Category Archives: climbing

Glendora Mountain Road – Mountain Training Ride

Posted on by
3

Felony- 2011 Felt F1 with Di2 SRM 7900 wireless crankset power meter with Power Control 7 head unit

New bike, new year and here I am training for the  Furnace Creek 508 again.  For those that are not familiar with the Furnace Creek 508– it is a 508 mile non-stop bike race with 35,000 feet of climbing.  Along the way you  pass through the Mojave and Death Valley deserts and summit ten mountain passes.  It is “the toughest 48 hours in sport” . I am returning for a sixth SOLO run.  To my knowledge, I am one of only two racers to have successfully completed five consecutive solos.  The other racer is Michael Emde, multi-time Furnace Creek 508 Champion.

Yesterday, I had a few errands to run before being able to ride.  I began my ride out of Glendora later than I ever have.  It was 5pm.  But I thought it would be interesting to do the majority of the ride in daylight and finish the ride with a little night riding.  I was prepared with lights and set off.

My training route was:

CLIMB Glendora Mountain Road

Descend to Camp Williams

CLIMB Glendora Mountain Road (I call it little GMR)

CLIMB Glendora Ridge Road

CLIMB to the Mount Baldy Lifts

About 8,500 feet of climbing in 39 miles!

Elevation chart for my ride.

 

It is early in my preparation for the Furnace Creek 508 but I wanted to see what my form was like.  I set out on Glendora Mountain Road with a short warm-up and then went for my Personal Record (PR)  of 44 minutes.  I felt fine during the climb.  I looked at my power numbers compared to my heart rate and once again I noticed they were lower than usual.  I have been participating in CVAC sessions and I believe that has a lot to do with it.  More on CVAC later.  I was only 12 seconds off my PR.  The result is very promising since it is only May and my PR was set in late August when I am in much better form.  the other reason my result is good is that it comes at the end of eight workout training week and almost 19 hours on the bike.  Below is the graph of my ascent of Glendora Mountain Road.

Once I crested GMR I descended towards Camp Williams.  That descent is a favorite of mine but there were too many rocks strewn on the road to really enjoy it.  The weather was perfect.  I hadn’t finished my first bottle when I pulled into the Camp Williams store.  I topped of the bottle and then ascended what I call little GMR.  Why?  Because it is only 4.9 miles vice 8 miles — seems like a good enough reason to me 😉  My time was 30:09 from the right turn onto GMR to the junction at with Glendora Ridge Road.  It was slower than my PR but I was spent from going hard on GMR.

Once at the junction I continued climbing on Glendora Ridge Road.  I was not going for any specific time other than just keeping the intensity at medium level. I was fatigued but recovered on the occasional downgrade.

After climbing Glendora Ridge Road I climbed from the Post Office where I refueled to the Mount Baldy Ski Lifts.  I was beat but I had to follow my plan.  I struggled with the steep grades.  I was riding my SRM 53/39 crankset and an 11/28 cassette.  My legs were really fatigued but up the mountain I went.  I summited only out of shear will.  I kept telling myself “this is your last climb of the day.” ” This is your last hard effort of the week. ”  “It’s been a long hard week …just get it done!”  Here is my power chart for Post Office to the lifts.  Notice the grey line how much higher it is than my yellow line.  Yellow is Power and grey is Torque.  The climb to the lifts is really steep over  10 percent in many sections.  My 39×28 combination was not easy enough to spin up so I was grinding and producing A LOT of torque.  I don’t ride a compact because I have an SRM and prefer to use a standard crankset since 95% of the time I won’t be climbing 15% grades 😉

Climb Analysis- From Post Office in Baldy Village to Mt Baldy Ski Lifts

 It was now night time 8:45 pm.   And this is where the “adventure” in George’s Epic Adventures begins.  My headlight was shutting off every time I hit a bump.  So I pulled over to see if the battery was fully engaged and that’s when I noticed the plastic enclosure around the proprietary battery had broken.  When I tried to reinsert the battery it wouldn’t work at all now.  Hmm…I already dislike proprietary stuff but now I’m at the top of Mount Baldy …pitch black with no ambient light…and 26 miles from my car on almost all twisty downhill!  Now I could abandon the light and get my night vision which would take about 20 minutes.  I could see the road in general and use the fog line and the centerline to guide myself down the mountain.  But my main concern was all the rocks I had seen strewn along the road– just hitting one of them could ruin my season if not more.  And then there was the x-factor.  Something I hadn’t considered was the boy racers in their fast cars racing up and down Glendora Mountain Road.  One very scary moment three cars came around a blind corner over the centerline right at me.  I swerved to the ditch and was safe but I think I gave that young man a good scare as well.  He was probably thinking what is this crazy dude doing on a bike at 10 something at night with no headlight descending this mountain.

