{
"path": "/blog/anderson-gap",
"site": "at://did:plc:ntnmdg6fuvogzr6khf7agoqf/site.standard.publication/liebs-log",
"tags": [
"Bike riding"
],
"$type": "site.standard.document",
"title": "Anderson Gap",
"description": "I started the day with the idea of riding up Anderson Gap. I knew this to be \na steep climb and I had never done it. It turned out that Dan and Paul didn't \nhave the time so we decided to do Siskiyou Summit instead. It was nice and \ncool on the way up and very clear at the top. Nice view of Shasta. The ride \ndown was even a bit chilly. As we got closer to town the wind picked up and \nwe had a stiff headwind all the way back.\n\nI headed out the valley by myself with the thought that maybe I would try \nAnderson Gap if I felt up to it. I ate a Clif bar at the dog park and another \none at Colver park and rode easy hoping to recover enough by the time I got \nout Griffin. I even got a Gator aide and a Snickers bar at the South Stage \nstore hoping to get enough fuel on board.\n\nThe ride up Griffin Creek was very pleasant and by the time I got to the end \nthere was no question that I would do it. At this point I had 54 miles which \nI thought was perfect training for the Siskiyou Century where the hard climb \nstarts 60 or 70 miles in.\n\nAccording to the Siskiyou Velo website \n(http://siskiyouvelo.org/ride_detail.php?id=7) the ride up Anderson Gap \nclimbs from 2100' to 4100' in 4 miles. It says the average grade is 9.1%. The \nfirst half mile was easy, no steeper than 6%. The next half mile was a little \nsteeper but still less that 9%. That's when I remembered the \"average\" part. \nIt meant that there would be some sections quite a but steeper than 9%. There \ncertainly were, but they were never too long. On some of them I could ride \nzig-zag, but on the steepest part I had to stand and stair-step in my lowest \ngear. I stopped at the halfway point and enjoyed some ripe blackberries.\n\nThe sun was directly in front of me for a good part of the ride and if it \nhadn't been such a cool day it would have been brutal. This is not a ride you \nwant to do on a hot summer day. As I got further up I was in the shade more \nand it was nice and cool. With 1 mile to go it was discouraging to see high \nridges still in front of me. I didn't see how I was going to get up those \nridges and feared the ride might be longer than it said. But with a half mile \nto go I saw the road was heading for a low spot and I remembered that I was \nheaded for Anderson /Gap/ not Anderson Butte. Sure enough the grade soon got \neasier and I was there at exactly 4 miles from the bottom. The view to the \nwest was great but the sun prevented any really good pictures.\n\nLooking West from Anderson Gap into the sun.\n\nAfter turning around and starting down I had a great view of the valley and \nthe Cascades. I took it slow on the way down. The road was really not bad. It \nwas rough chip-seal but with only one easy to see pot hole. My breaks got a \nreally good workout going down.\n\nI took Dark Hollow/Pioneer back for good measure. I got home at about 7:00 \nwith 82 miles. A great ride if ever there was one.\n\n",
"publishedAt": "2010-08-31T21:49:21-07:00",
"textContent": "I started the day with the idea of riding up Anderson Gap. I knew this to be \na steep climb and I had never done it. It turned out that Dan and Paul didn't \nhave the time so we decided to do Siskiyou Summit instead. It was nice and \ncool on the way up and very clear at the top. Nice view of Shasta. The ride \ndown was even a bit chilly. As we got closer to town the wind picked up and \nwe had a stiff headwind all the way back.\n\nI headed out the valley by myself with the thought that maybe I would try \nAnderson Gap if I felt up to it. I ate a Clif bar at the dog park and another \none at Colver park and rode easy hoping to recover enough by the time I got \nout Griffin. I even got a Gator aide and a Snickers bar at the South Stage \nstore hoping to get enough fuel on board.\n\nThe ride up Griffin Creek was very pleasant and by the time I got to the end \nthere was no question that I would do it. At this point I had 54 miles which \nI thought was perfect training for the Siskiyou Century where the hard climb \nstarts 60 or 70 miles in.\n\nAccording to the Siskiyou Velo website \n(http://siskiyouvelo.org/ride_detail.php?id=7) the ride up Anderson Gap \nclimbs from 2100' to 4100' in 4 miles. It says the average grade is 9.1%. The \nfirst half mile was easy, no steeper than 6%. The next half mile was a little \nsteeper but still less that 9%. That's when I remembered the \"average\" part. \nIt meant that there would be some sections quite a but steeper than 9%. There \ncertainly were, but they were never too long. On some of them I could ride \nzig-zag, but on the steepest part I had to stand and stair-step in my lowest \ngear. I stopped at the halfway point and enjoyed some ripe blackberries.\n\nThe sun was directly in front of me for a good part of the ride and if it \nhadn't been such a cool day it would have been brutal. This is not a ride you \nwant to do on a hot summer day. As I got further up I was in the shade more \nand it was nice and cool. With 1 mile to go it was discouraging to see high \nridges still in front of me. I didn't see how I was going to get up those \nridges and feared the ride might be longer than it said. But with a half mile \nto go I saw the road was heading for a low spot and I remembered that I was \nheaded for Anderson /Gap/ not Anderson Butte. Sure enough the grade soon got \neasier and I was there at exactly 4 miles from the bottom. The view to the \nwest was great but the sun prevented any really good pictures.\n\nLooking West from Anderson Gap into the sun.\n\nAfter turning around and starting down I had a great view of the valley and \nthe Cascades. I took it slow on the way down. The road was really not bad. It \nwas rough chip-seal but with only one easy to see pot hole. My breaks got a \nreally good workout going down.\n\nI took Dark Hollow/Pioneer back for good measure. I got home at about 7:00 \nwith 82 miles. A great ride if ever there was one.\n\n"
}