[Written by Phil Blay] You would have loved this route. 51 miles with 3,350 feet of climbing. The turn onto Shirland Tract was a great alternative to riding straight up Auburn Folsom. Hardly a car on the road. Jerami was first over the top and I was 3rd or 4th. I passed a few guys when the rollers started.
After topping up at Maidu Market we rode a short way to Mt Vernon rd and took the hard left onto Millertown. The speed ramped up to the high 20's descending to Wise rd. The guys were not sure of the route so I was at the front between climbs. Not much engery saved for the climbs!
We turned onto Bald Hill which was another descent and started the second climb up Chili Hill Rd. Not much of a climb but enough to split everyone on the climb. 5-6 of us topped this together and started the descent. It seemed like all we were doing was descending! We regrouped at the bottom and rode over to Ridge Road together. The pack again blew apart with Jerami and Kurt battling to the top. Jeff and another Road Rash guy were 3-4 with me trying to reel them in the last mile. Didn't get the job done.
Regrouped at Taylor road before heading to the gas station at the base of Indian Hill road. Took a quick break and started to climb Indian Hill. Jerami took off with Kurt on his tail. I paced a bunch up in the big chain ring at around 10.5 mph until Jeff had enough and made a move by. Regrouped for the most part for the descent down Auburn-Folsom rd. We had 8-10 riders left at this point. Jeff started the pace for the first few miles, Jerami and I fell back a ways waiting for a couple of guys. We lost Frank somehow. Flat? One rider came up and Jerami pulled him to me and I pulled us back to the group. 30+ mph was showing for awhile. We lost a few more driving this pace back to Folsom. At times I was just hanging on.
After Douglas blvd I made a move from near last in line to second in line. Jerami was driving the pace up for the sprint. He cranked it up and I stayed in the draft until the last 100 meters. Then it was Mano e Mano. We crossed the line so close I'm not sure who was first. Might have been Jerami. Man is he strong! The front group arrived at Karen's around 11:15am. We completed the ride in 2:47 at 18.4 average mph. You would have been home by 11:30.
This would be a good route for the peloton to try out. The climbs are not bad, really great scenery, low traffic.
Tomorrow, I'll send everyone a link of my Garmin download so you can check out the route.
Phil, the roads just out of Auburn were awesome! It was a great mix of speed, turns, & climbing. I hope were out there again sometime.
ReplyDelete~Brian