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Masters championship bike racing and camping a mile high in the Sierra-Nevada

Diamond Valley Road Race and Indian Creek Camping, Woodfords, CA
July 30-31 2005

photos by Steven Hill, steephill.tv

I haven't raced for several months. It's taken me that long to get my racing mojo back. So with my wife in New Hampshire (see her photos at the bottom) and my dog in Canada (he wasn't taking photos this weekend), I made the solo trek to the Sierra-Nevada for the Diamond Valley Road Race, Masters Championships during the last weekend of July. It's a well run event put on by the Alta Alpina Cycling Club on excellent roads.

No race photographs this weekend. It was logistically difficult and I was exhausted after my race and, frankly, didn't feel like playing the camera bug on race day. I did take a few photos over the weekend, mostly race course recon shots prior to race day and a few of the great campsite I stayed at. For me, racing is only half the interest in traveling to an exotic locale and sometimes the camping is even better than the cycling. Spending a weekend where the cycling is not the sole focus can soften the blow when a race doesn't go right. But my race went fine so it was a good weekend all around.

The campsite at Indian Creek Campground

Normally in the Markleeville area, I stay at the Grover Hot Springs campground but with the annoying new reservation system and the number of kids in high summer, I thought I'd try someplace else. So I arrived late Friday afternoon at Indian Creek Campground near Woodfords approximately 10 miles northeast of Markleeville in Alpine County near the California-Nevada border. It was only half full, a little surprising for high season. I cased out the joint before making an easy decision on my home for the weekend. Campsite #1 was clearly the best choice and I probably would have chosen it even if the campground were completely vacant. It has a million-dollar view for only $14 a night. Only fellow tent-campers may appreciate the camping photos I took and since few racing roadies camp I may have a small audience. Perhaps most people think camping is uncivilized, but I believe it is far preferable to sharing a small motel room with several messy teammates. However, on this trip, I did notice a few other racers and spoke to someone I recognized from an Oakland team I ride with occasionally. Although Grover Hot Springs and Indian Creek are quite different, they are both excellent campgrounds. Indian Creek has the added attraction of bears milling around at night and occasionally during the day so don't leave any food in your car if you stay there. Over the weekend, they scored some fresh fish, a jar of pickles and a bag of chips from vehicles at the other end of the campground. The bears have never harmed campers so there is no plan to remove them which is now standard park policy.

The Diamond Valley/ Northern California-Nevada Masters Road Race Championships

It was five laps around an 11 mile course, primarily on Carson River Rd and Diamond Valley Rd with approximately 850 ft of climbing per lap over two hills on the east side of the course. (See the recon photos below) Since the race was an open class race, I was competing against much better riders (both speed and skill-wise) then my usual cat 4 peers, despite the 40-44 age bracket. My fitness isn't great at the moment so my strategy was simply to not get dropped. I almost fell off the back of the group several times, but fortunately the rope never broke. The 24 mph average speed was plenty fast enough for me. In the end, a Team Spine rider soloed the last several miles for the win while 20+ guys (including me) sprinted for the runner-up prize. I believe I was somewhere around 15th out of 40... a satisfactory result.

Missing the start is the worst non-crash mistake one can make on race day and I almost missed mine. After finishing my warm-up, I headed to a port-a-potty, but just as I opened the door, I saw my group roll out. So I quickly grabbed my bike and scampered up the road to join them. Amazingly, the urge to go evaporated after the 1st lap, an added benefit to racing on a hot day. -- Steve Hill August 3, 2005

The start of fast twisty Carson River Rd	Carson River Road and River panorama	Most of the 11 mi course follows just two roads
The climbing starts on Diamond Valley Rd with the 1st of 2 small climbs	On a hot sunny day, this is the only shady part of the course	The top of the second short climb before the 3 mi run to the finish
Racers would have to look backward for this view while climbing	Riding down the last climb in the opposite direction. Huh?	The cheering section and feed zone
The home stretch to the finish	The descending view overlooking Indian Creek Reservoir with the race site in the distance	Entrance to Indian Creek Campground
A million dollar view for $14 a night	The most secluded site on the grounds	Fishing at sunset
Campground hike at sunset	Lizard running for cover

Meanwhile in New Hampshire, Rebecca took time off from a conference she's attending to get in a ride of her own. She rented a "trashbar" (Nashbar) bike, the same one she's previously rented, and cycled up to Winslow State Park located on the northwest slope of Mt. Kearsarge (el. 2937') in Wilmot. Apparently, on a clear day, which Rebecca says occurs once every 10 years, "views extend to the White Mountains, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Atlantic Ocean and Boston".