The route follows a traditional loop around the area along local highways, with plenty of rest/aid stops and copious police support. The initial climb is a killer:



In other words, the first 5 miles are all straight up hill. And that nice flat part between miles 10-15? We had a 10-20 MPH headwind. Also on the flat stretch from about miles 16-22... After the rest/aid stop at that point, the route turns west, so the wind was from the side during the rolling climbs. There was another rest/aid stop at mile 30, at which point a short climb got us to the descent phase (wheeeeeee!), during which I hit a maximum speed of 49.8 mph, according to my bike computer. That little, brutal spike from miles 42-45 is Tomah road, which is pure evil. All told, there's about 1900 feet of elevation gain over the route - it only feels like most of it's along Tomah...

Ride time was about 4 1/2 hours, and I was exhausted by the time it was over. I paused along the roadside several times on the Tomah road climb just to let my legs recover and to gain the energy necessary to keep going. I stayed fed and hydrated, and my sunscreen mostly didn't sweat off (just a couple of spots I should have touched up, but I don't think they'll even peel later), so I'm counting it as a victory.

Last time I did Elephant Rock, I was totally unprepared for the climbing and didn't ride again for a couple of months. This time around, I started commuting again 2 days later (Monday was a massage appointment, which I desperately needed!). We're also looking at doing some additional distance rides later in the season (B is looking at the 32 mile routes - I'll decide how I'm feeling closer in).