Treasure Valley Cycling Club

Here is the scoop on the 3 summit challenge route (my grade figures are just guestimates). First of all, the scenery is awesome and the road is very smooth. The first five miles are just slightly uphill, then there is about a one mile hill that isn't too steep. About mile twelve you hit the first climb which is about 4 1/2 miles at maybe 5-6% grade, then it's downhill to Warm Lake. After Warm Lake the fun begins. The next few miles are fairly flat before the 5 mile Landmark summit climb. The first mile of the climb is a fairly easy 5% before kicking up to around 11-12% for the next two miles. There is about 1/2 mile or so break where it drops down to around 7% before jumping back up to 10% or so. Basically, I was grinding out a whopping 4.5 - 6 mph up most of the hill (I am ordering a 27 tooth cassette before riding it again next weekend). It is probably the steepest sustained climb I've ever down (of course I've only ridden Galena, Bogus, Horseshoe Bend, Freeze out and Hill top). To make it more fun, we rode over the summit to where the pavement ends and then climbed back up the other side. The third climb back up out of Warm Lake was pretty much like the first climb, but it felt a lot harder after climbing Landmark. It was a great ride, but I thought I'd throw out a word of caution regarding that second climb.