Distance: 123 miles
Pace: Strenuous
Climbing: 17,800ft (with very long, arduous climbs)
Sweep: No.
SAG: Yes.
Skill Level: Strong Intermediate to Advanced
6:00am Carpool meetup time at Park-N-Ride near sunsplash
7:00am Meetup time at Colfax

I have modified the car shuttling plans - see near end of ride description.

[This ride had to be re-routed. Your illustrious & fearless leader had us on 12 miles of dirt before an alert rider showed him the errs of his ways. Our new ride is 4 miles further, a tad more climbing and a requires a bit more driving logistics (it is now a point-to-point ride). It's harder now because we have to start the day by climbing Iowa Hill right out of the chute. Please re-read the entire ride description and checkout the new route]

The summer draws down, the cool Spring training turned into the great summer rides. The centuries, Death Ride, and doubles are but fading memories. You are at the peak of your game but fall and winter loom closely around the corner. If you don’t keep up the intensity, Father Lard & Mother Pork will find an abode in you your future well-marbled legs and begging-to-return Love Handles. You want to polish off a great cycling year with something for those cold winter nights – a good war story would bring humor when the temps are low and the streets are wet. Somehow in your cycling soul, you know a C35 ride is just not going to fly this weekend. Well, my friend, you have come to the right place. The Colfax Crazy Eight will put the final sparkle on your year. This ride will test your capability, training, endurance, sanity and most certainly, judgment. You, Bunky, want, no dare I say need to do this ride! The regret and shame if you don’t will simply be unbearable during those dreary winter storms.

Our ride starts in Colfax and descends 3.5 miles and 1,300' into the American River Canyon. We now begin the nasty bit of work known as the Iowa Hill climb. After a bit less than 2 miles, things begin to level out a as we continue the next 17 miles with a relatively gentle climb up to Foresthill Road. A right turn and a nice 10-mile descent to Foresthill for a quick break and then another 10-mile descent into the American River Canyon. Did I forget to mention there is one water stop and zero services for the next 74 miles? Silly me. A quick 2-mile climb to warm up your legs again followed a nasty little 15% descent to the apex of The Wall where we begin an epic 5-mile climb with small gifts of 22% grade pop-ups. Things begin to settle into a nice 3-6% climb with some respites for the next 30 miles. Alas, there's French Meadows reservoir but we're not done yet. A couple more long but steady climbs to 6,000' and where we begin the epic 18-mile descent back into the ARC. With all that down, we must now go up. Begin the 10-mile climb out of Dante's Inferno. The geography here has conspired to make you perspire. For some reason, this canyon always hot. Damn hot. We are back now in Foresthill.

Cross Foresthill road and head down the infamous Yankee Jims road on the way to Auburn (our final destination). Don't forget the little Auburn "kicker" after the Foresthill bridge! An easy 2 miles in Auburn to the Flour Garden Bakery and you now have your 200K in the bag!

Alas, my friend, even your faithful ride leader would not venture this ride without some semblance of help. I have arranged for a beautiful lass and her minvan to follow us along with gear, food and drink. Breakdowns, injuries or just plain sanity creeping into your cranial cavity will be taken care of.

And while you vicenarians may be tempted to race this, I being a quinquagenarian, will not. My pace will be Death Ride pace (slow and steady). If you want to go ahead, fine, but you are on your own. My plan is to ride this at a comfortable pace and stay grouped (or at least re-group often).

If you complete the ride and are still around when I get back to Auburn, dinner of some form is on me (choice by group consensus).

If anyone knows a masseuse or masseur, by all means, let’s arrange to have her/him at the finish too!

You must be bring what you need as far as bike spares and either put them in the SAG vehicle or carry them. The SAG vehicle will have some food (probably SubWay sandwiches, etc.) , plenty of water and some sodas, bike tools, pump, etc.

Here is a suggessted list of things to bring for the SAG vehicle:

• Special food & drink you might like. SAG vehicle will have an ice chest
  
• Spare riding shorts and jersey to change part way through to get rid of your salty, wet clothes
  
• Extra clothes such as leg warmers, arm warmers, jacket, etc. You can easily don & doff these since the SAG will always be near us.
  
• Any other items you might like to have access along the way.
  

This is an "advanced" mountain ride. You must be in great hill-climbing shape and have a good base.

The Route

We will have two meetup points: The Park 'N Ride at SunSplash in Roseville at Eureka & Taylor will be our carpool meetup at 6:00am which you are highly encouraged to use (suggested driver compensation is $4/hr. of drive time). The official ride-start Meetup point is the Sierra Market Store Parking lot in Colfax at 7:00. However, since this is ride ends 15 miles from where it starts, we have start- and end-of-ride logistics to deal with. My plan is this: we all meet with our vehicles at the ride start location in Colfax. We all do the ride and end up down in Auburn. In Auburn we drive the SAG van back to Colfax to get the other cars (while a few people wait with the bikes). The cars then drive back to Auburn to pick up bikes, etc. As long as we have fewer than 7 drivers we are fine (that's the van's capacity). We can eat in Auburn too. Long day? You betcha.

Here is the carpool meetup point.

Here is the ride Start Point in Colfax which is a 45 min. drive from the Park 'N Ride.

Please carpool where possible. If you'd like to car pool directly from my house in Roseville, please send me an email for directions. I live near Hazel & Old Auburn and can hold three additional bikes.

My ride Rules:

• You must be self-sufficient. We will help when possible but none is guranteed.
  
• If you go ahead of the ride leader, you are on your own ride. Period.
  
• You must wait at each turn or corner for the rider behind you to show her/him the correct direction. The person behind you does the same.
  
• Helmets are required.
  

I reserve the right to change ride details, meetup times & locations. Always make sure to check this calendar entry the night before the ride.

Let the whining begin ;)
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Scott
[masked] (h)
[masked] (cell)