Serfas True 250 – 250 lumen headlight

The last 26 mile stretch took me 1 hour 40 minutes and my average speed was only 16.5 mph.  Actually, that isn’t so bad afterall.  I was cold as well and I was never so happy to see my car.

George “Red-Eyed Vireo” Vargas on Felony – his 2011 Felt F1 with Shimano Di2 and SRM 7900 power meter climbing Glendora Mountain Road.

And now for a special treat I met Ray Clone as I was taking a picture of Felony in front of the 5.08 mile marker sign. He explained to me that he has been riding Glendora Ridge Road for 30 years. He asked to take a picture of me…how could I refuse?

Newport Beach to Dawson Saddle 270 km (168 miles) 11,300 feet of gain

Posted on by
12

I wish to nominate Dawson Saddle for another of California’s Toughest Climbs  additional links here and here .  Dawson Saddle is 32 miles and gains 7,500 feet.  But there’s more difficulty to this climb than just the mileage and the gain.  If you plan on tackling the climb to Dawson Saddle please follow these tips to ensure safe travels:

1.  If you want a short warm-up and then begin climbing straightaway you should start at Encanto Park approximately 660 feet above sea level

2.  In the summer months, I would start the climb with a minimum of three bottles.  I have done it with five bottles.  Never a bad thing to have “too much fluids/nutrition”

3.  In the summer months, expect temperatures over 90 degrees F at the lower elevations

4.  Bring at least five hours of nutrition Minimum three-hour climb, Recovery at the summit and then nutrition for the long descent. The descent is not a high-speed descent because of the road conditions which you should note on your climb.  There are sections were you can open it up as well, so to speak.

5.  There isn’t anywhere to get fluids once you begin the climb

6.  There is a stream coming through the rocks at about 4,000 feet elevation – drink at your own risk!

7.  In May and June you should plan to reach the summit and begin your descent before 3 pm – temperatures drop very quickly as the sun sets  The “sun sets” sooner because you are surrounded by higher mountain peaks in the area and you lose the Sun’s heat earlier

8.  Bring a vest and arm/knee warmers and light full-fingered gloves as a minimum.  I HIGHLY recommend wool! Standard issue of clothing if you wish to a summit bagger!

9. Unless you are a strong climber bring at least a 27 tooth cassette (11-27 or 11-28) or a compact crankset 50/34.  I have done this climb with a 53/39 and 11-23 cassette but I wouldn’t recommend that for everyone.

10. Bring a buddy this is a remote climb, with closed roads to vehicular traffic, cell coverage is spotty to non-existent.  I would go on the assumption that there’s isn’t cell coverage.    Wildlife can and should be expected such as bears, deer and squirrels.  Yes squirrels, they are dangerous because they are unpredictable and cross your path then double back across your path again – a recipe for disaster.

11.  Bring plenty of flat repair- even though the road has been cleaned significantly over the years I have been doing this climb the roads are not maintained, frost heaves, potholes, plenty of loose rock, and falling rock are strewn along the highway.  I bring tire boots but a spare tire is not a bad idea.

12.  Be prepared to ride at least five hours without seeing another cyclist and once you pass the gated areas you won’t see any cars.

13.  Descend with caution- it could be hours or even days before someone finds you!

14.  File a flight plan- Tell a loved one or a friend where you are going and when you are expected back.  I have always called/texted my loved one with three simple words “on the mountain” and then “off the mountain”

15.  Lastly enjoy the views they are spectacular!

Training Peaks screenshot of Dawson Saddle Climb Normalized Power 201 or 3 w/kg for 3 hours

Grade analysis of Dawson Saddle from the Public Restroom at mile 35.25 on the San Gabriel River Trail

Felony – my 2011 Felt F1 with Shimano Di2

George “Red-Eyed Vireo” Vargas summits Dawson Saddle on his 2011 Felt F1 with Di2- 32 mile 7,500 feet of gain climb

