Video & pics of steep climb from one of my most difficult rides ever

[luv2climb]

Did one of the most difficult rides I have ever done. It was only 41 miles, but it had 5,472 feet of climbing. I climbed Mosquito Road in Placerville from Broadway to Rock Creek Road, then took Rock Creek Road to Chili Bar, where I turned around. The climb back up Rock Creek Road seemed to go on forever, but finally it ended and I got to enjoy a fun descent down Mosquito to the river and back out of the canyon. Good steep fun! Yes, I mean the climbing.

I also ended up with my second A & S type of video. A silver Toyota Tacoma, CA license 8S64255, passed while I was climbing back up Mosquito Road to Placerville. Somebody in the truck yelled "Get off the road!" This is in spite of me being on the right side of the road, out of the way.

That same truck passed me at an unsafe speed on the climb up Mosquito to Rock Creek Road. That was also caught on camera on the sufferfest video. The yelling incident is a separate video.

This is the first time I have had a problem with a driver in the Sierra foothills. If you ride in the Placerville area, watch out for this jackass!

Luckily, the footage I got at the top of the climb back up Mosquito to Placerville made up for the BS. As I approached the top, two fawn ran across the road and jumped the fence. A car caught up to me at the stop sign. The two guys inside struck up a conversation when they saw the deer also. One of them asked me if I rode down to the river. When I told them that I did that and rode down Rock Creek to Chili Bar, they were impressed. You can see the deer going down the road in front of me on the video as I'm talking to the two guys.

I told them they made up for the motorist who told me to get off the road earlier, and thanked them.

Garmin Connect data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/99662106

Here's the climb up Mosquito Road, both directions starting from the bridge over the American River, which I rode across. The speeding Toyota Tacoma is visible starting at 3:06.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA7UZtcGVKE

Here's the dumbass in the Tacoma yelling at me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqAng5CRsOM

Here's the fawn and the friendly dudes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EcYseNbTSk

Steep!


Mosquito Road 15% grade sign by kittyz202, on Flickr

Here's a picture of the first 18% switchback I saw during my descent from Placerville. I measured it on the climb back up by riding into the steepest part of the switchback, which I normally don't do a lot of on long climbs, in order to conserve energy.


Mosquito Road 18% grade switchback by kittyz202, on Flickr

Around the corner from that switchback.


'yield to uphill traffic' sign on Mosquito Road by kittyz202, on Flickr

Almost to the bottom.


bottom of Mosquito Road climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

American River


American River at bottom of Mosquito Road climb 2 by kittyz202, on Flickr

Nice steep switchback near the bottom of the descent from Rock Creek Road.


Mosquito Road steep switchback by kittyz202, on Flickr

[margo49]

Wow!

[buffybike]

You GO girl!! I tend to avoid inclines myself, out of pure laziness. Makes me want to go looking for a hill on my next ride.

[luv2climb]

You GO girl!! I tend to avoid inclines myself, out of pure laziness. Makes me want to go looking for a hill on my next ride.

Thanks! I really do live up to my username here. I love climbing more than any other type of riding, even descending (although the descent that followed the never-ending climb up Rock Creek Road sure was appreciated, as that climb was tiring due to its placement in the ride).

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Jeez, that Tacoma idiot- you have their lic #, you should report them to the cops and give them the video as evidence- that jerk should be ticketed- clearly unsafe driving putting you in danger.

That is one tortuous climb-- I noted the irony of your gasps and groans alongside your youtube user name: 'cyclingfun'.

[luv2climb]

Jeez, that Tacoma idiot- you have their lic #, you should report them to the cops and give them the video as evidence- that jerk should be ticketed- clearly unsafe driving putting you in danger.

Guess what else I noticed on that Tacoma when I was editing the sufferfest video? A magnetic sign like what pool and landscaping guys have on their trucks. It had a phone number on it but I could only read the area code. Way to advertise your services-by driving like a selfish idiot.

Jeez, That is one tortuous climb-- I noted the irony of your gasps and groans alongside your youtube user name: 'cyclingfun'.

LOL! I know! Kind of like my username here. I love to suffer! Actually, when I created that "cyclingfun" nickname on YouTube, I had just started the weight loss and climbing rides, and I didn't have the ovaries to put up a sufferfest video. I finally mustered the courage to do so in February of this year, which is when I joined TE. If you look at the name on the top of my YouTube channel, it's "freighttraininguphill", which is more appropriate for the kind of riding I prefer.

[Miranda]

Great job, enjoyed the vid and pics.

Ha ha... the friendly guys in the truck, that was cracking me up... "um, ya, that was a b*tch lol..." ya, you got it right buddy.

I like climbing too, but I'm in the midwest, so don't have your kinds of climbs. It's still a great sense of accomplishment though when you get to the top.

[luv2climb]

Great job, enjoyed the vid and pics.

Ha ha... the friendly guys in the truck, that was cracking me up... "um, ya, that was a b*tch lol..." ya, you got it right buddy.

I like climbing too, but I'm in the midwest, so don't have your kinds of climbs. It's still a great sense of accomplishment though when you get to the top.

Thank you. Actually that was me saying "that was a b1tch" about the climb. It was a fun b1tch though!

[MojoGrrl]

Awesome! I just did a killer ride in the same area today (around Colfax). I'm new to climbing and the hills out there - and some of those descents - are, well, killer. 6500 feet of climbing!

[luv2climb]

Awesome! I just did a killer ride in the same area today (around Colfax). I'm new to climbing and the hills out there - and some of those descents - are, well, killer. 6500 feet of climbing!

Colfax? Cool! Next weekend I'm going to climb Iowa Hill Road for the first time since 1997. I was going to wait until I lost another 10 pounds, but after this 5,472' of climbing ride I just did, I think I'm probably ready to climb it again.

I'll bet Iowa Hill was part of your ride, with that 6,500' of climbing.

[Biciclista]

that truck was WAY too close.

[lawnchick22]

Luvs2Climb..........you are pure inspiration! Thanks for sharing your adventures.

[grey]

that truck was WAY too close.

Yes it was. Made my heart leap just watching the video. I would take both vids in to the police. You never know - maybe they can give the guy a ticket and a course in road safety...

[luv2climb]

Luvs2Climb..........you are pure inspiration! Thanks for sharing your adventures.

Thank you. Now I've just got to pray that I don't get taken out by one of these road-hogging maniacs. Luckily I haven't heard of anything like that happening in the areas I climb in. This is the first problem I've had in all the months I've been climbing. Most motorists are very considerate up in the hills.

that truck was WAY too close.

Yes it was. Made my heart leap just watching the video. I would take both vids in to the police. You never know - maybe they can give the guy a ticket and a course in road safety...

I thought I read somewhere that video evidence wasn't admissible in court. I've never had a situation like this before, so I don't know what to expect. I'm guessing I would have to drive back up to El Dorado County? Or could I take the videos to my local police station? I don't want to waste my time if they're not going to do anything. I've heard too many stories of cops not acting on cyclist complaints.

[MojoGrrl]

I'll bet Iowa Hill was part of your ride, with that 6,500' of climbing.

We did not do Iowa Hill, but that's next...