Marshall Wall

Last weekend of back to back rides took me to a very difficult hill called "Wilson Hill Road". Here is a picture of the T-intersection looking at the hill from the side that takes you to Marshall Wall. So once you reach this intersection the options are not the best - either way you are done ;)


Just before we left for the Marshall Wall ride, the ride leader gave us ample warning about the difficulty of this climb, and also told us that we will never encounter a climb like this with a 15-16% grade or almost 40-45 degree on the actual ALC ride to L.A!! To which, a sharp rider responded "why are we doing this then!!", ride leaders response (paraphrase) - "she did not put a gun to our head, we volunteered for this training ride" :)

She was right, indeed this as tough a climb you will see North of Golden Gate Bridge. My singlular aim was to reach this Wall as early as possible to beat the sun. I made it! Began climbing at 10:30 am, and I had one of my best climbs on this training roster. Lucky for us - the winds were mild, though it was still super hot by then.


I was so caught up in the climb, Wall was kicking my ass, that I almost missed the top of the wall - but still managed to hoist my flag on the top (almost) and take some pictures!!


The best part of the Ride!! The intense climb was followed by a 10 miles of rolling roads along the water - sea breeze never felt better or more needed.