Hills.  Bitchin' hills.  But what a view from the top!

Life is sometimes about scaling hills, right?  Some are easier than others.  And some seem insurmountable.  Unless you take it in stages.  With rests along the way.  My life is pretty good for the most part.  Sometimes things don't go my way.  But let's save that for another time.  For now, let's try and keep this is about cycling, right?

I've been wanting to do this climb called Sierra Rd. for sometime now.  For the past couple of weeks, I did a few extra climbs with Sierra in mind.  Tough climbs like South Park, Elverton, Woodmont and others in the Berkeley area that usually get passed by.  But when I got down to Sierra this past Saturday with my buddy Jules, those others just weren't a match for it!  What a bitch!!  3.5 miles at an average of about 10%.  Sometimes less angle, but often steeper.  And after about 66 miles and in the low 90s, it was .....Ugh!  I'll admit to no one (except this blog and Jules knows) that I stopped 4 times for rests in those short 3.5 miles!  What a wimp.  But I did it.  And it does have quite the payoff with beautiful views towards Mt. Hamilton.  Sometimes persistence pays off!  Don't give up.

Here are a few pics from the day.

Sierra, looking west from the top

Mike - sweaty, tired, but happy to be at the top of Sierra

Ditto

Mike and Jules

The end of Sierra and the beginning of Felter (just over the top)

The view east of Mt. Hamilton from the top of Felter

Felter Rd. looking west as it turns into the top of Sierra