rccardr 

velomateo

velomateo

Soylent 

Wow. Love that bar tape color. Highlights the panto on the fork.

velomateo

rccardr 

That turned out nicely. Helps that it's red, of course...

velomateo

Thanks Doc

Ninetimes

Does anyone have the exact location in Cambria where all of these events are to take place. I've seen nothing yet.

velomateo

gugie 

Cambria's a pretty small town. Just show up and follow all the people on vintage bikes.

velomateo

Choke 

As best as I can tell from what info is out there....

Lemond1985

Did a recon ride yesterday of Santa Rosa Creek Road, which starts on Main Street in Cambria and takes you up to Hwy 46. Brutal climb, I counted probably a half dozen or more "wall" sections of 15% or greater gradient. There were a couple sections I swear were 25-30%. I didn't feel "heroic" at all grinding up these absurdly-steep climbs, it was impossible to get into any sort of rhythm, and the road surfaces were abysmal after heavy rains.

Glad I went though, have enough pics for a nice thread, may start one of I get bored.

I believe last year's ride took this road on the descent back into Cambria, but didn't go up it. I can see why, this has got to be the most difficult climb I have done anywhere in California. There are steeper climbs that I know of in the SF Bay Area, but those were much shorter. It would have been pure carnage for several hundred people to be on this road all at once struggling up wall after wall after wall, on horrible road surfaces. I don't know if that would be advisable or prudent.

Nice weather, FWIW. Perfect temps in the 50's, overcast, nice ocean breezes. If you're ever in Cambria, and feeling your oats, try it out, you'll be absolutely shocked by the extreme steepness and difficulty of this road. Bring a bike with a granny gear though. My 30 ring would skip over any grades steeper than 12% or so, so I did the whole climb in a 36 x 23. Had to stop many times. Sucked.

Classtime 

Pretty sure that we go down it again this year. They should make the Nuvo riders go up it

rccardr 

Spaghetti Legs 

Yeah looks like the descent after the second climb from last year. Steep, sharp, switchbacks with very course rutted gravel at top and then those pictured roads with really beat up pavement after that. Definitely poor reward for the hard climb to get to that point. I'm not sure if I'd rather go up or down that.

Lemond1985

If you are heading North on Hwy 1 (AKA "Main Street") the turn-off for Santa Rosa Creek Road is just before you start seeing businesses in town. You hang a right and pass by a high school before the climbing starts. I would say it's close to 20 miles through the hills before dropping you off on Hwy 46. Sadistic, punishing road, but a heck of a challenge.

Lemond1985

Probably the steepest section of the climb, my bike felt as though it were pointing at an upward 45 degree angle going up this thing. Car did too when I drove up afterwards. Some encouraging soul spray painted "Don't Walk" on the pavement.

Photo does not do the gradient justice AT ALL. Saw many places on the pavement where vehicles and trailers scraped their under carriages and gouged the asphalt, and also a few spots where cars apparently caught fire and burned up from overheating due to the steepness of the grade.

I will be back, but next time with a granny ring that works without jumping out of gear and making me bang my knee on the handlebars (4-5 times). I refused to walk. Unfortunately you don't find out about mechanical problems like this until you try climbing a hill like this one.




You can get a bit of an idea of the steepness by comparing the road with the tree to the right, which is pointing straight up.

DiabloScott

Mouth-watering!

So if you had tires with about 3-400 miles left in the tread, would you change them out BEFORE the ride so you'd have good rubber? Or change them out AFTER the ride because you know new tires would get shredded?

Lemond1985

I dunno, I feel lucky to have survived that monster climb with only bruised knees. 6-7% grades seem like nothing now. Used some brand new tan sidewall Panaracer Paselas in 700 x 28, which performed quite well, except the tan sidewalls are already filthy, from rubbing on my brake pads when taking the front wheel on and off. I always forget how difficult it is to keep those clean.

velomateo

I remember that road very well, the road surface is basically a patchwork of repairs, yes it's very steep. I think that's where Tom Ritchey struck a parked vehicle the year he attended. And as Doc pointed out, old Campagnolo Record calipers are completely ineffective for stopping and only marginal for slowing. If the route ascends that road this year, would that mean that it would descend the Cedar Mountain climb? That climb is mostly dirt and has some technical corners and surfaces as well.

davester

Poor reward? I think it's an epic downhill, with fabulous views. Of course, I live in the land of common 15-20% grades so I'm used to steep hills. I had no difficult descending, even with vintage sidepulls (albeit with fresh koolstop pads and modern lined cables and housings).

Spaghetti Legs 

Lemond1985

When I got to Hwy 46, I hung a a right, and headed back West toward the ocean and down the hill that way. There's usually a fairly stiff breeze coming off the water that will slow you down a bit on the descent, but not always. The shoulder is decent and you can comfortably do 45 mph back down the hill to Cambria. It's a nice 40 or so mile loop. There are some nice views of the Pacific ocean on the way down the hill. Those hills definitely kicked my butt.

Really steep, rough roads like that Santa Rosa Creek Rd., are always more fun going up than down.

Classtime