Mormon Emigrant Trail was the first climb I considered doing, but decided against it for two reasons. One, I would have to ride my 32 lb mountain bike to carry the 4 large bottles of water I would need on that climb. Also, I watched someone else's descent video from that climb and noticed that it was all exposed with no shade. Our valley temps were in the upper 90s, so heat was a concern.

It might be a good idea for me to lose another 10 pounds before tacking a 25 mile climb. Yesterday's ride was probably the longest climb I've ever done, except that it wasn't a steady grade. It had flatter sections and even a few short descents.