Three Threes

It seemed easy enough: three hillclimbs, all rated level three (least hilly, in our club's vernacular).

By the time we were done, I had no motivation to follow some of our riders on a little side trip—no, not even for the view.

Yet, the climb to reach the entrance road for Royal Oaks Park was so undaunting that I was convinced (convinced!) that we must climb it from the other side, which is so much steeper, when we visit this park for lunch on the Strawberry Fields rides. [Bzzzt! Wrong!]

I was intrigued by today's route because it included a new, unfamiliar hill to climb. The name “Crazy Horse Canyon” was tantalizing. The reality, well ... was not.

I paused at the intersection after enjoying a smooth descent down the back side of San Juan Grade (the front side of which is more rut than road). I watched truck after huge truck turn onto Crazy Horse as I waited for the rest of the group to catch up. There are entrance (and exit) ramps where the road meets Highway 101, and therein lies the problem.

Thirty-one miles with some 2,320 feet of climbing. It wasn't the horses who were crazy, it was the cyclists.