Another very tough climb (video & pics)

[luv2climb]

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

[GingerbreadGirl]

Amazing.

Your bike is beautiful, btw.

[luv2climb]

Thank you. It's a 2011 Specialized Dolce Triple. I put mtb gearing on it shortly after I bought it last summer, and those low gears got lots of use yesterday. Luckily I only had to use the very lowest gear on the steep section that got up to 23%.

[Velocivixen]

Wow. I'm amazed. So I regularly read your posts and I have questions. So how old or young are you? Why hills? Do you do this for "fun"? Personal challenge? Do you cycle competitively or on a team? I ask because I can't imagine that a typical cyclist would do this. Quite inspiring. I drove to a nature park nearby and there is a sign which says "14% grade" in the distance of less than a mile! Heck, the car struggles to get up it and I can't imagine riding my bike up it!

[Veronica]

I can't imagine that a typical cyclist would do this. Quite inspiring. I drove to a nature park nearby and there is a sign which says "14% grade" in the distance of less than a mile! Heck, the car struggles to get up it and I can't imagine riding my bike up it!

I think it's a Northern California thing. We have lots of mountains nearby, we climb them. Last weekend I rode up Mt Tam, 5500 feet of climbing and descent in 37 miles. Mt Diablo climbs 3500 feet in 12 miles and ends with a 17% grade for a quarter mile. Tons of cyclists are up there every weekend.

luv2climb lives near the Sierra foothills - lots of climbing.

Veronica

[indysteel]

Heck, as a flatlander, I'd love to be able to ride that kind of terrain on a regular basis. In my neck of the woods, we have to go out of our way for rides with a significant amount of climbing, which means that when we do climb, it often kind of sucks because we're not trained for it. Plus, we have very few sustained climbs. What hills we have are short with 15-22% grades. Based on the years where I really made a point to climb as regularly as possible, I know that it does get easier with practice. Not easy; just easier.

[luv2climb]

Wow. I'm amazed. So I regularly read your posts and I have questions. So how old or young are you? Why hills? Do you do this for "fun"? Personal challenge? Do you cycle competitively or on a team? I ask because I can't imagine that a typical cyclist would do this. Quite inspiring. I drove to a nature park nearby and there is a sign which says "14% grade" in the distance of less than a mile! Heck, the car struggles to get up it and I can't imagine riding my bike up it!

I'm 44 years old. I love the challenge of climbing long steep hills and mountains. I don't race, but in 1993 when I was normal weight I did a little mtb racing for a few months. I did pretty well, thanks to the climbing. But when it was time to upgrade I immediately found out how much I sucked compared to the other women.

I think it's a Northern California thing. We have lots of mountains nearby, we climb them. Last weekend I rode up Mt Tam, 5500 feet of climbing and descent in 37 miles. Mt Diablo climbs 3500 feet in 12 miles and ends with a 17% grade for a quarter mile. Tons of cyclists are up there every weekend.

Veronica

You hit the nail on the head!

I'll have to climb Mt. Diablo one of these days, especially since I read that it ends with a 22% grade.

[TxDoc]

Great pictures and ride report.
The video is cool, but the constant labored breathing is awfully annoying - it would not take much effort to edit the video and replace all that huffing and puffing with some good music...
There was some people on BF a while back that posted non-dubbed videos with a lot of panting, seriously it was ridiculous, those sounded more like adult movies than cycling reports. Thankfully, most of the posters learned the lesson and now use nice songs as a soundtrack to their ride/race reports...

[luv2climb]

Great pictures and ride report.
The video is cool, but the constant labored breathing is awfully annoying - it would not take much effort to edit the video and replace all that huffing and puffing with some good music...
There was some people on BF a while back that posted non-dubbed videos with a lot of panting, seriously it was ridiculous, those sounded more like adult movies than cycling reports. Thankfully, most of the posters learned the lesson and now use nice songs as a soundtrack to their ride/race reports...

Thank you for proving my point about the other forums on this one too. Are you one of the posters from those other forums who happened to read my posts in this thread?

I can't stand videos that have all the ride audio replaced with music (that is usually not even what I would listen to in the first place). I like to show what it was really like to climb these hills and how much work it was. If people would quit associating breathing with sex all the time, maybe they wouldn't be so damn uptight. Society needs to stop obsessing over sex. It gets old.

I really wish the pettiness hadn't driven these other posters you speak of to neuter their videos with annoying music. I'l much rather hear the effort of climbing than music. I want to hear the intensity of the race and the climb, not a stupid soundtrack.

[TxDoc]

Are you one of the posters from those other forums who happened to read my posts in this thread?

