# My hardest climb so far (pics & video)



## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

*My hardest climb so far*

Last weekend I decided I was ready to tackle Iowa Hill Road near Colfax, CA. The steepest part of this climb is 1.8 miles long with an average grade of 13%. I measured constant grades in the teens and low twenties. No, I wasn't stupid enough to attempt this on a folding bike.  My road bike has mtb gearing, so I was able to do all the climbing in the saddle on this ride.

After the steep part was over there was a gradual climb and some rollers to the town of Iowa Hill. This town has no electricity, so residents must use generators and solar power. After riding through this tiny town I turned around.

Here's the two steepest parts of the easier climb out of the canyon going towards Colfax. I took these on the descent.

Iowa Hill Road steep switchback by kittyz202, on Flickr

Iowa Hill Road steep switchback 2 by kittyz202, on Flickr

Here's the beginning of the steep climb towards the town of Iowa Hill.

bottom of Iowa Hill Road climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

Iowa Hill town limit sign

road bike at Iowa Hill town limit sign by kittyz202, on Flickr

View from just outside the town of Iowa Hill.

view from Iowa Hill by kittyz202, on Flickr

Steep!

Iowa Hill Road 15% grade sign by kittyz202, on Flickr

There is a century ride that has an optional time trial up the steepest part of the climb. Here's the finish line.

Iowa Hill Road TT finish line by kittyz202, on Flickr

View from the top of that steep part.

view from top of steep part of Iowa Hill Road climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

The descent sucked! I was on the brakes so much my hands hurt and I started to worry that the rims might get hot enough to blow the tire off the rim. So I stopped three times on the way down. My rear rim was hot to the touch and the tire was warm closest to the rim. 

Here's a couple pics of the steepest switchback, taken while waiting for my rims to cool down.

Iowa Hill Road steep switchback 3 by kittyz202, on Flickr

Iowa Hill Road steep switchback 4 by kittyz202, on Flickr

Views of the American River at the bottom of the canyon.

view from bridge at bottom of Iowa Hill Road climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

view from bridge at bottom of Iowa Hill Road climb 2 by kittyz202, on Flickr
After finishing the climbs at Iowa Hill Road and Canyon Way.

road bike and Iowa Hill Road street sign by kittyz202, on Flickr


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## mtbnutty (Feb 13, 2003)

Interesting video. I liked watching your speed and heart rate change as the gradient changed.

I live in the Penryn area and only do the dreaded "Iowa Hill" climb on the years I'm doing the Death Ride. It's one tough cookie. A few weeks back, a friend and I were climbing at one of the pictured switch backs when all of a sudden he simply stalled out and fell over. I guess he was too exhausted to get his foot out of the pedal. 

Our usual route is to start in Penryn (or Auburn), up to Colfax, down and up Iowa Hill. Rest at the market that runs off the generator, Then head off to Foresthill and back down to Auburn (or Penryn)


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## Offline (Jun 20, 2011)

That is some sick climbing.. I would have bonked!

and thanks for the warning re: the audio since im at work


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

mtbnutty said:


> Interesting video. I liked watching your speed and heart rate change as the gradient changed.
> 
> I live in the Penryn area and only do the dreaded "Iowa Hill" climb on the years I'm doing the Death Ride. It's one tough cookie. A few weeks back, a friend and I were climbing at one of the pictured switch backs when all of a sudden he simply stalled out and fell over. I guess he was too exhausted to get his foot out of the pedal.
> 
> Our usual route is to start in Penryn (or Auburn), up to Colfax, down and up Iowa Hill. Rest at the market that runs off the generator, Then head off to Foresthill and back down to Auburn (or Penryn)


I was very thankful for my triple with a 24-tooth small chainring and my Shimano MegaRange 11-34 cassette, believe me! They were a godsend on this climb. This was one of the few climbs where I finally had to shift down to my lowest gear. The other two were Snows Road and Mosquito Road (both in El Dorado County). Even then, I wasn't using that low gear for as long as I did on Iowa Hill Road.

Next up is the Corkscrew Wall. I read that it's tougher than Iowa Hill Road, so you know what that means! 



Offline said:


> That is some sick climbing.. I would have bonked!
> 
> and thanks for the warning re: the audio since im at work


Not a problem.  I would feel horrible if someone got in trouble at work or with their spouse because of my climbing. I like to leave my videos with original ride audio because I feel it tells the story of the rider's experience and effort better than music covering everything up. Especially with the data overlay.


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## takl23 (Jul 22, 2007)

That was intense!! Nice job


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

takl23 said:


> That was intense!! Nice job


Thanks!  It was some of the most fun suffering I've ever done!


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## LC (Jan 28, 2004)

I never knew that they have hills like that in Iowa


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

LC said:


> I never knew that they have hills like that in Iowa


Yeah, I get a chuckle out of that name too. Just like all the roads in the hills with "flat" in the name. WTF?


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## Henry Porter (Jul 25, 2006)

Okay, I have to spread rep but will try and positive rep you for doing the Iowa hill. Just cuz it's named after my home state.


