 Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #20 on: September 19, 2015, 08:18:32 AM
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LyndaW
Posts: 124
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« Reply #20 on: September 19, 2015, 08:18:32 AM » |
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Their average speed overall as a group is slower than I expected to see this morning. Must be tough terrain out there!!
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #21 on: September 19, 2015, 05:34:17 PM
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bigportions
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 40
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« Reply #21 on: September 19, 2015, 05:34:17 PM » |
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Looks like Blake decided to give another rider a shot at the win
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #22 on: September 20, 2015, 05:01:28 PM
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B_Bock
Location: Truckee, CA
Posts: 159
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« Reply #22 on: September 20, 2015, 05:01:28 PM » |
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Their average speed overall as a group is slower than I expected to see this morning. Must be tough terrain out there!!
yes very tough. I spent a lot of time pushing my bike over the first 150. By the looks of it the course doesn't get much easier. |
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #23 on: September 21, 2015, 07:35:15 AM
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LyndaW
Posts: 124
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« Reply #23 on: September 21, 2015, 07:35:15 AM » |
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Arthur K is the only racer moving on the 500 course now. He is headed for the 11.4k high point this morning! Should be a nice view up there. He is looking determined.
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #24 on: September 22, 2015, 07:24:15 AM
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Roland Sturm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posts: 201
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« Reply #24 on: September 22, 2015, 07:24:15 AM » |
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I think at least Art de Goede isn't really that far behind - or at least he is well past the half way point. I have ridden with him and he is not discouraged by adversity easily. But surprising how difficult this is: behind Art, only two more remaining and they have covered less than half the distance in 4 days. And if Blake and Forest find it necessary to drop out, I don't think I'll try this route myself!
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« Last Edit: September 22, 2015, 07:35:27 AM by Roland Sturm »
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #25 on: September 22, 2015, 08:14:48 AM
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ec_duz_it
Location: Santa Barbara
Posts: 440
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« Reply #25 on: September 22, 2015, 08:14:48 AM » |
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I bet Art De Goede will for sure finish. He is a tough dude. The only two potential finishers for the 500 came from sea level. I guess they have had plenty of time to acclimatize by now.
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #26 on: September 22, 2015, 09:51:34 AM
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kdinger
Posts: 14
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« Reply #26 on: September 22, 2015, 09:51:34 AM » |
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I think most of us, though prepared for it to be very, very tough, underestimated this route. We were told to expect lots of hike-a-bike, but there turned out to be more than we had imagined. Also, some of the descents are nearly as hard as the ascents (rugged and slow-going). It is all spectacularly beautiful, much of it feels very remote, and there is some great riding mixed in (Lower Rock Creek, of course, and the Redding descent out of the White Mtns. come to mind).
With many of the SPOT trackers not working particularly well, it's hard to tell for sure what's going on out there.
I think Blake dropped out because he had a deadline to get home? I similarly had to switch from the 500 to the 250; finished about 9:20 pm on Sunday. Isaac also switched to the 250 and finished a couple hours later, along with Tony (a 250 racer from the start, I believe). Not sure if anyone finished the 250 yesterday or not. Looks like Jeff Brooks and Matt Reynolds will finish the 250 today.
And Arthur and Art continue on the 500!
I hope to return with more time allotted in a future year.
-Keith Richards-Dinger
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #27 on: September 22, 2015, 04:41:28 PM
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Roland Sturm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posts: 201
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« Reply #27 on: September 22, 2015, 04:41:28 PM » |
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Looking forward to some trip reports. So far from what I hear it seems to be most comparable to the Colorado Trail, except at lower elevation, but more heat? How much hike-a-bike (up or down) is on the Caldera route? I estimate that I walked about 1/4 (so 100+ miles) on the Colorado Trail. The only two potential finishers for the 500 came from sea level. I guess they have had plenty of time to acclimatize by now.
Except for 1 or 2 spots, Caldera doesn't seem to go that high to cause real problems, so that would be a plus. Going from sea level to Colorado, somewhere around 11k seemed to be a threshold for me where riding became difficult even on relative gentle climbs. Acclimatization took a week before over 12k became comfortable (and only in the sense of being able to sleep and no headaches). But Caldera may throw in some suffering in the heat to make up for that? |
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #28 on: September 22, 2015, 06:47:41 PM
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LyndaW
Posts: 124
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« Reply #28 on: September 22, 2015, 06:47:41 PM » |
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The course looks relentless. Looking on Trackleaders at Arthur's speed plot is telling. Speeds are either hiking pace or road pace - nothing much in between. In the last hundred miles (about mile 240 - 340) he has very little moving time over 5 mph!
He certainly is determined and is putting down a stellar ride (er - hike). I hope he doesn't run out of time! This is taking longer than we thought!!
Art is having a good ride today too and is over the high point.
It is exciting to see a new event unfold like this.
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #29 on: September 23, 2015, 12:05:04 PM
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LyndaW
Posts: 124
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« Reply #29 on: September 23, 2015, 12:05:04 PM » |
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...and we have a winner of the first ever Caldera 500! Arthur is the first in at 5 days 4 hours and 54 mins.
Impressive ride Arthur - congrats!
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« Last Edit: September 23, 2015, 12:08:45 PM by LyndaW »
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #30 on: September 23, 2015, 01:28:58 PM
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JRA
Location: California
Posts: 362
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« Reply #30 on: September 23, 2015, 01:28:58 PM » |
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Wow!
Sounds like it was a very difficult route. Congrats to Arthur.
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I don't know what the question is - but the answer is: Lubrication!
