What a ride. First this was an extremely hilly century the polar computed the elevation gain as over 12,000 ft (see the elevation profile below). The route is mostly roads I have ridden on before but with some painful exceptions.

Started off with 4 bottles, 2 4-hour bottles of Perpeteum (with 4 scoops of Endurolyte powder) and 2 of water. Used the watch on a 15 mintue timer to remind me to drink the Perpeteum and drank the water as needed. Ended up supplementing my salt intake with 10 or so endurolytes during the ride. Total caloric intake of 2160 or 270 an hour. Wasn't concerned about the last hour since it was predominately down hill.

The climbs:
1) From PCH up Topanga/Old Topanga to Mulholland:
This is a pretty standard climb, there is a short section that is a little steep but for the most part it is a fairly steady and manageable climb. One of the easier climbs of the day. Felt good, it was early so I needed to feel good here. Tried to keep myself in check and settle in for a long day.

Hit the first aid station to get a sticker. (Stickers were given to make sure no one claimed to have finished who didn't actually do all the climbing. Why anyone would want to claim to have finished a century who hasn't is beyond me but whatever.)

2) Mulholland and Little Sycamore down Yuerba Buena:
Not a bad climb, again most of this climb I have done many times before. The Little Sycamore climb is pleasant but lacks the payoff I like from hard climbs since Yuerba Buena is quite possibly the worst downhill I have ridden on. I have ridden on some bad roads but Yuerba Buena is the worst downhill by far. It winds down and around and at the same time is covered in fishers running both across the road and with the road. It feels like hitting a speed bump every bike length. To give you an idea I went faster on the flats than this downhill.

3) Cotharin to Pacific View
I was not expecting this. Cotharin is a vicious short but very steep climb that punished the crap out of me. I had never been on this road and am unsure if I would want to voluntarily go up it again. The downhill portion was amazing but at the same time very scary. I basically had to ride the brakes the whole way down since I had no idea where I was going and there was a cliff off the side of the road. I was happy to get down to PCH by the time it was over.

Rest stop: Picked up another sticker and filled up one water bottle.

4) PCH to Decker Canyon:
Oh boy! Decker Canyon was like a much longer (at least it felt like it) version of Cotharin. I was seriously going 3.5 miles an hour at different points of time and was having trouble keeping my front wheel on the ground. Ordinarily Decker Canyon would not be included on the route but Mullholland between Decker Canyon and PCH was closed for a different bicycle race.

Rest Stop 4: Got my sticker and filled up two water bottles.

5) Mulholland to Stunt:
Last big climb of the day. Down Mulholland which is a very nice downhill now that they repaved the road. While I have gone down Stunt many times I have never climbed Stunt so today would be a first. After Cotharin and Decker Canyon, Stunt felt much less steep than I would have expected but it was still a very hard climb given my legs had 90 miles in them and a lot of hills. Cruised back to Calabassas to return all the work calls I received during the day. It is a Sunday isn't it? (aargh!)



66 DNFs so 248 people finished the full ride. Ranked 159/268
Took 1/2 an hour off the bike during the day between rest stops, chain drops and waiting at lights and stop signs for an average speed of 11.6 mph with a rolling average of 12.3 mph. Some of the off the bike time was due to some work phone calls I had to deal with at about the 85 mile mark, not pleasant but better than being in the office.

This marks the opening of the summer of a lot of hills so perhaps I'll give this same route a try in the late fall or early winter to see how much I have or have not improved.

I would make sure to have rinsed out my bottles better. After the Ironman I put all the bottles through the dishwasher but some soap residue must have remained in the bottles after the rinse since my water tasted mildly soapy. I would have also carried additional endurolytes.

Changed out of my cycle clothes and drove 30 minutes back to the house. Picked up Baja on the way home and had a snack before enjoying a delicious beer while showering. I know I can't be the only one that does this...


Well the usual lack of training certainly, especially the lack of hills lately. Also, the fact that I was really unsure how hard I could push and still manage to make it up all the hills since I have never gone over 8000 ft in one ride.


Lots of volunteers for the number of riders that were riding. Well placed and well stocked aid stations. Planet Ultra runs some excellent events if you are looking for cycling events in Southern California.