Don't think so. I am definitely well know for being an a** both on here and on BF but all I can remember was trying some videos and getting bored out of my mind after 30 seconds, thus moving on to another thread. It was a while back, can't say if those were yours or someone else's.

I really wish the pettiness hadn't driven these other posters you speak of to neuter their videos with annoying music.

I doubt they changed it due to pettiness, most likely they did because it was just ridiculously boring. Maybe even the Tour could get boring if all we heard was the racers panting for 6-7 hours in a row

I want to hear the intensity of the race and the climb, not a stupid soundtrack.

The only thing that would give the viewer any info on intensity would be a power reading. Uncontrolled breathing just tells that it was a big effort for that particular rider on that particular day on that particular climb. Doesn't say much about the climb per se. Which is exactly why most people (myself included) find it boring or just say HTFU - there's not much else to say.
If you notice, a lot more constructive comments get posted when the videos show usable data or the rider also shares graphs and tables from the ride. When there's something to work on, we all do try to help - that's what the online community is for.

But hey, it's your video: if you like to hear the panting keep posting it - I will keep liking the pictures and finding the video annoying and move on. The beauty of the internet is that we can all agree to disagree.
Cheers

[luv2climb]

Don't think so. I am definitely well know for being an a** both on here and on BF but all I can remember was trying some videos and getting bored out of my mind after 30 seconds, thus moving on to another thread. It was a while back, can't say if those were yours or someone else's.

I have a feeling they were mine. I have never seen a sufferfest video from a female rider posted on BF. If you have a link to share, I would love to see it. I would also like to see the videos from other posters who you claim posted "huffing and puffing", and later put music over their videos.

I doubt they changed it due to pettiness, most likely they did because it was just ridiculously boring. Maybe even the Tour could get boring if all we heard was the racers panting for 6-7 hours in a row

Well, I've never seen a Tour video that was 6 or 7 hours long, with or without panting.

Not everyone feels the way you do. I have had conversations with other BF members who also appreciate raw footage. Raw footage gives the viewer the full experience of the pain of a hill climb.

The only thing that would give the viewer any info on intensity would be a power reading. Uncontrolled breathing just tells that it was a big effort for that particular rider on that particular day on that particular climb. Doesn't say much about the climb per se. Which is exactly why most people (myself included) find it boring or just say HTFU - there's not much else to say.

That elitist attitude is exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned taking heat on other forums about my "uncontrolled breathing". Climbs are hard for everyone, not just overweight females like me. The climbs I've posted videos of are all known for being very difficult for EVERYONE, not just me.

I am so sick of hearing that stupid "HTFU" crap that I can't wait until the day I'm strong enough to pass one of these lycra-clad superheroes on my hybrid. On a climb, no less.

If you notice, a lot more constructive comments get posted when the videos show usable data or the rider also shares graphs and tables from the ride. When there's something to work on, we all do try to help - that's what the online community is for.

But hey, it's your video: if you like to hear the panting keep posting it - I will keep liking the pictures and finding the video annoying and move on. The beauty of the internet is that we can all agree to disagree.
Cheers

If you notice, I did post "usable data" on the video in my OP, in the form of data overlay using DashWare. I also posted a link to the Garmin Connect page. But, like so many roadies out there, you immediately focused on the negative and ignored the positive.

Like I said earlier in this thread, people need to lighten the fk up and not be so arrogant. Beginning cyclists are turned off by this behavior. I'm not a beginner and I'm turned off by it too.

[Veronica]

Like I said earlier in this thread, people need to lighten the fk up and not be so arrogant. Beginning cyclists are turned off by this behavior. I'm not a beginner and I'm turned off by it too.

Maybe you need to follow you own advice. All TxDoc did was offer an opinion on how she thought your video could be better. You're free to disagree. I didn't find her opinion particularly arrogant or elitist.

Huffing and puffing really doesn't give a true measure of how hard a particular climb is. Heck, I huff and puff on the flat when my allergies are acting up! It says how hard you, the person in the video, are working.

And why exactly are you so angry at the "lycra clad superheroes?" Do you think that just because they are gifted athletically they don't have to work at it? And how do you know they didn't lost 100 pounds three years ago and they are just as thrilled with their progress as you are with yours?

Veronica

[luv2climb]

By the way, you can always do what I do on those videos with music. Mute the audio. The mute button is a powerful tool that keeps me from going nuts listening to godawful music that isn't my taste.

I've been posting my videos here for months and you're the first one to complain, so I have a feeling the other people who don't care for the heavy breathing just kept their fingers off the keyboard except to hit mute.