Southern California - Mulholland Challenge reports

Well?

Though not an official participant, I rode up Piuma and walked my bike across the Shuren construction zone to Saddle Peak, where SAG was set up for the double century riders at their last check point before the finish. Officially that location will be open until 10:30pm. The SAG women invited me to stop by during the evening hours just to lend support and cheer on those suffering badly as they finish their last tough climb of the day, but still with 12 or so miles to go before completing the 200 miles. Unfortunately I've got some work to do or I'd be there.

Drat, wasn't fast enough. I made a thread in the road forum. Post your reports there
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=530089

Kidd, if you could repost there that would be great!

Drat, wasn't fast enough. I made a thread in the road forum. Post your reports there
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=530089

Kidd, if you could repost there that would be great!

I've got some pictures I'll add. And a story.

Mulholland Century was a good ride! I started at 6:45 AM approx. after the big grouphad taken off.

Very cold down Las Virgenes, but much better once we hit Malibu. Easy climb up Topanga / Old Topanga, some easy, some difficult climbs, some great descents on Mulholland. Deer creek was still a scary descent, and the re-route UP Mulholland was more difficult than I expected, but quite do-able.

Saw Grumpy Pig and Lee Scott, maybe other forumites I don't remember at the moment.

Then after the first Decker checkpoint, a great descent on Encinal to PCH, and the usual, expected, BRUTAL climb up Decker. Sheesh, doesn't get easier the more I do it! Even with the tail wind we had this time. After that some rollies, but nothing serious, then into the finish at 3:15 PM.

Overall a very good ride, well marked course, good re-route after the construction issues.

Great job by Debbie and Brian, plus volunteers (including but not limited to) :thumb: Terri Boykins, Lynn Katano, Tom Parkes, Crhis Hedberg, Rene and Clem Bartoli, David Slaton, Paul Haussler and Frank Neil. There were more, but those are the ones I know.

Rick / OCRR

Rick at the top of Decker in OCRR jersey

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee179/bikephoto1/RickontopofDecker.jpg

PS: Sorry umd, but I don't post at all on the Road Forum, plus this was a Southern CA ride.

Overall a very good ride, well marked course, good re-route after the construction issues.

The sticker stops were not marked and the first decker stop was not marked at all... it was not clear that you had to go down decker to get to the stop and come back up to get to Encinal.

The sticker stops were not marked and the first decker stop was not marked at all... it was not clear that you had to go down decker to get to the stop and come back up to get to Encinal.Yeah, that seemed like a last minute thing.

Here's my short and sweet story with pics. I didn't do the MC ride, but my planned route included many of the same roads used on MC. My ride included a partial Topanga climb to Mulholland, up Piuma, Shuren to Saddle Peak, then down Fernwood (one of the hairiest descents in the Santa Monicas) back to Topanga. 38 miles round trip with 3900 feet of climbing.

While heading up Piuma, a series of fire trucks, sheriff and emergency vehicles passed by me with their lights and sirens on. I could only guess it was yet another car or motorcyclist missing a turn because of speeding. Near the top of Piuma, I came upon the scene where all the vehicles parked alongside a very steep drop-off. Turns out a base jumper with parachute miss-timed a gust of wind and instead of flying he fell to the ground some 30 feet below. They had to use a helicopter to retrieve him.

The sight on Piuma as I was riding up to get the complete base jumper story.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/michsis/piumarescue2.jpg

Looking back at the accident site
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/michsis/piumarescue3.jpg

Shuren construction zone. The van in the pic was going to turn around, but I convinced him his van could make it over the dirt piles. For obvious reasons, I walked across.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/michsis/shuren1.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/michsis/shuren2.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/michsis/shuren4.jpg

^ Shuren/Piuma is normally the last descent of the MC ride, but was changed this year for obvious reasons.

I left the house in Pasadena about 4:30 AM. Got out to registration in no time and just in time to see the crazy double century folks taking off. Kudos to them for doing 200 miles on that course! I had plenty of time to kill before the 6:30 start time, so I crawled back in the Trooper to stay warm.

I could tell I was under dressed for the 40 degree temps at the start and was way under dressed for the mid-30 degree temps on Malibu Canyon. We took of right at 6:30 and immediately my fingers were numb with my half finger gloves. All I had was wool arm warmers, toe covers, and a vest. No full finger gloves, no jacket, no leg warmers. My fingers have never hurt so much from the cold. In the end it was really only 20-30 minutes of total discomfort. By the time we hit PCH I was feeling fine and glad I didn't have all that warm stuff to deal with. The vest was put away at the first SAG but the arm warmers stayed on all day, but spent most of the time around my wrists.

Heading south down PCH in the morning
http://i42.tinypic.com/2w6t4y8.jpg

Heading up Old Topanga Canyon
http://i40.tinypic.com/15d82o3.jpg

Eating some good salty food at SAG #1
http://i41.tinypic.com/2d8mbkn.jpg

Krisztian grinding out the Rock Store Grade
http://i44.tinypic.com/x2qkpx.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/aywt43.jpg

The weather was perfect today. Sunny, comfortably warm, with nice clouds, and a nice breeze. Can't ask for much better.

