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A Note From Paul:
In the April Ride Guide, I introduced the 2023 Route, but now that I have seen the course, I wanted to offer a deeper dive into the challenges you will face at this year’s Tour des Trees. As you read through these notes you will see that there are numerous sustained climbs. Pay attention to the anticipated times to tackle them and begin to develop a plan for increasing the time you can ride at a manageable intensity, whether that is Sweet Spot, Tempo or Threshold.
Day 1, from Reno to South Lake Tahoe, will take us up and over Mt. Rose, our first HC climb of the Tour. A common theme for this year’s Tour is that a majority of the climbing each day will take place on a single ascent. The profile for Day 1 certainly demonstrates this. Since we will be setting up a rest stop in the Galena Creek area at the base, the segment that most closely mimics our climb is the Joy Lake to Mt. Rose Summit. At 9.5 miles and climbing over 2,700 feet, you can expect this climb to take anywhere from 1 hr to 1 hr and 45 mins to crest.
I have labeled Day 2, from South Lake Tahoe to Murphys, the "Queen Stage." While there is some pretty good climbing just after leaving South Lake Tahoe, the day will be characterized by the big climb up to Ebbetts Pass. The profile and segment will show a climb of over 13 miles with an elevation gain in excess of 2,800 feet, which again classifies this as an HC climb. While there is a net loss in elevation to the start of the Ebbetts Pass climb, there is still almost 3,000 of climbing in those 38 miles. Thus, I suspect we’ll climb this a little slower since we’ll have a bit of fatigue in the legs at the start of it. I anticipate this climb taking between 1 hrs 15 and 2 hrs to crest.
Day 3, from Murphys to Modesto, is our least challenging day of the Tour, although now that the co-designer of this year’s route, Randy Hopp, has edited the route to include roads that he and local events prefer, it has stretched from 66 to 77 miles and added over 400 feet of climbing. So I take back the "active recovery day" label I gave it previously. While we still have over 2,000 feet of net elevation loss on this day, there is now one climb of note. The Parrot’s Ferry Climb is a bit over 4.5 miles and gains over 1,000 feet.
Day 4: From Modesto to San Jose. As you can see in the profile, this day’s climbing isn’t contained to a single ascent, so although we will primarily be climbing from Patterson to Mt. Hamilton, there are two distinct climbs along the way. However, the two primary climbs that make up this ascent, the Del Puerto Canyon and Mt. Hamilton, will be broken up by lunch and the San Antonio Valley. Randy thinks this day, instead of Day 2, is the Queen Stage, so maybe we have ourselves two queen stages this year or maybe a King & Queen Stage. Anyway, the Del Puerto Canyon climb is 22 miles and gains over 2,800 feet in elevation so I expect it to take 1 hr and 45 mins to 2 hrs and 30 min to complete. The Mt. Hamilton climb is a mere 8 miles but climbs over 2,300 feet in that distance, so I’d expect that to take between 1hr and 10 min to 1 hr and 45 mins to complete.
Day 5: From San Jose to Half Moon Bay. While the profile today shows that there are several shorter climbs once we descend Skyline Blvd., the day will be remembered for the big climb from Saratoga to Skyline. At just shy of 7 miles, it climbs approximately 2,100 feet. I anticipate this climbing taking between 45 mins and 1hr 15 mins.
I encourage you take the time to thoroughly review these routes and the highlighted segments. While doing so, look through the leaderboards of the Strava segments to find a corresponding age group and weight class. If you know your FTP, scroll down to find someone with a similar climbing power and you’ll have an idea of the time at effort required to tackle the big climbs of the 2023 Tour des Trees. And, as importantly, take the time to scroll through the photos for these rides to see the beautiful landscapes that we will be riding through!
Ride On!
Paul
Paul Wood- Tour Director
Black Bear Adventures bicycle tours
[email protected]
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