I expected this ride to be a challenge due to the elevation, but there was also considerably more climbing than I had anticipated. We intentionally skipped the 18 mile out and back in the valley and headed straight up to the lake from the start. I didn't need another notch in my 'century belt'...but I wanted to ride the rim of Crater Lake.

The initial part of the climb was in a very wooded area and it was a relatively low grade climb. It seemed to go on forever though! Once we made it to the rim, I somehow thought the worst was over...it wasn't. Cross winds, cold temps, and torn up road...along with many more multi-mile climbs made the Rim Drive part of the ride a serious challenge. The metric century only rides to the rim and then back down. We wanted to do more than that and even though it was challenging, I'm super glad that we did it. It was gorgeous! The nice part was that from mile 60 back to the start was pretty much 100% downhill.

I think the biggest challenge was mental. When you are only at mile 30 and you look down and see your speed at 6 mph, it's difficult. It just feels like you'll be out there FOREVER. The good downhills made up for all the climbing a bit. I expected our avg speed to be closer to 10mph...so the fact that we had 13 mph made me pretty happy.

I did not have any idea what the elevation profie OR the rest stop locations were prior to starting out, so I felt like I was riding a bit blind. I didn't know how much to hold back because I didn't know when the climbing would end!

Next time I'll have studied the elevation profile and the rest stop locations more closely so the mental battle isn't quite so huge. Other than that, I'm pleased with how the entire ride went!

After the ride, we ate BBQ and then headed back to the hotel for hot showers. We relaxed in our room for a bit and then went out for dinner. I wore my Zoot Rx Recovery Compression tights until bed time and I had NO soreness the next day. Yay!


Excellent event. Rest stops were very well stocked with lots of good food (like home-baked cookies, subs, fresh fruit, donuts, etc) and plenty of liquids. They were perfectly placed on the course as well - I found myself getting hungry just as the next rest stop was around the corner! The post ride food was delicious (BBQ) and the volunteers were excellent. Can't beat the scenery, either! All in all, an A+ ride.