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## Dajianshan (Jul 15, 2007)

Ugh! That looks painful. It reminds me I have a race next month where the final 3 miles looks just like that. Good job!


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

Henry Porter said:


> Okay, I have to spread rep but will try and positive rep you for doing the Iowa hill. Just cuz it's named after my home state.


Looks like you might have to spread it around some more  Thanks for trying though. I appreciate it 

I lived in Iowa for four years during childhood. I loved it! The humidity sucked though. Now, as an adult, I wouldn't want to live there because of the tornadoes and lack of hills and mountains.



Dajianshan said:


> Ugh! That looks painful. It reminds me I have a race next month where the final 3 miles looks just like that. Good job!


Thank you  What race is that? I wouldn't mind seeing some video footage of that climb if there is any out there.


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## AZPOWERHOUSE (Dec 16, 2008)

Good Job! yeah that did sound like a porn, lol. Any idea what your cadence was? What software do you use to put the stats on the video?


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

AZPOWERHOUSE said:


> Good Job! yeah that did sound like a porn, lol. Any idea what your cadence was? What software do you use to put the stats on the video?


:lol: Thanks! I don't have the cadence or speed sensors on my bike because I use the Garmin on multiple bikes, so I don't know exactly what my cadence was. I'm guessing 60 rpm.

I used DashWare to overlay the data onto the video.


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## Cyclist69 (Apr 15, 2011)

It might not have been fun up or down but it makes for some good photos. Thanks for that!


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

Cyclist69 said:


> It might not have been fun up or down but it makes for some good photos. Thanks for that!


You're welcome  Actually it was fun going up because I'm twisted like that. Going down sucked. Supposed to be the opposite, isn't it?


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## axlenut (Sep 28, 2010)

Hi, loved the pictures and video! Looks like the descent might be a good place to heat up a front disk brake. It would be interesting to see if one could make it glow red like they do on race cars ;-)

Later, Axlenut


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## Cyclist69 (Apr 15, 2011)

freighttraininguphill said:


> You're welcome  Actually it was fun going up because I'm twisted like that. Going down sucked. Supposed to be the opposite, isn't it?


Well, that's how i like it.


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## SantaCruz (Mar 22, 2002)

Descending switchbacks is tough on rider and bike. I've blown a tire, but it beat running off the road at 40 mph into the forest.


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

axlenut said:


> Hi, loved the pictures and video! Looks like the descent might be a good place to heat up a front disk brake. It would be interesting to see if one could make it glow red like they do on race cars ;-)
> 
> Later, Axlenut


That would make a great video too!  Mount the camera on the front fork and aim it at the disk.



SantaCruz said:


> Descending switchbacks is tough on rider and bike. I've blown a tire, but it beat running off the road at 40 mph into the forest.


True. That's why I figured it would be a good idea to stop a few times to let the rims cool off. Since it wasn't a fast descent I wasn't robbing myself of any fun by doing so.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

freighttraininguphill said:


> Actually it was fun going up because I'm twisted like that.


you're in good company. wish I had hills like that around here.


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## brittonal (Jul 18, 2011)

Nice scenery. That looked like one heck of a beast.


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## config (Aug 16, 2002)

Awesome accomplishment! Love the heads-up display on your video.


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

Thanks!  I just ordered a ContourHD from Amazon for $145 (don't know how much longer this sale will last as it started on August 1st at $149), so future videos should be better quality.

That hill was intense, but the one I did last weekend was even more ridiculous. It's the Oxbow Corkscrew Wall near Foresthill in Placer County, CA. 4.6 miles with similar grades at times. Lots of grades in the teens, with a max grade of 23%. 

5,781' of climbing in 39.12 miles

Power plant at bottom of climb (Ralston Powerhouse).

Ralston Powerhouse by kittyz202, on Flickr

Water tank at halfway point of climb (picture taken on the descent). I heard a very close gunshot as I approached this tank. I heard many more distant gunshots after that.

water tank at halfway point of Oxbow Corkscrew Wall descent by kittyz202, on Flickr

Nice steep switchback. Picture taken on the descent while waiting for my rims to cool from the excessive braking. The last thing I wanted was to blow a tire off the rim. The rear rim was hot to the touch.

Oxbow Corkscrew Wall steep switchback by kittyz202, on Flickr

One of the steepest sections.

Oxbow Corkscrew Wall steep grade by kittyz202, on Flickr

Top of climb.

Oxbow Corkscrew Wall 18% grade sign by kittyz202, on Flickr

View pic taken on the descent while waiting for my rims to cool again.

view from Oxbow Corkscrew Wall climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

Huge snowplow next to the Ralston Powerhouse.

road bike next to giant snowplow by kittyz202, on Flickr

Even the welcome signs are more scenic in the hills.

'Welcome to Foresthill' sign by kittyz202, on Flickr

A couple of view shots from the parking lot of Whorton's Market in Foresthill, where I started my ride.

view from Whorton's Market parking lot 2 by kittyz202, on Flickr

view from Whorton's Market parking lot by kittyz202, on Flickr


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## hept (Apr 28, 2011)

*Nice*

Nice ride


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