This is my kind of challenge.  Climbing!  I love to climb on my bike.  Don’t know why.  I loved training to climb in France and loved climbing the classic mountains of the Tour de France in 2016 even more.  (See blog at Climbing France For CAF)  The Leadville 100,000ft Challenge was made for me.

I am a Ridewithgps.com ambassador and I decided to start out the race on Saturday, June 20th with one of my routes featuring four hard climbs within a few miles from my house.  It’s called the Hidden Meadows-Mt Whitney-Double Double Peak and you can view it at this link http://bit.ly/2EhkkIs.  The first climb is Hidden Meadows which is a straight grind for about a mile after a five mile warm up.  It is a good shock to the body to get the blood pumping.

After that, it is about a 7 mile ride over to Coronado Hills Dr where the grade is mostly 10%+ with a section 16%+ for a mile.

The view is worth it at the top though.

Needless to say, the descent is wicked fast.

With two grinds down, the next beast was a local classic called Double Peak.  Double is the key here.  To complete this route, you have to do it twice.  Once from the San Marcos side and once from the San Elijo Side.  Both sides are a long crank with the final 1/4 mile at grades that approach 18%!

 

However, once again, the views are worth it as well as the badge of honor.

The additional reward is the quick winding descent.  The gravity against your body is just one of those feelings you can’t explain to others who aren’t involved in the sport.

After that, I coasted home with my first 4,735 feet under my wheels.

I wasn’t expecting to ride the next day, but something came over me that said, “Hey, let’s go get some quick vertical this morning.”  I listened and rode a quick route to Rancho Santa Fe that gets some quality vert along Lake Hodges.

I felt good enough after the climb that I went back and revisted that Mt Whitney climb from the day before to get a little more.

In total, that added 2,819ft for just under 7,500ft for the first two days.

I thought I would take a day off, but then I woke up early on Monday morning and wanted to get at it on the smart trainer.  I had pre-planned that this week would be riding virtually the mountains of the Giro in Italy.  This morning I chose Passo Gavia, the tenth highest pass in the Italian Alps.  However, this morning I wouldn’t quite be feeling the effects of the altitude in my garage.

Although there were was no Barolo wine or espresso waiting for me at the top of that virtual mountain, I surpassed 10,000 total feet for the week in three days!

I woke up on day 4 June 23rd and once again felt like attacking the 100,000ft beast.  My Giro challenge for the day was Passo Valparola.  It is a high mountain pass in the Dolomites which is the next major cycling trip that I would like to go on in Europe.  What better way to check it out that from the safety of my garage on my virtual smart trainer.  Let’s just say I am more excited to go do it live now than ever.

Another 2,618 feet behind me put me over 13,000 feet for the week in four days.  In other words, ahead of schedule!

Sure, I was ahead of schedule, but on Friday morning after a day of new product development eating at my job, I needed some calorie flushing.  Plus, Italy and the Giro called to me.  Back into the garage, I went to tackle the beast they call Stelvio.  Well, to be exact, a part of Stelvio.  It is the highest paved mountain pass in Italy.  I didn’t have enough time to do all of Stelvio.  However, someday, I will face her directly with a hearty plate of pasta at the end of the day.

Stelvio completed week 1 of the Leadville 100,000ft Challenge with 15,561 feet climbed.  3,061 feet more than I needed.  It’s always nice to have a little buffer in case things like work, family, life, COVID 19, etc.  get in the way.  After all, it is 2020.  In 2020, if I have learned anything, getting ahead of the game can’t hurt because you have no idea what is around the corner.