I knew when I planned this segment that it was going to be hard. It lived up to my expectations and more. It was one of my hardest physical activities that I’ve completed. I have a personal scale of one (easy activity) to 10 being the hardest activity that I’ve ever completed. I would rate this at 9.5. Where at 10 is where I biked over 200 miles from Seattle to Portland in one day. This ride ranks just above climbing Mount Saint Helens and Mount Adams it’s similar to some other 100+ mile rides I’ve done. Crazy thing is, this was just over 44 miles. The reason this was so hard was the amount of climbing, the steepness of the Climbs, the elevation that the route was on and of course the ridiculous weight I’m carrying.
There were several sustain claims of 8 to 12% grade. At this grade and the elevation I’m at my height heart rate goes up too high and I have to take breaks very often. The elevation started around 3700 foot and had several peaks of 7200 feet.
The climbing ended up being over 6900 feet for the day. This was more than I expected because I hit a detour on The “Rim of the World Highway” due to a landslide. This added another steep section.
I ended up stopping at a campground at 6500 feet called Serrano on Big Bear Lake.
This was a little short of my goal which was another 9 miles but had a bunch more climbing. I didn’t have the energy to continue and it was getting late. Unfortunately the campground doesn’t have hiker / biker campsites so I had to pay full price. But I was so tired, I did it anyway. Another bummer at this campsite is the water has some issues and so you have to treat or boil the water. But I was able to take a shower which was nice.
The “Rim of the world highway” was amazing with scenic vistas. It would have been even better if it wasn’t so smokey from fires,
I’m way under for my calories needed. When I have to work this hard it’s hard for me to eat and drink because my stomach gets upset. I needed to consume over 5000 calories today but I didn’t come close. I’m looking at my upcoming segments to make them a little bit easier and maybe add a day. I like the challenges but with too much suffering I wont be able to enjoy it.
4 responses to “PCR Bike Tour Day 2 of 39 Silverwood lake to Serrano Big Bear lake – Steep climbs and Smokey Views”
Way to go DJ! That was so impressive. You betting get some more calories in you or I will be able to see right through you.
I’m guessing at this point the hardest single day’s ride is behind you. Wish I could say it will be all down hill from here.
It could be interesting to see a graph overlaying the elevation gain with heart rate. I know it is fires causing the haze, but I rather like the surreal look of the hills and valleys because of the smoke. The careful balance between calorie intake and the time needed for travel and distance must be challenging.
For heart rate, you should be able to use the link at the bottom of the post then look for the heart rate option.