The Dips Bike Club

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.”

For those that don’t know, some of us will be riding the Mt. Tam Century on August 5th. It’s one of the most scenic routes in the area, but not without its’ challenges. The DBC has chosen to do the “climbing route”, which is 96.6 miles (seriously, they couldn’t find another 3.4 miles?) and 8,374 ft. of elevation. There’s also a traditional century route, but with about 25% less climbing, and the DBC has never shied away from big climbs, hence the climbing route preference. Here’s a link to the route.

The route goes up the famous “Seven Sisters”, which is where more than a few commercials have been filmed. There’s also spectacular views on this route, including the one below that the DBC was enjoying on a previous ride up Mt. Tam

And here’s Susan and Ron at the fire lookout at the summit of Mt. Tam, which serves as the high point of the Mt. Tam Century.

If you’d like to join us, it’s likely not too late to register. If you notice that the weekend rides are taking a turn for the vertical, it’s because some in the group are training for this event. And the next club event, the Ebbett’s Pass Century, is just a couple of weeks later in the month.

So on today’s ride, Marty, Eduardo and I were thinking it would be a good idea to have a single source of information that would be useful to the group or those considering joining.

Rather than using the Dips Bike Club e-mail group to let people know where the Compound is (and thereby pinging everyone’s Inbox), they can check the blog. The group is small enough that we can give all members access to post ride reports or photos.

We can still use the e-mail group to discuss future rides, start times, and general trash talk, but everything else can live on the blog.