I found another nice hard climb I hadn't ridden before-the Oxbow Corkscrew Wall near Foresthill in Placer County, CA. It's 4.6 miles long with plenty of grades in the teens and a max grade of 23%. I rode down Mosquito Ridge Road from Foresthill to get to the climb.

As I approached the big water tank at the halfway point of the climb, I heard a very close gunshot. You can hear it very well in the ride video. I also heard many distant gunshots as I continued to climb. You can hear those in the video too.

Once I got to the really steep part near the top, I had a swarm of insects hovering around my face as I climbed. I almost inhaled one of them.

The descent sucked worse than last week's Iowa Hill Road descent because this one was longer and full of potholes and rocks. Needless to say, I stopped several times on the way down to let my rims cool. The rear rim was hot to the touch.

Coming back up Mosquito Ridge Road with the sun beating down on me was pure misery! It's not steep, but it's 10 miles of climbing after you've already climbed about 3,000'. It didn't help that I made a wrong turn from Blacksmith Flat (LOL!) Road and had to climb back up 8%-11% grades with black flies biting me. I even caught one biting me through my glove! They remind me of the deer flies in the midwest. They hurt, they don't itch like a mosquito biting you.

I started running low on water even though I brought two large bottles, so I had to ration my water on the last part of the climb up Mosquito Ridge Road. I ran out of water right near the top of the climb, so I refilled my bottle from a hose at a business complex at the top, chilled out for a few minutes, and descended back to Whorton's Market where I was parked.

Total climbing was 5,781' in only 39.12 miles.

Garmin Connect data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103204092

Here's the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH50nWaGg4s

Bicycle friendly sign at the top of the Mosquito Ridge Road descent:

slow down sign near top of Mosquito Ridge Road by kittyz202, on Flickr

One of the two bridges before the climb begins (forgot which one):

view from one of the bridges on the way to the Oxbow Corkscrew Wall climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

Ralston Powerhouse hydroelectric power plant. This is right before the climb begins.

Ralston Powerhouse by kittyz202, on Flickr

One of several nice steep switchbacks I had the opportunity to take pictures of while waiting for my rims to cool on the descent:

Oxbow Corkscrew Wall steep switchback 7 by kittyz202, on Flickr

Water tank at halfway point of the descent. This is where I heard the close gunshot while climbing.

water tank at halfway point of Oxbow Corkscrew Wall descent by kittyz202, on Flickr

View pic taken on the descent:

view from Oxbow Corkscrew Wall climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

After finishing all the climbing. Love the name of that last town on the sign!

Mosquito Ridge Road and Foresthill Road by kittyz202, on Flickr

Couple of view pics from the parking lot of Whorton's Market in Foresthill:

view from Whorton's Market parking lot 2 by kittyz202, on Flickr

view from Whorton's Market parking lot by kittyz202, on Flickr