My ride yesterday was from Newport Beach to Dawson Saddle 168 miles with 11,000 + feet of climbing. I left Newport Beach close to 1pm.  My plan was to do some night riding at the tail-end of my ride.  I was stocked with 10 hours of nutrition.  I ran out of fuel 9 hours into the ride.  It took me almost 11 hours to get home.  I bonked badly.  I rode 126 miles the day before and because of  it I was much hungrier on this ride.  My route was North on Pacific Coast Hwy (PCH)  to Seal Beach and then the San Gabriel River Trail (SGRT) to Hwy 39 to Angeles Crest Hwy 2 to Dawson Saddle summit 7901 elevation.  It’s important to mention that the  Dawson Saddle summit is 84 miles into my ride.  This climb is hard enough from Encanto Park where you get a couple miles of warm-up and just go.  Now imagine starting this climb with 50 miles on your legs.  Or how about this after summiting realizing you are still 84 miles from home.

his ride is especially difficult SOLO and unsupported.  You must carry enough fluids and nutrition from the start to a public restroom at mile 35.25 on the SGRT – about 50 miles for me.  Then refuel and have enough fuel/fluids for the next 35 miles of climbing – at least 3 hours of climbing.  You should have enough nutrition and fluids to have something at the summit and for your descent.  The descent takes a little longer than normal because the road conditions are not ideal in certain areas.  Basically you need enough of  whatever you fancy for 70 miles with 3+ hours of hard climbing in a remote closed road section.  Then once you refuel at the public restroom you need enough fluids/fuel to get you 35 miles back to PCH and then home if you don’t want to stop again.  Can you say Epic Adventure?!?!?!

Thank you for reading my blog.  Please provide me with feedback as to whether you find this post useful before or after doing your climb.  Please pass this blog on to your climbing friends.

Here are a few other posts I have made on climbing Dawson Saddle

September 29, 2008

May 14, 2010

May 27, 201

Everest Challenge 29,000 feet of climbing…Done!

Posted on by
6

Hello everyone and thank you for checking in on my blog.  I am tired and not really in the mood for a long race report so I’ll be brief.  I completed my third Everest Challenge on Sunday 9/26/10.  I suffered in the heat.  On both days I had great climbs on climb #1 and climb #2 but then the heat would be there for climb #3.  It was not my worst showing but I should have done much better.  I expected to do much better.

Today is Monday 9/27/10 and I am in full recovery mode as I am racing the Furnace Creek 508 in less than a week.  Most of you think I’m crazy for doing Everest Challenge and the Furnace Creek 508 in a week’s time.  Well I probably am but…I just want to test my limits.  People ask me why I do ultras…it’s because I want to test the limits of human endurance…my limits.  I’m not interested in placing high.  I’m interested in finding out where is my low.  Where is the bottom?  Where is the point where I say “Man this is it …you’re broken.”

THE WEAPON

Felt F2 with Di2, SRM Dura-Ace 7900 Wireless Power Meter Crankset 53/39, Cassette 11-28, Zipp Zed Tech 2, PRO Turnix Saddle and Carbon Vibe Stem.


 

My unofficial time is 15:23.  Below are the elevation charts.  When the official results are posted  I’ll post a race report.  I am curious to see how many DNF’s and No Shows on day two.  Thank you for tuning in.

I want to thank Infinit Nutrition for supporting me in my Epic Adventures.  Please look into customizable nutrition to help you perform better.  I used Infinit Nutrition on Everest Challenge and will use it on the Furnace Creek 508!

Day one of Everest Challenge

Day 2 of Everest Challenge

Onion Valley Personal Record (PR)

Posted on by
1

ONION VALLEY COMPARED TO MT VENTOUX, FRANCE

TRAINING GOAL– Monthly fitness test on Onion Valley Rd (tempo/threshold)

BIKE SETUP – 53/39 Dura-Ace 7900 Wireless SRM Crankset and 11-28 Cassette.

On 9/17 I climbed Onion Valley Rd to a Personal Record (PR) of 1 hour 44 minutes.  It’s a 13 mile climb that gains over 5,000 feet in one solid shot.  There are no flat spots or dips in this climb which makes this an extremely hard climb. Take for example Mount Palomar — after climbing a 5 miles you get a 3/4 mile flat section before beginning the final 6.7 miles at 7% to the summit.  Or Mosquito Flat where you have a .9 mile dip 8 miles into the climb and a couple sections of fairly gently grades.  Or Ancient Bristlecone/White Mountain were about 8 miles into the climb you have a 1 mile flat section before continuing on White Mountain Road to the 10,000 foot summit.

