Leadville 100,000ft Challenge weeks start on Saturdays.  So, I decided to go big and get a head of the game.  In Northern San Diego that can only mean climbing Palomar Mountain.

I climbed it a few weeks ago, but not all of it.  On this day, I took it all in.  I started up the East Grade wiht my usual stop to take in the view of Lake Henshaw.

The next 8 miles took in the usual amazing views and constantly changing terrain with elevation.

As I pulled into the town of Palomar Mountain, it was clear they were expecting the Leadville 100,000ft Challenge to come through this way.  Conveniently, there was a “Special Events Ahead” sign for me to park my bike against while I cooled off and refueled.

From here, I bombed down the South Grade switchbacks.  For someone who has not done this ride before, this can take over 20 minutes just to descend.  Often, your hands will be sore from braking so much.

Then, it was back up the famous South Grade switchbacks, up to the observatory, back down and over to the fire tower,

and finally back down the East Grade to my car.  57 miles and 7,546ft in total for the day.

The rest of the week was spent virtually up and down the mountains of the Tour de Suisse.  Last week was virtually riding the mountains of the Giro in Italy, and this week I moved to Switzerland.  Each week I am trying to go with a virutal theme.

First, there was the Oberalppass for a total of 2,079ft.

Next, there was the brutal Nufenen Pass for another 2,874ft,

And finally, I closed out the week with Stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse with Fiesch to Sedrun for another 2,155ft.

By the end of the week I was at 33,464 so far for the challenge.  8,464ft ahead of schedule!