Polar Bear
by Doug Patterson

The origin of the totem Polar Bear goes back to the Death Valley Double in the spring of 2001.  Actually it goes beyond that as a search for the appropriate totem has been thought about for years.  A totem is an Animal name that either matches the first letter of your last name or your first.  Lynn Katano gets credit for coming up with Polar Bear.  We had been discussing totems for a number of years, as the 508 seemed to becoming close to doable.  Now how could Death Valley be associated with Polar Bears you ask?  This is what happened.

Several of us got up to start the ride around 4am.  There was a light breeze blowing and temps in the mid 50's.  The ride starts with a 25 out then 25 back so we come back to the start just after sunrise.  Take a very light windbreaker vest and then drop it off back at the start.  The day was going to be nice with temps in the 70's.  When we returned to the start after the first 50 miles, it had not warmed up at all.  In fact it seemed to have gotten cooler with a very light cloud cover.  The wind was noticeable out of the south as well.  Keep the vest for now and drop it at the next stop (17 more miles) and pick it up on the way back.  Two stops later, it had not warmed up at all and in fact, had cooled to well below 50 degrees with a thick dark cloud cover and a 30mph plus head wind!  We were at the bottom of the 16 climb and as I gazed up the direction we would be going I asked the ride director if anyone had been up there and checked the road; flash flooding was on my mind.  He laughed and said no and then muttered something about snow as we were rocked by a cold gust of wind.  This was no place to drop the vest.  Within a mile it started to drizzle and the wind had diminished as I got into the canyons of the climb.  The cool temps were perfect for the climb even though the drizzle had now turned to rain.  Up I went better than I had ever climbed this road before!  I finally figured I better stop and have a GU and let one of my friends catch up.  It was then that I realized how cold it really was.  With the GU down and friend in sight it was time to move.  The rain had a certain sting to it as it hit my face but soon it all got quite.  The rain had turned to sleet and now it was snowing!  The top was near and so was one of the worst predicaments to be in.  The decent was 9 miles with speeds of up to 45mph and no clothing other then the vest in freezing conditions, and all soaking wet.  Of the over 200 riders that had started only 26 riders made it up and over to the next stop and turnaround point of Shoshone.  Everyone there was in some stage of hypothermia.  After 2 hours of shaking, I finally felt I could control the bike enough and make it back to the top, now a 9-mile climb.  I grabbed a trash bag and some plastic food server's gloves to keep the wind of my hands for the now 16 miles of decent back into the Valley and took off.  When I finished the ride, I found out I was one of 7(?) who stuck it out.  One rider for sure had finished, and 2 other riders were back just a ways.  The 4 of us were the only ones to have checked in at the turn around.

A few weeks later was the Hemet Double.  Shortly after starting, it began to rain a very cold hard rain.  It continued for the next 125 miles.  It never snowed on the ride but temps at the high point of the ride dipped to 39 degrees I am told.  14 other riders finished that ride, as the rain was somewhat predicted (light intermittent showers).  At Torture Clinic the following week, Lynn came up with the name Polar Bear, as I was the only person to have finished both of the rides.  Totem Found.