On 9/16 I climbed Mosquito Flat to a Personal Record of 2 hours 27 minutes.  I was going good but I knew I had at least one more climb to do.  I also climbed Pine Creek a 7.5 mile climb that was steeper than I remembered it.  It’s important to mention what I did on 9/16 because I was surprised how well my legs recovered overnight.  I felt really good on Onion Valley.  How good?– I kept easing the pace because I thought I would blow up.   I eventually fatigued but even looking at my Training Peaks chart you can see the Power curve (Yellow Line) is pretty consistent.  I am happy with the consistency and I don’t think I have more than another 5 minutes to cut off this climb — this season.  I would need to train a lot more drop some weight and try again next year.

Notice sustained sections above 9% and no dips

Notice the Red section shows higher cadence for same or more power

George Vargas sets Personal Record on Onion Valley 1 hour 44 minutes.  Consistent improvements since June

MFRA from Training Peaks WKO 3.0

Training Peaks Graph for Onion Valley Rd PR

RED- Heart Rate

PURPLE- Temperature

GREEN- Cadence

YELLOW- Power

GREY- Torque

BLUE – Speed

ORANGE- Elevation

 

Data for Onion Valley Rd PR

Most Difficult Climbs in California:

1) Onion Valley —               DONE 6/10/10 !!

2) Horseshoe Meadows — DONE 6/10/10!!

3) White Mountain–          DONE as part of Everest Challenge Stage Race

4) Sherman Pass–             DONE 6/24/10!!

5) Whitney Portal —         DONE 6/10/10!!

6) Mount Baldy–               DONE- too many times to mention

7) Shirley Meadows–        DONE 6/24/10!!

8) South Lake–                  DONE as part of Everest Challenge Stage Race

9) Mount Palomar–           DONE 6/06/10!!

10) Mosquito Flat–           DONE 09/02/10!!

Additionally, here is the list of the 10 toughest climbs in the US.

Below is a list of some of the top cycling climb bike rides that are listed in the bookBest Cycling Climbs In The US. The book lists the 100 toughest USA road bike climbs from 1 to 100.

  1. Mt Washington, NH
  2. Haleakala, HI
  3. Onion Valley, CA
  4. Horseshoe Meadows, CA
  5. Mt. Equinox, VT
  6. White MTN, CA
  7. Mt. Baldy, CA
  8. Mt Graham, AZ
  9. Mt. Lemmon, AZ
  10. Palomar Mountain, CA

Onion Valley Road is compared to Mt Ventoux, France

Screen Shot 2014-08-14 at 8.15.04 PM

 

Screen Shot 2014-08-14 at 8.19.39 PM

And now for something silly– Ever since I purchased Felicia I have been outfitting her with all the latest and greatest gadgets.  But one thing I have left off of her on purpose.  On everyone of my race bikes I always have a Superman figurine on the seat stay cluster.  My reason for leaving the Superman off is I just didn’t feel like I was in good enough form to put Superman back there.  But after a successfull todays of training and two PR’s on two very tough climbs I think Felicia is finally ready to get her Superman.

Everest Challenge Recon- Continued

Posted on by
6

On Thursday 9/16 I climbed Mosquito Flat.  I had a better day than I did two weeks ago on 9/2.  Below you will see the graphs and data for both days.  The first set is from 9/2 and the next set from 9/16.

Most notable improvements were:

5 minutes reduction in time (2:32 to 2:27)

10 watt increase in Normalized Power (189 watts to 199 watts)

.2 increase in w/kg (2.7 to 2.9 w/kg)

9 bpm increase in intensity (163 bpm to 172 bpm)

4% increase in Intensity Factor (68% to 72%)

5 rpm increase in Average Cadence (68 rpm to 73 rpm)

.3 mph increase in Average Speed (9.0 mph to 9.3 mph)

Crank Torque was reduced by 3 lb-in (which is also reflected in higher average cadence)

23 miles in a loooong way to climb and be able to sustain high power output– at least for this mere mortal.  But I’m satisfied with the results and I feel my form continuing to build.  I’m still undecided whether I will be riding Everest Challenge.  In the days proceeding EC I will be at Interbike in Las Vegas and on my feet for many hours.  I won’t have the luxury of traditional rest, hydration and home cooked meals.  So we’ll see….

Thank you for reading my blog please pass it on to your friends.

