The 14 mile bike was an out and back course. Meaning that the first seven miles meant climbing for probably 5.75 to 6 miles before descending on the same route. I knew it was difficult when I passed 3 people walking their bikes BEFORE the 2 mile mark. Being a strong cyclist I was out of my saddle riding pretty strong for parts of those 7 miles. There were no cars to worry about as the road was roughly parallel to the 5 freeway that runs north all the way to Canada. At times it was steep enough that I slowed to 6.5 mph pace, but even at that rate I could easily chat with fellow sufferers and an added blessing was cloud-cover. Coming down should have been a blessing and it was but it was also a bitch (pardon my French). The race director announced "no aero bars" on the way down. Yes, I agree with that because the pavement which he had also deemed as "pretty good" was in fact pretty horrible. Going UP you can avoid the broken pavement easily because of the slower speed, but going down- mainly over 30 mph (maxed out at 39.4), broken pavement can equal broken bones or worse.
I told the race director in an email that IF I do the race next year I will ride a mountain bike with 1.5" tires as to ride what I did (700 x 23 mm tires) is akin to suicidal behavior. I heard of no casualties among the 104 participants but run that same course 5 years and I would guess one racer will suffer road rash and at least one more will be in the ER and/or hospitalized.
