100.2 miles, 6:53 moving time, 8,688 ft elevation, Click for Strava. Ride with GPS Course.
I rode the scenic Heartbreak 100 by Planet Ultra . This was the third leg of the King of Mointain (KOM) Series. I finished the KOM this year; my first! Leg #1: Mulholland Challenge Ride Report. Leg #2 Breathless Agony Ride Report.
The weather was iffy; forecast was cold and windy. Leaving at 5am, Bob and I carpooled in Gregg’s car. The start of the ride is in Frazier Park, close to the Grapevine on the I5. The air temp at the start was low 40s, brrrr. I opted to wear all my heavy gear: heavy coat with zip-off arms, turtleneck base layer, long pants, wooly socks, Toe covers and snow ball gloves. Throughout the day, I took off and put on layers, but overall it was not too bad with the sun out.
The ride starts with a climb through the mountains and trees. Very pretty. SAG stop #1. Mile 25. Then we ride along the ridge of the mountains. Spectacular views with really fun rollers. This was my favorite part of the ride. Hands down. Next there’s was roller descents which was fast and fun. The next section was flat section through the farmland and ranches. SAG stop #2. Mile 52. The ride headed up through the valley and canyon. Gorgeous. Hills trees. Wide open spaces. Oh and Mini Cooper MeetUp. Next up was Heartbreak hill. It started out 3-4 miles of slowly increasing grade then it got very steep 10-12%. SAG stop #3 was at the top. I was so happy I made it without stopping. Mile 76. The last section was major rollers and the wind started kicking up. Mentally, I thought it wouldn’t be so bad, but I started getting really tired. The best part was the last 7 miles was downhill. Whew. We ate the taco lunch back at the hotel after the ride. That felt good.
We tried on the KOM jerseys in different cuts and placed our orders. I think I’ll wear it every weekend for a year.
Overall, Heartbreak 100 was a great ride. The scenery was spectacular. The SAG is awesome, as usual. We got lucky on the weather, except for some wind from miles 83-93. This ride is easier than Mulholland and Breathless, but I wouldn’t say it’s easy. There’s definitely some steep sections, but it’s balanced with rollers and flats. The remoteness of the ride added to its quiet character. This is also the smallest crowd of the three KOMs. HeartBreak is one giant loop (See Strava map), i.e. there are no shorter options, only the 100 miles. Both Mulholland and Breathless have shorter options and thus attract more riders.
choose happiness 