Suncrest in Draper, Utah. A small suburb south of Salt Lake City. There is a west face and the east face (most cyclists mistakenly refer to them as north/south).


The west face has a 10% that goes for about a mile in a horse shoe configuration.

After the horse shoe, it levels off, does a short down hill, levels off a little (you'll pass a small police station to your right), a short down hill then a 4-way stop.

It's an elegant hill by most standards.

Here is my beta:

You want go into a tuck immediately. I don't bother sprinting into it because I'd prefer to keep my legs fresh for the isometric hold.

Do not stay on the outer edge of lane two because if any deer decide to jump across the road (from the right), you may not have enough time to react.

I take the middle of lane two. Soon enough, you'll be going faster than the cars anyway.

Do not even so much as dab or get out of the tuck; otherwise, you'll stay in the 50s.

As you near the end of the horse shoe, you'll come to a left leaning turn (keep an eye out for deer). As you approach this, there is usually a cross wind (nearby is one of the most popular paragliding areas in the state; this is no coincidence).

As you hit the cross wind, you have to not panic. Stay in the tuck. On your right, watch out for any cars pulling out of a new housing development.

On the rarest of days, there is actually a tailwind as you leave this left leaning turn. It's those magical days in which my speedo reads 64-68 and change.

I sold my Cosmic Carbone tubulars last year. I might be able to milk another 1 mph on my clinchers but I don't know...

I'm researching the various wheels in the 50mm or so range. This, on those tail wind days, will buy some speed.

There is also the option to enter wide, hit the apex, exit wide to hold the straightest possible line. This, IMO, is quite a gamble. If the deer doesn't get you, an inattentive driver might. Also, one day, I had a cop pull right out in front of me (there is a small pullout midway that they use for speed traps). This is why I prefer to take second lane.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention...The reason I think tubies will give me more speed is the ability to hold a higher psi without sacrificing road feel (my typical clincher psi of 110 or so might be holding me back).