hey starfish -

I know you'll do great, but I wanted to caution you about jumping to conclusions about grade steepness (shasta being harder than hurricane) based on driving. you really can't tell grade steepness based on driving. things often look steeper in the car.

example: we have our death ride folks ride passes 3, 4 and 5 in training. years of doing this ride have shown these are the toughest. the night before the event, one of my more challenging participants announced she had driven pass 1 and that is was steeper and harder than any of the others. I simply asked if she had *driven* passes 3 and 4 and she hadn't. the next morning as we're climbing pass 1, she says "wow - this really isn't steep at all. it seemed a lot worse in the car. you *were* right!"

so don't let your drive trouble you. it *may* be steeper, but most likely it is not.