Cast of characters, in no particular order: The 2002 route for the annual Furnace Creek Spring Tour included much of the actual 508 race route, nearly all of the Badwater Ultramarathon race route, as well as surrounding areas of interest, including the epic climb to Danté's View, and a new adventure climbing Wildrose over Emigrant Pass! Best of all, support vehicles carried all the gear, while hot meals and real beds awaited the riders each night. As an added bonus, we had the most spectacular weather imaginable for our four days of fun riding in the Death Valley region! Here's what we rode, as depicted in the two slideshows (Day Three and Day Four is above. For the Day One and Day Two slideshow, click here. Wednesday: We met in Lone Pine, CA, at the foot of Mt. Whitney. We stayed in Lone Pine. Thursday, We rode from Lone Pine to Stove Pipe Wells via Wildrose and Emigrant Pass = 106 miles. Friday: We rode from Stove Pipe Wells to Shoshone via Badwater, Jubilee Pass, and Salsberry Pass = 100 miles. Saturday: We rode from Shoshone to Death Valley Junction, then doglegged out and back for the the epic climb to Danté's View (way up above Badwater), then passed through Furnace Creek on our way to the finish in Stove Pipe Wells = 107 miles. Day Four: We rode from Stove Pipe Wells to Lone Pine via Townes Pass in reverse, Panamint, and Father Crowley's = 79 miles. Special thanks to Jann Coury and Mike Angelos, our official support team for this event, as well as rider Rob's wife Julie, who drove the luggage van, for all their hard work and dedication. They made it possible for all of us to have a great time in and around Death Valley!   |
