The "Griz"

This past weekend, I rode the Grizzly Century in North Fork, CA. 100 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing. I've got to admit, I was pretty daunted by the prospect. I knew I could do 100 miles, but 10,000 feet seemed damn near impossible.

Spurred on to this idiocy by Paul and his claim that the ride wasn't even "two miles straight up", we set off for North Fork late on Friday. Of course, traffic was a mess and we didn't get to bed until 11.

Up at 5:15 to make it over to the school in North Fork for the departure. With me still feeling apprehensive (I don't think I talked to anyone at breakfast), we set out at about 7:30 (half an hour after our planned departure).

As we got started climbing, I realized that my legs were really on. The hills felt easy, and, according to Paul's Garmin, we started out on a 9% grade. The feeling continued, and I felt great for the first half of the ride. The scenery was amazing and made the ride worth the 200 mile drive from the Bay Area.

The scenery and support on this ride were both truly astonishing. I think the whole town of North Fork, CA comes out to support this ride, and the views throughout the ride make every turn of the crank worthwhile.

The lunch stop (which we hit at about 10:30 -- kinda odd) was stocked with the normal PB&J, etc., but was also sporting some pretty good-tasting sushi. Later rest stops had Baklava and water was everywhere. It's the best organized, highest enjoyment-to-dollar ratio cycling event I've seen.

Then, after 6,500 feet of climbing, I started to get left knee problems. After the turn-off at four corners, where the "Griz" really starts, my knee was killing me. Certain angles of pedal rotation would cause me to wince. I finally loosened my shoe and, ultimately, stopped and rotated my cleat to try to get better alignment. I think it helped, but it was tough to tell at that point because I was in pain management mode.

Paul unfortunately (or fortunately, depending upon how you look at it) dropped his vest into his rear derailleur and broke it at the bottom of the Griz and had to be SAG'd to the top. When he came by in the SAG wagon, I was sorely tempted to be the smarter man and get off my bike. Ultimately, I decided that as I'd made it past 9,000 feet of climbing, I'd go all the way.

Paul was able to get a used 105 derailleur installed at the top of the hill for $20 (deal of the century, so to speak), and, as a result, got to experience the amazing 11 mile decent to Bass Lake. I was fortunate enough to have $20 on me to buy a pair of leg warmers, as it was ~45 degrees on the decent.

Once at the base, Paul was strong (I'd like to think it's cause he missed 2,000 feet of climbing), and I struggled to stay on his wheel while we finished up the route, nursing my knee to the school parking lot.

We were met by the wonderful volunteers and eclairs (2 for me, 3 for Paul). We managed to skip the loop around Bass Lake accidentally, but at the end of the day I got 93 miles and 10,058 feet of climbing in ~7:30 in the saddle. An average of 12mph for the route, which I feel isn't half bad considering the climbing and my knee.

This is the must-do century of the year, and I'll be back next year.