scrubbo

At least his sports drink stayed safely in the cage!

freighttraininguphill

Matthew and I climbed Mix again last Saturday. This time he rode his Litespeed that he built up recently with SRAM Red. His S-Works also has Red, but now both bikes have an 11-28 cassette instead of the 11-26 he had last time. This time he climbed strong and didn't have to walk.

More weirdness in the graffiti switchback.





'lactating nipples' by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Matthew at the top with his new jersey from the Alta Alpina Challenge double century.




He flatted on the first steep section of the descent, right before the graffiti guardrail. Luckily it was a slow leak!


Matthew fixing a flat on Mix Canyon 8-31-13 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

freighttraininguphill

I climbed Mix again on 11/9. This time I had 4 other riders with me. Here's some screenshots from the GoPro worn by the other female cyclist in the group. She had a standard double and a 12-32 cassette, so she stopped often to avoid pushing too hard. She also did a little walking on the toughest part. Even so, she was still 2 minutes faster than me at the top. While she was waiting for me on her rest stops she got some good shots of the scenery and me climbing.


Climbing Mix Canyon 11-9-13 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Climbing Mix Canyon 11-9-13 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Climbing Mix Canyon 11-9-13 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

One of the sections that was so steep I had to climb in the drops to avoid popping wheelies.

Climbing Mix Canyon 11-9-13 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Steep!

Climbing Mix Canyon 11-9-13 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

The top, finally!

Climbing Mix Canyon 11-9-13 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Group shot at the top

Top of Mix Canyon 11-9-13 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

bobonker

Good stuff.

I'd like to get back out to Mix again before the year is over.

Bob

patrickgm60

Yep, Mix Canyon is brutal. 6 of us experienced roadies set out to "conquer it" this past summer and only 3 of us reached the top. Choosing a hot day, starting in east Davis, and not stopping for water before Mix were all valuable lessons learned. If I were to do it again, I'd start in Vacaville, choose a cooler day, and go with a different cassette. We had a good laugh as we passed a couple of MBers, spinning like mad in their granny gears, before the steep section. The laughing ended soon after...

nuke_diver

Wow some serious climbs out there...and here I thought it was flat around Sac...I don't get out much. I think those climbs would kill me or at least cause my knees to explode

patrickgm60

As with much of the Central Valley, Sacramento itself, is nearly tabletop-flat. However, ~30 miles to the east, northeast, or southeast puts you in the Sierra foothills. There are countless tough climbs within an hour's ride of Folsom (a suburb to the east of Sac.)

Mix and Gates are some 40 miles west of Sac, near Vacaville. Different mountain range, with lower elevations, but some mean grades.