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #31 on: September 23, 2015, 01:48:54 PM
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kdinger
Posts: 14
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« Reply #31 on: September 23, 2015, 01:48:54 PM » |
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Looking forward to some trip reports. So far from what I hear it seems to be most comparable to the Colorado Trail, except at lower elevation, but more heat? How much hike-a-bike (up or down) is on the Caldera route? I estimate that I walked about 1/4 (so 100+ miles) on the Colorado Trail.
It seemed like I had walked close to 50 miles of the Caldera 250 (so 1/5 rather than your 1/4 on the CT), but when I analyzed my GPX track and figured anything less than 3 mph climbing or 4 mph descending was walking (and that anything less than 0.2 mph meant I was actually completely stopped), I get that I walked 30 miles of climbing and 3.5 miles of descending (out of 252 miles). Total climbing was just under 33,000' (from referencing the GPX track to a DEM, the raw GPX track gives more like 37,000', but the cumulative elevation error on handheld GPS units is substantial). Forest has done the CTR and either in Big Pine or in Bishop, he mentioned that he thought the CT was more rideable than the part of the Caldera route we had seen so far. -Keith PS. This was with my standard 32x20 gearing. I was definitely fantasizing about fatter tires and lower gears at times. |
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« Last Edit: September 23, 2015, 03:31:22 PM by kdinger »
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #32 on: September 24, 2015, 02:20:09 PM
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kopatsy
Posts: 2
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« Reply #32 on: September 24, 2015, 02:20:09 PM » |
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That was quite a ride! I definitely want to start by congratulating Alan (and team?) for coming up with such an (I hate you!) amazing (I hate you!!) route (I HATE YOU!!!). I thought about DNF'ing as late as 5 miles from the finish line when one more hike a bike was just becoming utterly ridiculous. I was like "Seriously? Now? You gotta be fu**ing kidding me Alan. Will you not leave me alone?". I still need to reflect on what happened and write more about my experience. Stay tuned. This is all way too fresh in my mind right now. Will I suggest this ride to my worst enemy? I still have to think about that  I am pretty sure there is a shorter way to get to that sweet 1.5 miles single track that concludes the ride but what do I know? Let's hope Art will pass the finish line soon! |
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #33 on: September 24, 2015, 04:01:07 PM
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zaktourville
Posts: 5
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« Reply #33 on: September 24, 2015, 04:01:07 PM » |
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It's great to hear other riders chime in, regarding the difficulty of this amazing route. I live here in Mammoth, had ridden most sections of the route, and still misjudged how much time the 250 would take me.... Congrats to all the finishers!
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #34 on: September 25, 2015, 04:30:32 PM
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ec_duz_it
Location: Santa Barbara
Posts: 440
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« Reply #34 on: September 25, 2015, 04:30:32 PM » |
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Big Congrats to all the finishers! Looks like Art De Goede is going to finish in about 45 minutes!
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #35 on: September 26, 2015, 07:32:52 AM
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Buttermilk
Location: Bishop, Ca.
Posts: 191
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« Reply #35 on: September 26, 2015, 07:32:52 AM » |
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brilliant Art!
super effort putting down this beast. It was joy for Meade and I to pedal with you a bit on the front end of the adventure.
The first ever running of a course is always the toughest and these two finishers rose to the occasion.
Worthy rides to both Arthur and Art. Super inspiring to see such solid efforts on the entire ride.
Great job the all the 250 finishers...a mighty course in its own right.
also, hats off to all who toed the line and gave this course a shot. I know you found some adventure out there. The classic highs and lows of mind and body are sure present on this course.
Big thanks Alan for bringing this all together in world class style! I know the Caldera made a mark in the bikepacking world.
Hope to see all you back and some new faces on the next running of the Caldera.
Keep pedaling all-you-all!!
Jeremy
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Up & down on dirt & snow
I've got all my eggs in one basket
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #36 on: September 28, 2015, 01:03:15 PM
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JRA
Location: California
Posts: 362
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« Reply #36 on: September 28, 2015, 01:03:15 PM » |
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I don't know what the question is - but the answer is: Lubrication!
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #37 on: September 03, 2016, 04:07:05 PM
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Wrightwoodfilms
Location: Mammoth Lakes, CA
Posts: 6
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« Reply #37 on: September 03, 2016, 04:07:05 PM » |
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Re: Caldera 500 looks like go time again giving the north 250 a shot put my vaca in a couple weeks hope I am ready.  |
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #38 on: September 18, 2016, 08:24:38 PM
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ec_duz_it
Location: Santa Barbara
Posts: 440
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« Reply #38 on: September 18, 2016, 08:24:38 PM » |
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I am all packed and ready to go and as long as I don't have any work emergencies that come up, I plan on being at the group start on Saturday for the "easier" route. 307 miles and 36,000k climbing looks pretty beastly for the "250". It looks like riding well over 100 miles for the first day is an absolute must if you want to finish in 3 or 4 days. I doubt I will make it to Bridgeport in time for a hot meal, so I think I will just skip that resupply and keep going.
I rode to the summit of White Mountain 2 months ago and got a taste of what this area has to offer. I have backpacked a few times near Bishop as well so I have no doubt this will be a beautiful route.
Who else is in? This thread is pretty quiet!
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Topic Name: Caldera 500
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Reply #39 on: September 18, 2016, 08:47:47 PM
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ec_duz_it
Location: Santa Barbara
Posts: 440
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« Reply #39 on: September 18, 2016, 08:47:47 PM » |
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I just noticed the Owens Fire on Facebook. This doesn't look good! Hopefully they can put this out fast!
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