Ben FR

I was climbing up Encinal today for the first time in forever, because I wasn't in the mood for Decker (my default) and a few miles in I saw a very steep route off to the left. The road said "Noranda Lane, Private" but it looked too good to pass up. I'm really bad at assessing gradient visually, but the first 100 feet looked like a wall. I got into 34x27, went off the saddle and zigged a little. I later found out this beginning section was 30%. After the 30% section ended, it eases up to 15-20% for a little bit before pitching back up to 25-30%. It stays steep pretty much to the top.

This is the steepest climb in the Santa Monicas (but short). According to my map my ride, it's 0.38 miles long with 397 ft of elevation gain, for an average gradient of 19.8%. There was one super steep section that I measured on the way down with the level bar app on my iPhone. It read 17 degrees, which corresponds to 30%.

Finishing this climb is a MUST for any serious rider in this area!

Map my ride:
https://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca...27282585652968