Everest Challenge Training Flashback– 2006

Posted on by
Reply

It occurred to me today that before learning about John Summerson’s list of the toughest climbs in California I would just go out and do repeats on Palomar Mountain.  Palomar ranks 9th on the most difficult climbs in California and 10th in the country!  How convenient to have such a storied climb in my backyard — San Diego.  But since learning about his book I have made the effort on several trips to climb the hardest climbs in California.  Yesterday I climbed Mosquito Flat and another climb Pine Creek.  Today I climbed Onion Valley Road.  I PR’d Mosquito Flat yesterday and Onion Valley Road today — check back for a ride report. 

The graph above was back in 2006 when I was getting ready for my first Everest Challenge.  The first day of the race has over 15,000 feet of gain with little flat (read recovery) in between the climbs.  So why not do repeats and get the same cumulative gain with short recovery?  Made sense to me and so I embarked on FOUR REPEATS ON PALOMAR MOUNTAIN.

To say this was a hard day on the bike is an understatement but mentally and physically I was more than ready to take up the challenge of the toughest two day stage race.  The 100F temperature also played a big factor in my overall fatigue.  In case you’re wondering I kept my climbing repeats between 1 hour 20minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes.  By the third descent I could have descended the upper half blindfolded 🙂    The fourth climb was a  bear.  The fourth descent was the sweetest!! 

Most Difficult Climbs:

1) Onion Valley —               DONE 6/10/10 !!
2) Horseshoe Meadows — DONE 6/10/10!!
3) White Mountain–          DONE as part of Everest Challenge Stage Race
4) Sherman Pass–             DONE 6/24/10!!
5) Whitney Portal —         DONE 6/10/10!!
6) Mount Baldy–               DONE- too many times to mention
7) Shirley Meadows–        DONE 6/24/10!!
8) South Lake–                  DONE as part of Everest Challenge Stage Race
9) Mount Palomar–           DONE 6/06/10!!
10) Mosquito Flat–           DONE 09/02/10!!

Greatest Elevation Gained:

1) Horseshoe Meadows – 6,234 feet– DONE 6/10/10 !!
2) White Mountain – 6,204 feet
3) 190 – 6,199 feet
4) J21/245/180 – 5,750 feet
5) Mosquito Flat – 5,548 feet  DONE 9/-2/10
6) Dantes View – 5,475 feet
7) South Lake – 5,445 feet
8) Sherman Pass – 5,316 feet– DONE 6/24/10!!
9) Emigrant Pass – 5,309 feet
10) Onion Valley – 5,169 feet DONE 6/10/10!!

Highest Elevation Attained:

1) Mosquito Flat – 10,220 feet- DONE 9/02/10
2) White Mountain – 10,152 feet
3) Horseshoe Meadows – 10,034 feet DONE 6/10/10!!
4) Tioga Pass – 9,945 feet
5) South Lake – 9,852 feet
6) Sonora Pass – 9,624 feet
7) Kaiser Pass – 9,184 feet
8) Onion Valley – 9,163 feet — DONE 6/10/10!!
9) Lake Sabrina – 9,141 feet
10) Sherman Pass – 9,126 feet– DONE 6/24/10!!

Additionally, here is the list of the 10 toughest climbs in the US.

Below is a list of some of the top cycling climb bike rides that are listed in the bookBest Cycling Climbs In The US. The book lists the 100 toughest USA road bike climbs from 1 to 100.

  1. Mt Washington, NH
  2. Haleakala, HI
  3. Onion Valley, CA
  4. Horseshoe Meadows, CA
  5. Mt. Equinox, VT
  6. White MTN, CA
  7. Mt. Baldy, CA
  8. Mt Graham, AZ
  9. Mt. Lemmon, AZ
  10. Palomar Mountain, CA

Thank you for reading my blog.  Please pass it on to your friends.  

Glacier Lodge Ancient Bristlecone/White Mountain – Everest Challenge Recon Day 2

Posted on by
3

Glacier Lodge double peak and Ancient Bristlecone White Mountain double peak

Terrain map with Bishop as a reference Glacier Lodge West of Hwy 395 and Ancient Bristlecone White Mountain East of Hwy 395

12,000 feet of climbing in 52 miles (last 22 are descending to the car)

GARMIN PLAYER CAN BE FOUND HERE

Glacier Lodge Climb

Glacier Lodge Climb with Torque

Refer to this previous post for grade analysis of Glacier Lodge and Ancient Bristlecone/White Mountain Climbs

Middle section of Glacier Lodge hard to tell but over 9% avg for at least 7 of the 10 miles

Three deer on the road and bush near summit of Glacier Lodge

Summit of Glacier Lodge Climb (paved road) about 8,000 feet

Glacier Lodge Summit 8,000 feet looking up at amazing  scenery

Yes it was hot out in Big Pine!

