Attempting 10,000 Feet of Climbing for the First Time
By May 2020, with Los Angeles and much of the world still shut down due to COVID-19, it seemed as though more people were heading outdoors and picking up old hobbies like cycling. For the more ambitious riders among us that meant putting in some seriously big days on the bike, their Strava profiles looking more like a Pro Tour contender than a weekend warrior.
Seeing the incredible adventures my fellow cyclists were tackling motivated me to take on a challenge of my own - logging 10,000 feet of climbing in one ride, something I had never done before.
With the streets of Los Angeles mostly barren, I felt it would be the opportune time to tackle that challenge while hitting as many landmarks and local climbs between the 101 and 405 freeways as possible.
It just so happened that the new Pedal Mafia Pro Bibs I had on order were appropriately named “Elevation,” which I took to be a good sign as I began planning my route. You can read more about my experience with the Elevation bibs and Pro Jersey over on the Pedal Mafia site, but suffice to say they more than stood up to the challenge.
As I kitted up in the early morning I was excited for what was to come. I got an early start to try and avoid the afternoon heat, heading due east toward the Griffith Park helipad as my first destination. The sunrise coming up the ridge with downtown off in the distance instantly made the 4 a.m. wake-up call worth it. A few more climbs throughout the Park, a stop at the Observatory and I was en route to the iconic Hollywood sign.
Rising in and out of the saddle as I traversed the steep residential roads I was impressed by the overall fit of the bibs and comfort of the new chamois. Even when the road turned to broken asphalt and dirt, the chamois did its job, moving as I did and quite literally saving my ass from the bumpy tarmac.
The next couple of hours I wove my way up and down various gradients of roads, past some of the most expensive homes and exotic cars in the world, watching the elevation on my Wahoo ELMNT tick up.
A brief pause to take in the picturesque Franklin Canyon - a hidden gem and hands down one of my favorite spots in the city - and it was back up to Mulholland Highway to continue west.
With the temperature rising faster than my elevation, I decided to descend Deep Canyon in search of a convenience store and a much-needed Coke. Feeling refreshed after my stop, I began creeping up on the 10k mark and realized I wouldn’t be that far off from also hitting a century (100 miles). As many fellow riders can probably relate, getting within a few miles of a full century and not going for it would be crazy so I continued riding well past my climbing goal.
The effort up to Mulholland Highway for the final time was tough but I felt a major sense of accomplishment, having hit nearly every climb and canyon between the 101 and 405 freeways.
When I finally arrived home and hit stop on my computer I had logged a total of 13,222 feet of elevation and 101.49 miles over the course of 8.25 hours. I was proud that I exceeded my goal and pleasantly surprised at how good I still felt.
With this challenge checked off my list I’m excited for others to come - ride up to Ojai and Santa Barbara, venture east for more rides in Angeles National Forest and exploring off-road on my gravel bike, just to name a few.
Do you have a ride or route I should check out? Let me know below!
