Northern California - Chico Velo Wildflower Question

My wife and I are doing the Wildflower on our tandem in a few weeks. We'll make a go/no-go decision on the century vs. 100K at the turn-off for the last climb. Many of you will have done this ride previously. Are there any hidden surprises on the third and final climb in the century loop? Looks to be not too steep, but I don't completely trust mapmyride. Any info, opinions would be greatly appreciated. We can climb short stints over 10-12%, but it's a lot of work for senior citizens.

I missed the similar thread, below, relative to doing Wildflower on an SS. Of course we have 24-34 gearing, but the comments about the last climb having the potential to be very hot are something to think about.

The century leaves out the beautiful (but steep) second climb (Honey Run) and the third less steep, but exhausting climb up table mountain.

100 K report
http://ccorlew.blogspot.com/2007/04/chico-wildflower-ride.html

Century report
http://ccorlew.blogspot.com/2008/04/chicos-wildflower-century.html

Elevation map:
http://home.comcast.net/~cccorlew/hosting/wildflower.png

cccorlew,
Thanks. I think the "Mildflower" 100K has the first two climbs, but leaves out Table Mountain. I guess we'll see how we feel when we reach the turnoff. Couple of hundred yards at 12+% is doable, but a sustained climb would be a real "drag".

Table Mt. was a hot grind when we got to it, after descending Honey Run in the rain. We were fine on the tandem for the climbs...the issue was all the flat riding after Table Mt. to the end. Bor-ring.

Good luck!

The back of Table Mountain is not so bad; it's smoother than Honey Run. I don't believe there are any pitches steeper than those found on Honey Run.

I did (yet another) preview with a group last Sunday.

The weather should be great tomorrow, not much more that 80. There are shady sections on the backside of Table Mountain.

Say "Hey!" I'll be wearing "Every Day is a Good Day" gray jersey with a pic of Pop on the back, and the quote.

Hi Red! I kinda like the boring part; 's chance to bring avg speed up a bit! ...and get a pace line together.

The Mild option omits the Humboldt (1st climb, ~900 vert) and Table Mountain loops. My suggestion would be to skip Humboldt and go straight to Honey Run if'n looking to clip some climbing, as Table Mountain is rather pretty right now.

They reversed the route and have people going down Honey Run? I'd never make it up Honey Run again, but that downhill on the main road from Paradise was great. Didn't have to touch the brakes.

Surprised to see this century doesn't really have a designed start time. Just 6am to 8am? I like starting in a big group. :(

That being said, does it really matter where you start it from? I'm visiting my parents and it would be more convenient to start from their place then proceed to Humboldt Rd. First going to the fair grounds would be a pain. Thoughts?

They reversed the route and have people going down Honey Run?

Not according to the map I just picked up.

Methinks Red means descent from Paradise on Pentz Rd, the descent after Honey Run climb... yawn, time t' get dressed!

Mass start? 5000 folk at once't?

Had a great time riding the century. Took me a little over 5:30.

Photos here:
http://milliron.org/photo/20100425_wildflower/

GPS: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31270861

Mass start? 5000 folk at once't?

Yeah, I guess breaking it up by distance wouldn't have been enough. Oh well, I found fast people to ride with.

We rode the 100K (with Honey Run Climb). Enjoyed the ride, but that's a tough climb for us older folk on a tandem. Last 20 miles I was a bit spent; got my first actual cramp when I put my right foot down back at the car! We'll do better next year and should be able to include Table Mountain.

The downhill out of Paradise was the most fun of the whole ride. We topped out at about 48 mph with three singles behind us the entire time.

It's a nice ride and we had perfect weather. The post-ride meal I thought was excellent with a terrific variety. What's with that "lunch stop" not many miles after the Rest Stop in Paradise? We followed the arrows only to turn around when we realized it was a rest stop "detour". We will definitely do this again, definitely older and hopefully stronger.

Thanks for the links! It couldn't have been a better riding day, except for maybe a break in the wind on the last 30 miles.


Had a great time riding the century. Took me a little over 5:30.

Photos here:
http://milliron.org/photo/20100425_wildflower/

GPS: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31270861

I rode it once years ago. I was hesitant to pass people on the descent out of Paradise because the casual riders were all over the right lane. Some hardcore looking rider noticed, laughed at me, told me to hang on behind him, and we went down at 44 mph. The pavement on that first climb made me wonder if I should have had suspension. A woman had pulled over in the pines around Paradise to use her cell phone, and a guy riding by yelled; "can you hear me now?". After Honey Run Rd that caused a lot of laughter.

The next time was the Flat Flower because of my knee. They had that baked cherry stuff that you see in milliron's pics. A woman at a rest stop said that on the Flat Flower, it's not how many miles you ride, it's how many pounds you gain at the rest stops.

Now that the Chico Wildflower is over and done can someone who did the Century describe Table Mtn. versus Honey Run (which we did on the tandem)? TM is a shorter climb and the average grade doesn't appear any worse than HR, but I take it there are some really steep pitches. Another thread on BF mentioned 16% grades: sounds like tandem walking territory, but we're not proud.

The entire climb is both shorter in distance and in elevation gain, but there are some steep pitches. The very steep pitches are short enough so that if you did need to walk, it would only be for a few hundred yards. If you take a look at this map you can see the table mountain climb starting around mile 49 by the Thermalito Diverson Pool, and by mile 53 you are on top of the plateau. This is just 1100 ft of climbing versus the 1600 feet of climbing on Honey Run Rd.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/45385

TwoHeads,
Thanks. You've confirmed what I had discerned from RWG. Glad to see others using this website; It works well for me. We'll definitely do TM next year unless we do the SLO Wildflower. Worst thing that can happen at 16% is we fall over. Won't be the first time:o