There’s a hill that I loved to ride up when I lived in California. The road is Old La Honda in the Santa Cruz mountains west of Palo Alto. Here’s the Strava segment. It’s 2.98mi with 1,255ft elevation gain at an average grade of 8.0%. My PR is 23:22, in 2015. I’d guess that I’ve ridden it maybe 40 times. Maybe more!
It’s picturesque: A quiet road that winds through redwoods. There’s a good picture in this article.
Anyway, Zwift has a thing where they simulate real climbs from around the world. Old La Honda is this month’s climb of the month. There’s no actual video footage or even rendered scenery, which is unfortunate because that’s the best part. It looks like this:
But if you’re away from the Bay Area and you miss the climb, it might be worth checking it out. You’ll just have to imagine in your mind the towering trees, the switchbacks, the hill sometimes dropping off on one side, the old water towers, occasional deer, and Upenuf Rd.
My Zwift Old La Honda time is 27:19. It’s better than I expected because I’m definitely in worse biking shape than 8 years ago. It makes me wonder if the trainer is a little softer than reality.