More Sierra Road info (Tour of California)

Thanks for the information Mike. I've been seeing people talking about
that climb as if it's no big deal. It is a big deal. It's a really hard
climb and then the rollers seem to go on forever and ever and ever.

Tom Kunich said:

Thanks for the information Mike. I've been seeing people talking about
that climb as if it's no big deal. It is a big deal. It's a really hard
climb and then the rollers seem to go on forever and ever and ever.

I rode up Sierra to catch the race and that hill is freakin' insane.
The average grade is 10% but like most hills in the bay area it is a
constantly changing pitch so sections must be significantly steeper.

Despite being only a 4k climb the field was completely blown apart. I
was about 1.5 k from the top and the lead group had 12 followed by
several smaller groups of 5-8 and single riders throughout. I thought
the whole field had passed when the gruppetto came by with about 30
riders. After them came the National Mexican team.

Absolutely wicked descent down Calaveras.

Dan Connelly was dead on about the atmosphere. It was like when the
local dealer gets the new shipment of crack here in the Oakland flatlands.

Gabe Brovedani

Quoted message said:

I rode up Sierra to catch the race and that hill is freakin' insane. The
average grade is 10% but like most hills in the bay area it is a
constantly changing pitch so sections must be significantly steeper.

I found it both more difficult and easier than I expected, at the same time.
It's steepest sections are *so* steep that it makes it interesting, not just
hard. You have to be a bit careful or you may pull your front wheel up. It's
also easier than many because it does ease off in sections. But geez,
considering how cool (nice) the day was, I was streaming an enormous amount
of salt into my eyes.

Quoted message said:

Despite being only a 4k climb the field was completely blown apart. I was
about 1.5 k from the top and the lead group had 12 followed by several
smaller groups of 5-8 and single riders throughout. I thought the whole
field had passed when the gruppetto came by with about 30 riders. After
them came the National Mexican team.

You found the secret tunnel? Otherwise, it's more than a 4k climb. I
measured 3.74 miles, which comes to about 6km. 1974 feet. Interestingly,
that comes to not approximately, but *exactly* 10%.

Quoted message said:

Absolutely wicked descent down Calaveras.

Including some pretty choppy pavement. We rode the same loop the racers did
a few days ahead of time (Sunday), but also got to deal with a hailstorm.
Made it even more interesting.

Quoted message said:

Dan Connelly was dead on about the atmosphere. It was like when the local
dealer gets the new shipment of crack here in the Oakland flatlands.

It was pretty much a downscaled version of a climb on the Tour de France.
Even had a caravan! Well, OK, it was a single car, throwing out Clif bars.
But you gotta start somewhere!

Quoted message said:

Gabe Brovedani

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

I also couldn't believe how split up the group was, with some stragglers
many many minutes behind... I was about 600 meters from the top... the crowd
had already begun heading down the hill while there were still a few riders
coming up... they were so far back that everybody thought the entire field
had already gone through.

It was interesting to see pro riders weaving back and forth at that point in
the climb, in order to lessen the severity of the hill. Never seen pros do
THAT before... One of the photos I took shows 2 Telekom riders and one
Gerolsteiner rider doing just that.

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I rode up Sierra to catch the race and that hill is freakin' insane. The
average grade is 10% but like most hills in the bay area it is a
constantly changing pitch so sections must be significantly steeper.

I found it both more difficult and easier than I expected, at the same

time.

Quoted message said:

It's steepest sections are *so* steep that it makes it interesting, not

just

Quoted message said:

hard. You have to be a bit careful or you may pull your front wheel up.

It's

Quoted message said:

also easier than many because it does ease off in sections. But geez,
considering how cool (nice) the day was, I was streaming an enormous

amount

Quoted message said:

of salt into my eyes.

Quoted message said:

Despite being only a 4k climb the field was completely blown apart. I

was

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

about 1.5 k from the top and the lead group had 12 followed by several
smaller groups of 5-8 and single riders throughout. I thought the whole
field had passed when the gruppetto came by with about 30 riders. After
them came the National Mexican team.

You found the secret tunnel? Otherwise, it's more than a 4k climb. I
measured 3.74 miles, which comes to about 6km. 1974 feet. Interestingly,
that comes to not approximately, but *exactly* 10%.

Quoted message said:

Absolutely wicked descent down Calaveras.

Including some pretty choppy pavement. We rode the same loop the racers

did

Quoted message said:

a few days ahead of time (Sunday), but also got to deal with a hailstorm.
Made it even more interesting.

Quoted message said:

Dan Connelly was dead on about the atmosphere. It was like when the

local

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

dealer gets the new shipment of crack here in the Oakland flatlands.

It was pretty much a downscaled version of a climb on the Tour de France.
Even had a caravan! Well, OK, it was a single car, throwing out Clif bars.
But you gotta start somewhere!

Quoted message said:

Gabe Brovedani

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com