Seventy-whatever miles into the SC, yes, it's tough. But a lot of it is anxiety of the unknown for folks that have never ridden it. I curse a blue streak every single time I ride it and on particularly hot days have to stop between the first short climb and the "real" climb, usually to shed some clothes (I don't do well with heat). But really the steepest climbing is less than 3 miles long and you get nice rollers after that with great scenery. I think the trick is to come out and ride it before so you know what it is; yeah, it's tough, but I'm sure you've ridden other equally-as-hard climbs. 18%?? Maybe for a few feet at the part right after the last winery (the part right after I've shed my jersey in the summer). Here is a URL for a description that shows a profile:

http://www.beautifulvista.com/Bike_R...ay_rd_loop.htm


And Snow's makes the Slug seem not so bad. Unfortunately I don't have a profile for it. I guess I'll need to do that the next time I ride it, eh? Or maybe I can sucker someone else into doing it...

y