & Shelby Kostman, Chris and Eric Eisenbarth, Nancy Rose

Jubilee Pass Century Turn-Around: Jen Nicholson and Ellen Kirk

Salsberry Water Stop: Andrea Janikowski and Edilson Villanueva

Shoshone: Jeff Brown Bear Bell, Rich Stuart, Lorraine Hildenbrand, and Freda Chapman

Stovepipe Wells: Guido Magazzu, Gina MacIlwraith, Tom, Bryce Richmond, and Steve Barnes

Furnace Creek: Laurie Kostman, Susan von Sosten, Jeff Brown Bear Bell, and Shelby Kostman

SAG: Mike Angelfish Angelos, Imre Udvardy and Vince Pacheco

Subway Special Delivery: Scott Loon Dakus

Special thanks are also extended to the wonderful people at the Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort, the Subway of Pahrump, Liberty Ambulance of Ridgecrest, the National Park Service, and Cal Trans in Bishop.

	Show 1: Friday Yoga, Furnace Creek explorationas, and Saturday Start Line Photos by Chris Kostman and Wayne Kostman
	Show 2: Ashford Mill Photos by Wayne Kostman
	Show 3: Salsberry Pass and Jubilee Pass Photos by Chris Kostman
	Show 4: Badwater, Stovepipe Wells, and Finish Photos by Chris Kostman
	Show 5: Stovepipe Wells and Finish Photos by Guido Magazzu
	Show 6: Ashford Mills by Scott "Loon" Dakus
	Blog Report by George "Red-Eyed Vireo" Vargas of REV Cycling
	Blog Report by Judy Brusslan of Lightning Velo
	Photos by Eric Norris of CampyOnly.com
	Outstanding Video by Eric Norris of CampyOnly.com

Awesome, Totally Appreciated Feedback!

I haven’t had time to write a thank you note, but the DVD Spring was a great event. I actually made it in time for the Friday evening yoga class which was taught at the perfect level for big ride the next day. I felt well stretched and relaxed, and activated to ride. Laurie also did a great job explaining postures to the less experienced yogis in the group, so it looked like everyone was benefiting. I have been to competitive yoga classes, and I was worried that this group of super athletes would want a really tough yoga class, so I was really happy with the class offered.

Your dad at the 45/103 mile rest stop was such a treat with his goofy sense of humor. All the volunteers were so super nice. One woman at the Badwater rest stop was especially kind as she offered sandwiches and coke. YUMMM… thank you for having Coke at the lunch spot. I know you had no control over the weather, but it was soooo nice and not windy. Good karma for sure. I posted a ride report on my bike club web site. Really loved the event; Carl and I signed up for Mt. Laguna, and we’re hoping to be at the Fall double, and I would love to try the 508 someday. - Judy Brusslan and Carl Switzky

The Spring DV course is a classic - every serious (and even not-so-serious) rider should add this ride to his or her "bucket list". If you're an aspiring 508 rider this is a "must" event, as you'll get to experience almost 100 miles of the course, including Death Valley, in the daylight (you'll be riding this section after dark in the 508). The scenery is stark and desolate but those characteristics make it all the more beautiful. It's a great mixture of flats, long challenging climbs, and screaming descents, with good riding surfaces and virtually no dangerous technical sections. You can truly take your time and soak in the history and scenery or put your head down and punish the course (and yourself), or even do a bit of both! The course is excellent, the event is extremely well organized, and the volunteers and aid stations are fantastic! I've ridden the Double three times and can guarantee that once you ride it, you'll want to come back again and again!! All the best, Joel Sothern

Wanted to say Thank You for a great ride this weekend. My legs didn't really kick in until about mile 150 (not unusual for me), but I had a wonderful time. Weather certainly couldn't have been better.

I took a bunch of photos and videos, and will be stitching them together into a hopefully coherent production soon. I'll let you know when it's ready. Thanks again for the opportunity to ride. See you on the road again soon, I hope. - Eric Norris / CampyOnly.com

Thanks again for another wonderful AdventureCORPS ride. Scott and I enjoyed out time out there. All of the Adobos I talked to had the same experience. Great ride, great volunteers. You have always set the bar very high for yourselves and continue to surpass it. Excellent job! - John M. Clare

I have written about the Death Valley Spring Century before and therefore am reluctant to give a full blow-by-blow as I will bore those who read that report last year. However, those who read last year’s may remember my story. At mile 45, just at the start of the “true” climb for the ride, I touched wheels with the guy I was pacing behind and ended up in the (thankfully!) soft sand beside the side of the road. I still have the scar on my knee to remind me not to get so close in a pace line! And I have an even more humbling story to tell of that ride, as I got up, dusted off, remounted, and didn’t check my bike. That oversight caused me to ride the next 57 miles with my brake on….berating myself all the way that I really needed to train harder if I couldn’t keep up a pace after mile 50. Lessons learned.

This year, only riding the brake when I chose to, I finished the 102 miles with much less trouble. ~20 minutes faster ride time and 30 min faster overall time. Total climbing for the ride was about 4000’. Not hugely strenuous. Except that the biggest climb started at mile 46 (at 123’ below sea level) and ended at the turnaround: Jubilee Pass at mile 51 (1293’). Being the desert, the mind played tricks as the whole terrain looked flat. Hmmph. Flat at 5 mph! I joked with the race director that it took an hour to go up and 10 minutes to come back down.

A few more high notes to give a feel for the ride and the weekend. If you haven’t been to Death Valley, it’s an experience. There are words that come to mind; stark, beauty, isolation. I love it there as it fully clears the mind and fills it instead with images that evoke something so much bigger than our daily life. The ride has 2 stop signs: one leaving the starting gate, and one at an intersection near the end. It is well organized with good SAG stops, and the volunteers (me included!) are friendly.

We arrived early on Friday. Rode about 20 miles to stretch our legs, then joined an awesome Yoga session held free as part of the ride goodies. The instructor, Laurie Kostman, talked us through some strong stretches and arm workouts while avoiding the quad-busting moves. Really helped the next day’s ride. Camping that night and the night after ensured that I was fully disengaged from the stress of work, $5 bought a trip to the hotel shower and pool that brought back just enough civilization to be…well…civilized, and a little 24 mile ride to a breakfast buffet on Sunday, followed by the “are we done yet?!!” return made for one very well-rounded and lovely weekend.

I encourage everyone to try an organized Death Valley ride at least once. There is one offered in the Spring and another in the Fall. Both sell out quickly. - All the best, Catherine Gallagher

I wanted to say 'thank you' to you about a thousand times during Saturday's ride, especially for the super helpful reminder at the start to stay in the present, all day long. I think I wandered away from and returned to my emotional happy place easily five dozen times throughout the day. Also, thank you to all the wonderful people volunteering their time for long stints at the rests stops, the delicious PB&J sandwiches, and the magically resurrecting Perpetuem powder.

Such a spectacular setting for a long day of rolling around the planet. The fall double was my first visit to DV, planning on visit #3 this coming autumn. Please thank Laurie for the wonderful yoga and her lovely, cheering smile at the end of the ride. - Jennifer Tripp

I want to thank you very much for organizing a really great event. You, Laurie and your volunteers did an awesome job and made last weekend very special. I'd never been to Death Valley before. But it's now a place I'll be visiting regularly. Thanks for introducing me to the magic that is Death Valley. I'll explore more of it in the future; most likely at your fall event. - Anthony Feliciano

Riders highlighted in bold spent the whole week with us, at CORPScamp Death Valley. Info.