rallison

Ben, it took way too long for me to get out there. I owe you for finding these (insane, and exactly what I love) climbs. I was also surprised at the road quality - just about perfect pavement until just before the top. I also noticed that they repaved most of the bad portions along Yerba Buena, which was a nice surprise (although, given that they were repaving more than half of YB, I'm not sure why they didn't just repave the whole thing).

Noranda. Oh, Noranda. I did actually try it about a year ago. Also ridiculous? Yes. Much shorter than YH, but steeper. I'd say Yellow Hill is tougher, simply because Noranda is not that long. Still, from what I remember, Noranda was humbling.

As for my reports on ToughAscent, I know! Long overdue. I think it is about time I post another climb.

Nyes Place. My favorite torture in Laguna Beach.

I don't even know what to say, except thanks!

fishymamba

You can get water at one of the Range stations on Yerba Buena. Lots of water available in this area.

Ben FR

A friend and I rode Yellowhill today. Much easier than I remembered with the improved pavement but still very difficult. Neverending 18-20% ramps.

https://app.strava.com/rides/15129129

TJClay

I rode the boardwalk in Huntington Beach today. I think the slope is about .001%. Killer climb and nice scenery.

fishymamba

Nice ride! I kinda wanted to do Yellowhill yesterday, but no one in my group was interested in doing Yerba, so we did Latigo instead.

lesiz

Ganado Rd in PV maxes out at 20%, but the average is something below that.
Anchovy Rd on the peninsula in San Pedro is quite steep for a distance.
Water and civilized bathroom at the Circle X Ranch ranger station on Yerba Buena.
Water at the top of Decker, about a quarter mile past the fire station, after the road levels off and just starts to descend again, on the left there's the water entry for a residence and amongst the pipes and other gizmos there's a spigot.

roca rule

my questions is how do you go about going down on this monster climbs.

lesiz

In a word, "carefully".
But it's not that simple actually. Having agonized through the ascent, one wants, and deserves a thrilling, if not terrifying descent.
So you want to cruise down as fast as you safely can. That means the usual cycling safety tips, only more so:
- Keep an eye on the road ahead for potholes, gravel, etc.
- Watch for driveways.
- If not familiar with the road, proceed with caution around blind curves, watching for off-camber curve, a pile of gravel in your trajectory, etc.
- Other traffic. Keep on your side of the road.
- Doesn't hurt to give your ship a quick safety check: Tires firm and not slow-leaking. Brakes ok. Handlebar and seat solid.
- Be aware of your greatly increased stopping distance. What make take note while descending the north descent of Hawthorne in PV at 50mph was how long it took to slow down to 40 mph.

Daves_Not_Here

Just did Los Gatos outside of Temecula. For me, it was harder than Ganado (longer & steeper), the climb to Mt. Baldy ski lifts (steeper), and even Fargo St (longer). The locals say it has a couple of 25% sections and is 27% at the top.

I like steep climbs but I will say that this one was not much fun. At one point, I decided to go ahead and try tacking for some relief only to find out the road is sloped from left to right, so the leftward tack is even steeper.

eja_ bottecchia

I thought that Balcom Canyon road from Santa Paula to Moorpark had some pretty steep sections (certainly steeper than 8% grades).

https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/50152216

Maybe I was wrong.

In any event, this looks like a pretty gnarly ascent.

Good job reporting...Saturday I am headed to PCH from Pt. Mugu to Zuma. I may want to take a detour and check it out.

Tank_67

I would love to try that hill

BigJeff

Yeah... easily the steepest.

https://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=85811#

Daves_Not_Here

Now that I've researched the route more carefully, I would have to urge caution, especially when descending. The advice I've read from some locals is to never let it run because road bike brakes don't have the authority to stop on such a steep grade once your speed is up. Apparently there has been at least one fatality after a 70+ mph descent.

fishymamba

Balcom get to the low 20s in some places, but the average is not that high.

Ben FR

Yellowhill is steeper than any of these. Over 800' in one mile. Nothing comes close for a mile.

Genaro

Bunch of masochists. I'm happy with my 5-10%'s. Yes, I'm a wuss

Daves_Not_Here

Here's some descent footage I just found for Los Gatos in Temecula




Ouchie clip

Daves_Not_Here

Which Yellowhill are you referring to? I found 3 on Google Maps: from Yerba Buena https://goo.gl/maps/k36f1 , from PCH & from Mulholland https://goo.gl/maps/DULXw

TJKnight

That crash clip is great footage. Looks like the rider went too fast, lost control, rolled and slid a couple twenty feet. Hope he's ok.

agoodale

That's my teammate. He's ok & lucky to be alive. A little further down and he would have lost control into opposing traffic. Los Gatos is a good climbing challenge. It is not a place to try and set a speed record.

Biker395 

Yea ... jeez. Pucker time for sure. No way I've got the cajones for that kind of speed.

For me, steep descent = gravity vector working against you =

Daves_Not_Here

Amen, Brother. Seems like they should post a warning -- I stumbled upon the road by accident, albeit going the other way.

I was surprized how in both sets of clips a high speed wobble gets set up -- I've never had that and hope I don't.

nosignature

i crashed almost the exact same way descending baldy about a month ago. the only difference was the cause, his being a speed wobble, and mine being a blown sidewall on a brand new continental gp4000. i was lucky enough not to break anything, but i'm still trying to get my nerve back on descents. i can't comprehend how the guy in the video is going to feel after breaking his collarbone into four pieces.

Biker395 

My one serious crash was from a blown front tire descending Westlake. I was in the middle of banking a turn and had no chance whatsoever. It was a new bike, and someone at the factory or the shop had apparently installed a 28-32 tube in a 23mm tire!

Collarbone broken in two places, 4 broken ribs, and a punctured lung ... not to mention all the skin I left on the pavement. I slid across the road to the other side too, so it could have been so much worse.

Add to that all the close calls I've had with deer, coyotes, gravel and falling rocks, and there is a little voice behind me on every descent telling me to slow down.

Ben FR

https://app.strava.com/segments/702645