[gregpark]

Who here likes to climb? Actually no one really, it's painful. But all true cyclists are oddly addicted to pain and suffering and climbing is a big part of my addiction. I'm basically a sprinter who thinks I'm a climber. I ride most every day and do one or two climbs a week. I live in a long valley with pretty high ridge tops on both sides. There are at least a dozen little road climbs to pick from ranging from a mile to 9 miles long. None are easy and most are brutal. A typical climb here is a couple miles long and gains around 1300 feet, the highest climb being 2663 ft. These pics are from yesterday, about a 1300 ft. climb. You can see part of the valley floor at the start. The distant mountain is Mt. Diablo which I've climbed many times along with other bay area mountains, Tamalpais, St. Helena, Hamilton, all grueling long climbs. The toughest climb in my valley is Oakville Grade, only a mile long but mostly about 16% consistently all the way up (no breaks to drain lactic acid). If you stop, it's too steep to start again. If it's a hot day Oakville is out but I only tackle that thing maybe once a year.