Ancient Bristlecone White Mountain Rd

Easy to miss the elevation signs on the Ancient Bristlecone climb

Easy to miss the 9,000 feet sign too!

view from the vista point before the summit

View from the summit of White Mountain Rd

View from the summit of White Mountain Rd above 10,000 feet elevation

Mosquito Flat Climb – Everest Challenge Recon

Posted on by
6

Post on the completion of the 10 toughest climbs in California here is the  list

Garmin Player Download

Most Difficult Climbs:

1) Onion Valley —               DONE 6/10/10 !!
2) Horseshoe Meadows — DONE 6/10/10!!
3) White Mountain–          DONE as part of Everest Challenge Stage Race
4) Sherman Pass–             DONE 6/24/10!!
5) Whitney Portal —         DONE 6/10/10!!
6) Mount Baldy–               DONE- too many times to mention
7) Shirley Meadows–        DONE 6/24/10!!
8) South Lake–                  DONE as part of Everest Challenge Stage Race
9) Mount Palomar–           DONE 6/06/10!!
10) Mosquito Flat–           DONE 09/02/10!!

Greatest Elevation Gained:

1) Horseshoe Meadows – 6,234 feet– DONE 6/10/10 !!
2) White Mountain – 6,204 feet
3) 190 – 6,199 feet
4) J21/245/180 – 5,750 feet
5) Mosquito Flat – 5,548 feet  DONE 9/-2/10
6) Dantes View – 5,475 feet
7) South Lake – 5,445 feet
8) Sherman Pass – 5,316 feet– DONE 6/24/10!!
9) Emigrant Pass – 5,309 feet
10) Onion Valley – 5,169 feet DONE 6/10/10!!

Highest Elevation Attained:

1) Mosquito Flat – 10,220 feet- DONE 9/02/10
2) White Mountain – 10,152 feet
3) Horseshoe Meadows – 10,034 feet DONE 6/10/10!!
4) Tioga Pass – 9,945 feet
5) South Lake – 9,852 feet
6) Sonora Pass – 9,624 feet
7) Kaiser Pass – 9,184 feet
8) Onion Valley – 9,163 feet — DONE 6/10/10!!
9) Lake Sabrina – 9,141 feet
10) Sherman Pass – 9,126 feet– DONE 6/24/10!!

Additionally, here is the list of the 10 toughest climbs in the US.

Below is a list of some of the top cycling climb bike rides that are listed in the bookBest Cycling Climbs In The US. The book lists the 100 toughest USA road bike climbs from 1 to 100.

  1. Mt Washington, NH
  2. Haleakala, HI
  3. Onion Valley, CA
  4. Horseshoe Meadows, CA
  5. Mt. Equinox, VT
  6. White MTN, CA
  7. Mt. Baldy, CA
  8. Mt Graham, AZ
  9. Mt. Lemmon, AZ
  10. Palomar Mountain, CA

I hadn’t climbed Mosquito Flat in a while mainly because I didn’t want to make the drive all the way to Bishop, CA. But with Everest Challenge coming at the end of the month, September 25-26, I thought it would be a good idea to climb it.  Mosquito Flat is the highest elevation gained in California and the highest paved road in the Eastern Sierras.

“The road to Mosquito Flat at 10,250′ is the highest paved road in the Sierra Nevada. The climb is 22 miles, average grade is 5%. Maximum grade lower half is 9%, upper half is 11%. There is 280′ of descending along the way, bringing the total climbing to 6,048′.”

Source

I had a rough day on the bike.  I actually had wanted to climb not just Mosquito Flat but South Lake too.  I was feeling like crap so I called it a day after just Mosquito Flat.  Heck I only got 7,000 feet of gain in 65 miles— man I’m a slacker 😉

EPIC TRAINING TIP OF THE DAY

When you’re not feeling it “out there” then call it a day.  Go home and take of yourself. Have a good meal, get some good rest and maybe even splurge on something– for me that’s ice cream.  Trust me you’re not getting quality training if you’re just turning the pedals around.  And trust me on this one too– you will come back the next day and ride like a rock star!