I felt strong most of the day. My favorite part of the day was the section along Yerba Buena. I spent a good bit of time all over the western part of the Santa Monicas in grad school doing vegetation sampling. It was great to be out there riding the same roads we traveled. The descents on most of the roads kind of sucked because the road quality was so bad. The climb up Corinth was not too bad as I still had legs at that point.

Climb up Yerba Buena
http://i44.tinypic.com/2zj9j78.jpg


Gate to some koo koo estate on Corinth I think
http://i42.tinypic.com/2w5k3k1.jpg

Heading south on PCH again but in the afternoon this time. Just south of Deer Creek heading to the Mulholland climb. This photo shows why real estate is $400+/sq ft.
http://i39.tinypic.com/262kw06.jpg

The reroute took us up Mulholland from PCH to Decker. Up until about mid-way up Mulholland I felt great. Mulholland slowly sucked the life out of me. By the time I got to the SAG at the top of Decker I was starting to loose it. Hearing we still had to climb Decker was totally demoralizing. The descent down Encenal was fast and fun. But the climb up Decker killed me. I was in 34x27 and doggin' it. Even had to stop quickly at one point.

I got a nice break at Decker and enjoyed a Snickers. Man those things really do satisfy you. We rolled out of Decker and started making our way back. There were lot of rolling hills but got to admit it wasn't too bad. The Rock Store Grade came up much quicker than I expected. That was the best descent all day for me. The ride from there on was pretty quick and I felt stronger the closer we got to the finish.

Do I look like death warmed over or what? This is after the climb up Decker.
http://i43.tinypic.com/20622z5.jpg

Stats for the day:
Total Time: 9:16:12
Moving Time: 7:57:48
Distance 101.81 miles
Elevation Gain: wait for it....12,442 feet
Average Heart Rate: 136 bpm Max: 184 bpm
Average Grade: 5.2%
Average Moving Speed: 12.8 mph
Total Ascent Distance: 34.93 miles

Rick, I actually saw you several time out there on the course. I was on the red DeSalve and Hammer Jersey. Probably didn't stick out with all the other Hammer jerseys and red in general. Good job out there!

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/michsis/shuren4.jpg



^^^ Man that looks pretty rideable. Now I'm wishing we would have done the original route. Maybe the county road work guys didn't want a bunch of bike going across that dirt road. Might have been an issue with PU's event permit or something.

Great ride reports everybody. I even read the one on road cycling. Your reports make me want to get out there and try it. Maybe next year...I'll be faster and stronger then.:rolleyes: Congrats!:thumb:

^^^ Man that looks pretty rideable. Now I'm wishing we would have done the original route. Maybe the county road work guys didn't want a bunch of bike going across that dirt road. Might have been an issue with PU's event permit or something.

It is rideable but very soft in spots and it would have been tough to do for some of the very tired riders.
Last Saturday there was heavy equipment working there and there was no way to get through. I think this is what made it a no-brainer to change the route.

Great ride reports everybody. I even read the one on road cycling. Your reports make me want to get out there and try it. Maybe next year...I'll be faster and stronger then.:rolleyes: Congrats!:thumb:

You know you can go out there anytime, right? You don't have to wait a year.

^ Shuren/Piuma is normally the last descent of the MC ride, but was changed this year for obvious reasons.

Don't you reside up there? It's Schueren not Shuren..

You know you can go out there anytime, right? You don't have to wait a year.

Thanks for calling me out.:p

If I were to put bets on myself, I'd have betted that I wouldn't have finished the course, at least not in the time allowed. But I did it, in under 11 hours. What a great time. At the begining of Little Sycamore cramping hit both legs pretty good, and I wondered if I would be able to get back to civilization, not mention finish the ride. Amping up on electrolytes cured the cramping and I took on Cotharin and Decker on the way to the finish.

So many roadies gripe about the road surface on Yerba Buena and Deer Creek. Me, I like the challenge and the call to my skills as a cyclist to negotiate these roads. I wouldn't want to have a whole centruy on road surface like this, but I thought it added to the entertaiment value of the ride.

That being said, I noticed that some participants took these descents very slowly. Well advised if one is not accustomed to this kind of suface, as it does affect one's ability to balance and control direction.

Thanks to the staff and all the volunteers for making this a very successful ride and giving me the opportunity for me to prove myself to myself.

That being said, I noticed that some participants took these descents very slowly. Well advised if one is not accustomed to this kind of suface, as it does affect one's ability to balance and control direction.

The problem is trying to go too slowly can potentially overheat your brakes.


Thanks to the staff and all the volunteers for making this a very successful ride and giving me the opportunity for me to prove myself to myself.

Yes, my earlier comments about the stickers notwithstanding, I do really appreciate the effort that they put into running the show and had a great time.

Thanks for calling me out.:p

Sorry, just teasing. Did you ever get up on Angeles Crest last year? The road is supposed to re-open this spring to Wrightwood, so there will be more traffic, but we will still ride up there in the summer.

