Larry's training log... T-N-T Death Ride: Grizzly Peak Century

Friday night when I got home from work I had every intention of riding Chris' 108-mile Mountain View to Gilroy ALC training ride on Saturday, but I ended up changing plans. Two weeks ago I hemmed and hawed all week about whether I wanted to attempt the Grizzly Peak Century yesterday that by the time I decided I wanted to the Century registration was full. I'm learning that if you snooze, you loose, on some of these rides. I must plan ahead even better. So when I checked my email Friday evening to find that Jerome, who had successfully registered, was not able to go and could transfer his registration, I jumped at the chance. Actually I waited a half hour to see if anyone else on the DSSF list wanted to claim it first, but then realized most would be doing the Wine Country Century on Saturday.

I don't have many pictures to share because I didn't stop to dawdle. I had never done a ride of this length combined with an ascent climb of this magnitude before and was nervous about how I would do. I shouldn't have feared. The ride was a phenomenal ride. Started off the morning in cool fog at 6:45 am and quickly climbed Grizzly Peak. Wish I could say the view was awesome, but with the fog, and the 'redwood rain' (large ass drops of water from the tall redwoods) I was only hoping that my tires would stay inflated as I passed biker after biker stopping to change their flats. My least favorite part of the entire ride was the riding between Tilden Park (1st rest stop - mile 20) and the Port Costa rest stop (mile 44). That section was mostly flat and the part going directly through the gas refineries was just hideous. Immediately after the Port Costa rest stop was what I think was the most difficult hill of the day, McEwan. McEwan is basically 600 feet of climbing in one mile. After McEwan there was Pig Farm Hill and Mama Bear before the third rest stop, Briones (mile 61). The picture below is of the Briones rest stop.

After Briones, I wished I had stopped to take a picture because the line of bicyclists climbing Papa Bear looked like ants on a hill. Lunch was at mile 73, back where we started at Campolindo High School in Moraga. After 73 miles my legs and energy felt good, but the wind picked up, and the temperatures dropped a bit (or at least if felt like it). Before heading out for the second part of the ride, the south loop, I put on my vest and armbands. Now I sort of psyched myself out for the second part of the ride. All the ride information says that the second part is much hillier than the first (which is technically correct), but all morning I'm thinking the biggest climb in the afternoon is Skyline. I've never ridden in the East Bay and I'm thinking of Skyline in San Mateo and Woodside, between Highway 92 and 84, on the Peninsula, and that Skyline is one mean hill. So I'm climbing some road called Redwood, which is fairly tough, to get to Skyline. Once I turn on Skyline I stop to take some Double Shot Energy gel and get my mind set to climb Skyline. Well the climbing didn't last long, and then it was descending a bit, then a lot. I guess I was so worried about the mean hill that I ended up climbing it without realizing it. But the next picture is from somewhere on the descent, can't remember exactly where.

The last and final rest stop was at mile 97. As you can see from all the lying about on the lawn, in the pictures below, that the mileage was starting to take its toll.

There were still two more significant climbs after this rest stop, RedWood and Pinehurst. I ended up back at the High School a little after four in the afternoon for nearly 10 hours total (riding + rest stops + lunch) and a little more than 8 hours moving. I was tired, muscles sore, but a good sore. I felt good. The ride was mostly beautiful, not too cold, not too hot, with Mama and Papa Bear thrown in for good measure. I'll be riding this one again. THANKS JEROME!!!