After a very short section of Hwy 395 left turn to continue climbing to Mosquito Flat

Above 9,000 feet Elevation this is my favorite section of the 20+ mile climb

The trailhead is just behind me at 10,200 feet!

At 9,000 feet Elevation looking up.

New guardrail going up on Lower Rock Creek Rd

It's a climbers Paradise!

Rock Creek Lake

Trailhead at the end of Mosquito Flat climb


Century in the Santa Monica Mountains

Posted on by
2

TRAINING GOALS

1.  Hard efforts on the climbs

2.  A century or at least 6 hours

3. Tempo and Threshold work

4. Climb WITH aerobars installed

5. Time in aerobars

THE BIKE

Felt F2 with Di2, SRM power meter, 53/39 crankset and 11-25 cassette

THE ROUTE

UP and DOWN hills of Santa Monica

Topanga Canyon, Old Topanga, Stunt Rd, Mullholand Hwy and Latigo Canyon.

THE RIDE

98 miles 9,900 feet of climbing

Garmin Download here

It was hot even though I was just off the coast.  On one of the climbs, Stunt Rd., new top coat was being laid down on the right side of the road.  It made it really sketchy because I had to climb either right next to the cones, in the center of the lane, or on the left hand shoulder.  As I mentioned earlier, it was hot already and now the new pavement was giving off even more heat– or so it seemed.  The only good thing about climbing Stunt Rd was knowing there was a water stop up the road.  At EXACTLY mile marker 3.61 there is a water fountain in front of a residence.  It has a drinking spout and a spigot to fill your bottles.  It is very nice of that resident to provide water for us– Thank you!!

Tuna Canyon was a FUN descent– super twisty! The last climb of the day was Latigo Canyon.  It was my first time up Latigo and I liked the climb the only problem was that I already had 7,000 feet on my legs.  I had done a lot of surges and sprints on the climbs throughout the day.  And of course it was hot and I was getting dehydrated.

It was amazing how much cooler it was once I reached the coast.  Then with the aid of a tailwind I boogied back from Latigo Canyon to Channel where the car was parked.  A good day of climbing at intensity, some flats and some heat.

Thank you for reading my blog and please…pass it on to your friends.

Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) new PR sub 44 minutes

Posted on by
2

Every year as I prepare myself for the Furnace Creek 508 I pass this mile marker.

TRAINING GOALS

1.  Tempo to Threshold power on short climbs

2.  Fitness check

3.  Personal Record attempt on Glendora Mountain Rd.

THE ROUTE

Start Boulder Springs Rd – Glendora

Warm up on Big Dalton Canyon Rd.

Climb Glendora Mountain Rd (8 mile climb)

Descend “Little GMR”

Refuel at Camp Williams spigot

Climb Little GMR (5 mile climb)

Descend GMR to Glendora

THE BIKE

Felt F2 with Di2 53/39 Crankset  11-25 Cassette

A screen shot of the entire ride from Training Peaks WKO 3.0

ORANGE- ELEVATION

YELLOW- POWER

RED- HEART RATE

Below is a screen shot of my new Personal Record (PR) 43:59 for Glendora Mountain Road (GMR). My new PR is 2:09 faster than my time from 08/08/09, almost exactly a year ago today.    GMR  is an 8 mile climb with a consistent 6% grade until the top where there is a dip.  I felt OK but I definitely did not expect a PR the way I was riding but there it is. For those that don’t understand power maybe you would be interested to know  my average speed was 11 mph.  NORMALIZED POWER WAS 245 WATTS OR 3.64 w/kg and 626 kjs

SCREEN SHOT OF GLENDORA MOUNTAIN CLIMB FROM TRAINING PEAKS WKO 3.0

Screen shot of Little GMR climb

I sucked pretty badly on the Little GMR climb.  My legs just didn’t have it.  Surprisingly, I was only a 1 minute or so off my PR.  I need to come back with fresher legs.  Yesterday’s 84 miler before work (5am start) zapped my legs more than I thought.  Then I worked all day spending almost 9 hours on my feet and you can see why my legs might not be as fresh as they could be.

As I was pedaling squares up Little GMR, I thought of pro cyclists having to come out day after day on a stage race and be “on it”.  Just one bad day or one bad climb can ruin their prospects of winning the overall.  How DO they recover every night and come out to fight again day after day?

Post where you can find information on my Previous PR