I love riding my bike. I love taking it on long mountainous roads. The kind of ride that takes you all day to complete. Rides that will test your physical, mental, and emotional limitations.
Going up to Dawson Saddle from my home is one such ride. Located in the Angeles National Forest along Highway 2, between Islip Saddle and the Vincent Gap, it is one of the highest sustained elevation climb in Southern California which peaks at 7901 feet.
Last month, I set off from my home before 7am to Dawson Saddle. The weather looked promising with the temperature in the low 70s and a mostly sunny day. The distance to Dawson's peak is about 70 miles out and mostly uphill. I knew I was in for a long day so I made myself a protein shake and some Matcha green tea (not a coffee drinker) to help keep me awake. Kit wise, as weather can be unpredictable at higher elevations, I opted for my Rapha RCC Pro Team Jacket lined by a Rapha long sleeved, meshed wool base layer and a Rapha 3/4 bib. I put on my Rapha RCC climber's shoe as I had lots of climbing miles ahead of me. I planned on doing the same route I did in November of last year. I felt a little less in shape as we just got through the winter season and haven't been riding as much as before. I planned to leave early enough right at sunrise to still have daylight at the end of the ride, but I did bring lights just in case.
The first climb of the day starts at Big Tujunga Canyon Road, better known as "Big T". This climb starts at mile 18 from my starting point. Big T is a 16 mile climb with a couple of short downhill leg relievers until you reach Upper Big Tujunga which is the second climb and is 9 miles long until you reach Angeles Crest Highway 2. After climbing lower Big T, Upper Big T will feel like it is never-ending and will test your patience as there are a couple of false peaks. Just keep up with your tempo and you'll get to Hwy 2 soon enough. The combined distance of Big T and Upper Big T is 25 miles with a 3% average gradient. It is not so much the gradient of these 2 combined climbs that gets you, but the long sustained uphill climb. If your mind and body are not in the right place, you may find yourself opting out at the finish of this section.
I reach the intersection to HWY 2 44 miles in, 4800 feet of elevation, and just over 3 hours into the ride, I know I have another 26 miles of climbing to the summit. There is no break here, unless you stop or point the opposite way downhill, as the road only points up to the direction of Dawson Saddle. Here is when I start to gauge my fitness level and mental fortitude. I start to question myself if I should head down from here or go on? How am I feeling? How are my legs? Will I have enough time in the day to complete this and make it to a a friend's birthday party in the evening? You're mind will try to find excuses to head down the mountain instead of climb more. Stay tough and "suck it up" big rewards ahead of you if you go on.
From here, it is 7 miles to the next respite, Newcombe's Ranch Cafe where you can stop order a real meal, fill up your water bottles, and check out some cool motorized bicycles. On this ride though, here is where I made an almost day ending mistake. As I approached the cafe at mile 52 and 5400 feet of elevation, I was feeling great and with enough food and a full water bottle left, I figured I had enough to reach the summit and make it back down to the cafe and fill up then. That would have been 18 miles uphill and 18 miles back down to the cafe. I was wrong as with about 6 miles to the summit, I drank the last drop. I had to make a decision at this point to whether head back down and cut my ride short of my goal, or go on and hope that somehow I'll find a water source to fill up my hydration bottles. As the distance kept adding on, my mind started to slowly panic, I see a rest area ahead, and I pulled in hoping that I"ll find drinking water. I look around and there wasn't any faucet, but there was a single pick-up truck parked and I see a man getting ready to leave. I swiftly rode towards the truck and once close enough, I asked the man if he could spare me some water. His name was Rod, and without hesitation, Rod gave me two bottles of Gatorade, jumped in the bed of his truck took my empty water bottles from me, and filled them up with fresh water from his five gallon water reservoir. Rod asked if there was anything else I may need before he wished me good luck. I thanked Rod with all the sincerity I could muster and told him that he was a lifesaver. As Rod drove off, I thought to myself, thank goodness for humanity.
With enough hydration and the human kindness I was shown, I felt somewhat renewed and I set off to complete the last five climbing miles to Dawson Saddle. At about 3 miles to the summit, I felt my eyes slowly closing on me, I've experienced this before, but it felt very foreign to me still, as I pedaled with my eyes closed as though I am about to nap or in a dream. I was tired, and with no one there to exchange stories with, for about a mile, I kept fighting the urge to fall asleep. This feeling is pretty similar to when you're on a long road trip in your car and you start to feel like you're going to fall asleep at the wheel. At one point, I contemplated stopping on the side of the road, laying down on the cold asphalt, and taking a nap. Until, I saw familiar landmarks that told me the summit is near. This was like a shot of caffein in your veins that awakens you and you're not tired anymore. I am almost there and it is time to summit strong. I pushed the pace a bit as I wanted to get to the end sooner than later. And at mile 75, there she was... a green sign with the words... Dawson Saddle Elev 7901 Ft. I wish there was someone taking a picture of me at that very second and every time I see this sign. It is pure relief, pure joy, and a celebration. You find love at 7901 feet.
Unfortunately, the love affair at Dawson Saddle has to be short-lived as I apparently, have another 75 miles to get back home. And although most of these miles are downhill and flat, you would still have to pedal, on your comfortable narrow saddle for at least another 4 hours. What I do to make the push home interesting, is I come up with challenges along the way. The first one is to PR as much of the Strava downhill segments ahead of me. With the next 45 miles mostly downhill, with the exception of a 4 mile uphill stretch between Upper Big T and Red Box, I was in my Froome-like tuck most of the way as the downhill runs are long, wide, sweeping turns instead of the narrow, and technical switchbacks. The miles go quicker on these sections and the wind on your face makes you smile for days. A couple of miles past Red box, a group of four cyclists quickly joined me from behind, and I gave way to them so I can hop on their train to get some relief from their slipstream. The pace quickly increased and I caught myself widening my smile as I I was reminded why I love riding. As we reached Clear Creek, the group slowed to let one of their friends catch up. I excused myself as I went ahead, and told them, they will catch on to me in no time. This was my next challenge, to push hard enough that I could hold on solo to the bottom on Foothill Boulevard. As I reached Foothill, I caught a stoplight and one of the guys from the group finally caught up and wished me well for a great ride. At this point, I have about 25 miles of flat roads ahead of me, and at the gas station at the corner of Angeles Crest Highway and Foothill Boulevard, I stopped for a Coca Cola and a few more smiles. I knew I was home free and it is time to enjoy my ride home.
The last challenge I gave myself was to get home before sundown. So after my Coke break, I gauged the pace I need to do to get home before dark. I had to be smart and not push too hard that I'll have no energy when I get home as I do have a close friend's birthday party to attend to. I put one ear piece in my ear, selected my favorite playlist and rode off into the sunset. All the while catching myself smiling and thinking about the day I've had, the things I thought about, the people who's inspired me to do this, and the many conversations I had with myself through this adventure. Best of all, I was smiling because I was convinced that, I am now at that moment, a better person than I was when I left home in the morning.
