It was shaping up to be the perfect day for this classic century. Last year was too hot, so we opted for the metric, which of itself is a great ride. This year the forecast called for a high of 88, but we knew it would take all day to get that warm. The last time I did the full century was in 2006. David picked me up at 6:00 and we were at the fairgrounds in Yreka before 7:00.
As expected it was chilly to start. David, Francisco, and I pulled out at about 7:20. I had on my vest and arm-warmers, and the vest came off a short ways up the first climb. As usual we held back on the climb knowing how many miles we would still have to ride. I put the vest back on at the top and enjoyed a fast chilly ride into Fort Jones. We made a quick stop at the first rest stop as no one was hungry yet. The second stop came pretty fast as well and I just had a few grapes. One big change on the Quartz Valley route was the old wooden bridge. It's gone. Replaced by a concrete bridge you wouldn't even notice.
I couldn't believe how fast the ride was going when we got back to the first rest stop (now the third). Once again we made it quick. I had a half a bagel and a few grapes. We filled our water bottles and headed out the east side road. We were in a line with Francisco in front when I saw a fast train coming up behind. I shouted to Francisco to grab on as they passed. We immediately picked it up from about 17 to about 22 mpg. I was having trouble hanging on the back, so at the first opportunity I sprinted up and got in the middle of the pack. This was better and I felt like we could go all day at this pace. We held on for about 5 miles until we hit the first hill. The east side road starts out flat, but then starts rolling steady uphill. I dropped off the back on the first hill, and David and Francisco also lost contact with the pack. By the time we got back up to speed they were pretty far out in front. We gave a good chase but they just kept getting further away. Pretty soon we had to give up or wear ourselves out.
There were far fewer people at the lunch stop at Callahan than I remember from previous rides. I didn't get any numbers but my guess is there were less people doing the century this year. I tried not to stuff myself at lunch, or get too stiff hanging out. I remember the first time we did it I was already so worn out I had to lay down for a few minutes. Not this year. The big climb was still ahead and I felt ready for it.
The road starts climbing almost immediately after Callahan, very gradual at first, but getting steeper as it goes. It's about 15 miles to the top. About 2/3 of the way up it gets up to 6-8% for about a half mile before a nice downhill. This is a great recovery as you have the downhill followed by a few miles of nice easy grade, before it starts picking up again. Then it slowly started to get steeper until we hit about a half mile of 6-8% again. By the time I got to the top of this I was on my own. It slaked off to about 5% and I kept thinking the top was just around the next bend. A mile and a half later it finally was. As usual they had popsicles and other goodies. It was pretty warm by the top, but no where near as hot as the first time we did it.
From there it's a short fast downhill followed by a longer not-as-fast downhill on into Gazelle for the last rest stop. Then the mostly flat 17 miles back to the fair grounds in Yreka for the post ride meal. Final ride time was 6 hours and 50 minutes. Not my fastest century but far from my slowest. Definitely another great ride.