A Good Challenge
 

If you're in the Los Angeles area, here's our local club's century event. The 6,000 feet of climbing in the century is not extreme (that'd be rides with 10,000+ feet!!) but it is definitely more challenging than easy centuries (if there is such a thing) of 3,000 feet.

If you do sign up and come out, look for me & say "Hi": big, black hair, I'll be setting up the Bike Expo area at the start/finish, and looking very stressed :cry:

Ride is not a race, but online registration company uses "race" on their page. We'll change for next year.

(Ride benefits local charity, Santa Clarita Child & Family Center.)

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It's here!! The Santa Clarita Century

Both Routes
Leaving from the Metro Link Santa Clarita Station, both the 50 mile and 100 mile routes share the first 25 miles up to Acton. The route provides spectacular views of the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys. Some of the distant mountains may still have snow-capped peaks—an excellent photo opportunity. Riders will enjoy the hills and countryside as they proceed to the first water stop at the Knob at mile 15. From here riders continue the rolling climbs into Acton and the 1st SAG stop at Bicycle John’s.

Half-Century
52 miles and 2,400 feet of climbing

Riders leave Bicycle John’s and briefly climb to the top of Sierra Highway before descending back to Santa Clarita along a nice, 10-mile long, gradual downhill. Riders continue across Soledad Canyon to a dedicated Bike Path and back to the start for an invigorating 52 mile morning.

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Century
100 miles and 5,900 feet of climbing

After leaving Bicycle John’s in Acton, century riders will join a portion of the difficult 8th stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California as they ascend Aliso Canyon into Angeles National Forest. A left turn, quick descent and another climb to the summit of Mount Emma Road. From here the course briefly sojourns into Palmdale and back to Acton via Sierra Highway. With more than half their ride done, riders will get much needed fuel again at Bicycle John’s in Acton and then follow Sierra Highway back into Santa Clarita.

A left turn onto Sand Canyon with a quick wall will take riders to Placerita Canyon, Sierra Highway and over both parts of Newhall Pass, finishing on a nice, flat, 10-miles to the end.

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Next Year - just started riding in August an won't be ready, but I'm looking for centuries within a day's drive of the San Francisco bay area.

If it weren't a 6 hour drive to get there, I would. That would be more time in the car than on the bike. I don't care much for that ratio.

Looks like a great ride though.

I've seen a few elevation profiles from CA century rides, and all of them seem to favour this "climb for 50 miles, descend for 50 miles" pattern. Up here in WA, a 6000' century usually has 7 - 10 moderate climbs spaced out throughout the course. Is it just the California landscape that makes the 50/50 rides happen, or have I just not seen enough ride profiles to know that they aren't all like that?

Perhaps it is just CA, although Breathless Agony has 4 distinct climbs and Everest Challenge like a hundred. The profiles are almost always deceiving, though. The uphill for the first 25 miles is more rolling than anything, with only like a 1% grade in between the rollers. The first peak is a challenge, though: it has a 125-yard wall at the top of like 10-12% or so.

I think you guys just have better mountain roads to ride on. Around here, the only roads going over the mountains are highways and most rides stay off them (although you're allowed to bike on them.) I've looked at the profile for rides like Death Ride, and there's multiple climbs of thousands of feet, with max elevations over 8500'. Up here we can't get that kind of elevation without being on a glacier. I think there's a few places where we can get over 5000', but not many.