Don't you reside up there? It's Schueren not Shuren..


Thanks for calling me out.:p
What she said :p

I'm getting conflicting reports on the elevation gain for the ride? The stats from my Garmin posted on Motion Based show 12.5K in gain but others are saying more like 10K.

That's motionbased for you. Elevation gain is hard to pin down exactly, but MotionBased tends to overstate it. One factor is MotionBased has it's "gravity" service which tends to really inflate elevation if activated. I did a quick-and-dirty analysis in the other thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=8717193&postcount=27) that didn't include many of the smaller rollers (e.g. 10-50 feet) and I came up with just under 10,000 feet. Add all of the rollers in and it's probably 11,000-12,000 feet.

My Polar stated 11,280, my iBike stated 10,894. Usually the iBike is higher. If you average the 2 together you get 11,087.

Interesting. Thanks for the responses. Geoladders says 10,700. Now that I have done the ride I like MotionBased. :)

What a fun event! I finished in 7 hrs 30 min. I noticed during the ride that there were photographers taking pictures of all the riders in some sections. Other than www.rockstorephotos.com (http://www.rockstorephotos.com) does anyone remembers the names of the websites for the other photographers that were taking pictures? I'd be interested in perhaps buying some good photos but I don't remember the websites. Thanks.

Here's my short and sweet story with pics. I didn't do the MC ride, but my planned route included many of the same roads used on MC. My ride included a partial Topanga climb to Mulholland, up Piuma, Shuren to Saddle Peak, then down Fernwood (one of the hairiest descents in the Santa Monicas) back to Topanga. 38 miles round trip with 3900 feet of climbing.

While heading up Piuma, a series of fire trucks, sheriff and emergency vehicles passed by me with their lights and sirens on. I could only guess it was yet another car or motorcyclist missing a turn because of speeding. Near the top of Piuma, I came upon the scene where all the vehicles parked alongside a very steep drop-off. Turns out a base jumper with parachute miss-timed a gust of wind and instead of flying he fell to the ground some 30 feet below. They had to use a helicopter to retrieve him.

...



Wow, cool pics! You know, while the century route was changed, I hadn't realized the double riders were still going to climb to Saddle Peak. Looks like you got a lot of action!

FWIW, on the way down Deer Creek (almost to PCH) we got to watch another chutist descend down towards the ocean. I don't know what he was flying, but it looked like fun!





What a fun event! I finished in 7 hrs 30 min. I noticed during the ride that there were photographers taking pictures of all the riders in some sections. Other than www.rockstorephotos.com (http://www.rockstorephotos.com) does anyone remembers the names of the websites for the other photographers that were taking pictures? I'd be interested in perhaps buying some good photos but I don't remember the websites. Thanks.

Another photog was www.pixareus.com

I think they got just about everyboy!

Another photog was www.pixareus.com

It looks like he was at the start and two spots along the ride. I remember him where Encinal forks from Mulholland, and I found my picture (#66 in gallery 3), but I can't find it in the second location and I don't remember seeing him on the road again... I'm guessing I must have beat him there :p Does anybody know where the second location was?

Thanks for posting the other photo website !

Does anybody know where the second location was?

I think he was towards the top of the Mulholland climb before the first stop at Decker SAG.

I think he was towards the top of the Mulholland climb before the first stop at Decker SAG.

Thanks... I guess that's what I get for going to fast. Any idea when the official times will be up?

I was just looking at my number, and I have six stickers:
Red,
Blue,
Black,
Green,
Pink,
and Yellow

But I can only remember five Sticker Stops. I guess I was more tired than I thought! Or were there only five . . . and some joker stuck on another sticker?

Rick / OCRR

Let's see... the first was on Mulholland just after Topanga, the second was on Little Sycamore, the third was at the bottom of Deer Creek, the fourth was on Decker after climbing Mulholland, the fifth was on Decker again, the sixth was at the ranch.

I remember one of the Decker stops was black but I can't remember what colors the others were.

Results (http://www.planetultra.com/MulChallenge/Results/2009%20Results.htm)

Rick, I actually saw you several time out there on the course. I was on the red DeSalve and Hammer Jersey. Probably didn't stick out with all the other Hammer jerseys and red in general. Good job out there!

Hi MTBMaven,

Great report and photos, thanks! Yes, I remember seeing lots of Hammer Kit out there, and I do remember the DeSalve. I remember having a thought at the time "Hmmm, a DeSalve, that rings a bell, wonder why?" Didn't make the connection, sorry!

Rick / OCRR

PS: My full Mulholland report (with more photos!) is in the 50+ forum.

Hi MTBMaven,

Great report and photos, thanks! Yes, I remember seeing lots of Hammer Kit out there, and I do remember the DeSalve. I remember having a thought at the time "Hmmm, a DeSalve, that rings a bell, wonder why?" Didn't make the connection, sorry!

Rick / OCRR

PS: My full Mulholland report (with more photos!) is in the 50+ forum.

Rick,

Next time we will make sure to say hi. :)

Nice typo on my part DeSalve :p