Sunday, July 16 Ride: On Orbit

a.k.a. Ron’s Ride of Death – 7:30 at the Compound (see FAQ), 8:00 a.m. Arastradero and Foothill.

“Bohlman – On Orbit – Bohlman (4.1 miles, 1950 ft, 9%) Brutal, oppressive, brutal, painful, savage, arduous, killer, murderous, blood-and-guts, formidable, backbreaking, grinding, fatiguing, unsparing, harsh, merciless, intense, exhausting, austere and even slavish! This is a really crank-twisting climb and will put your uphill determination to a severe test. It is no coincidence that the climb starts at the Saratoga’s Madrona cemetery where many an exhausted cycling souls may have found a rest! The listed stats show a considerable average grade of 9%, but it is much worse than that because there’s considerable flat section and even mild descent at the top. On Orbit is an alternate route that bypasses a portion of Bohlman and should be taken to realize full pain benefits of the climb, straight Bohlman is only 1780 ft in 4.2 miles (7.9% average). 0.5 mile long section on On Orbit averages out nearly 20% and you’ll find it extremely hard to ride straight line. Once you give in to temptation to weave a lower grade lane across the road, the next difficulty becomes to make sharp turns at the edges of the road as one weaves across. Low gear of 39/28 or even a triple really helps on this climb! The maximum grade is 22% (24% inside the right turn) The last mile or so is nearly flat but features a treacherous off camber turn dusted with sand and gravel. Even so, this is a welcome sign, really. Steepest section compensates with best views of the valley. From the top of Bohlman, if you survive, there is a 0.9-mile dirt road with two gates to the right (bear right on the dirt) to the top of Montevina Road, which can be descended to Highway 17.”

Sounds right up our alley, no? The problem is linking this ride from the bottom of Montevina Rd with a reasonable return route that still adds some climbing without too much distance. As mentioned before, the standard route goes up Black Rd to Skyline and home, but Skyline is still washed out. Mike B’s option is great, but likely too much elevation and distance for the group at this time. We can ride back on Foothill, but some may feel that Bohlman-On Orbit, despite it’s brutal nature, may not be enough elevation to be a good training ride for the upcoming centuries in August.

This route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/23121047 adds a second climb up Highway 9 after Bohlman-On Orbit so we can ride home on Skyline. The totals would be 70 miles and 7,000 ft. elevation, which meets the magic ratio of 100′ elevation per mile. An alternative would be to cut over to Redwood Gulch for the masochists in the group. I’m open to other options, or other rides entirely, but let’s plan on meeting at 7:30am at the Compound (7:40 am at my corner), unless others would like to leave earlier.

One thought on “Sunday, July 16 Ride: On Orbit”

Ron Talain says:

July 14, 2017 at 8:53 pm

As Mike W so cleverly pointed out, you can bypass the really steep bits of the climb by staying on Bohlman, and not taking On Orbit where it detours out, and returns back to Bohlman, but if you decide to hang in and take this half-mile detour, you’ll get full pain points!

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