Climb to Kaiser 2004
"Getting Fixed"
By Doug Sloan

I've struggled for several weeks to come up with a way to describe doing Climb to Kaiser on a fixed gear bike. The bottom line is that it was hard. My performance this year was totally unremarkable at 14 hours 9 minutes, except for maybe the fact that I used a fixed gear bike, so, I'll focus on that aspect of  it.

Here are some photos. I'm number 129.
Click to enlarge.

For those unfamiliar, a fixed gear bike has only 1 gear ratio, and the rear hub does not allow coasting. You must always pedal. (To contrast, a "single speed" has only one gear, but it can coast, as it has a freewheel in back.) You use the same gear whether you are climbing a 20% grade at 4 mph or descending at 30 mph. You stand and push hard on the climbs, then spin like a Dremel tool on the descents. Click here for a description of the bike.

Climb to Kaiser is a 155 mile bike ride, starting at 300 feet elevation in Clovis, California, then climbing to 9,200 feet elevation at Kaiser Pass, then back, with some additional up and down along both ways. The total climbing is about 13,500 feet, 12,000 of which occurs in a 65 mile stretch. The climbs can be really steep, with extended sections over 15%, topping out around 18-20% on "Big Creek," a 2,000 foot climb from 5,000 to 7,000 feet around mile 60.

I've finished Kaiser three times before, with times of 12:04, 11:01, and 13:12. Had one DNF due to gastric distress. Last year, the 13 hour ride, I used a triple chain ring (30x29 low gear) and easily sat and spun up all the hills, including the steepest parts of Big Creek.  The low gears of the triple make the climbing as easy as you want it to be, as sitting and spinning really saves your legs. When I finished, I think I could have turned around and rode it again. That's the beauty of low gears (and a lot of endurance riding the last few years).

This year was completely different. I've been riding the fixed gear bike almost exclusively since last fall, in an effort to prepare to ride the Furnace Creek 508 in October on the fixed gear, which I've done before on "regular" bikes. [October 2004 -- I was unable to put in enough training in August and September after the C2K, so I abandoned the 508 attempt this year.] I've also done several hilly double centuries fixed, including the hilly Central Coast Double in May.

To explain the difficulty of doing Kaiser on the fixed bike I think I need to focus on two distinct concepts dealing with bike riding -- power and torque. Here are the definitions:

Power: the time rate at which work is done (watts or horsepower)

Torque: a force that produces or tends to produce rotation or torsion; a turning or twisting force

Torque is essentially the result of how hard (not how fast) you can press on the pedals. Power is the rate you can do that. To most cyclists, having low enough gears, power is the primary concern. If it starts to become too difficult to push on the pedals as the slope increases, you gear down and spin faster. This is more efficient, and stresses your body less, too. Given the correct range of gears, you could ride an entire hilly course in a narrow cadence range and power range (for example, producing 200 watts at 90 rpms the whole way).

With a fixed gear, the only variable is how hard you push on the pedals, with the resulting cadence controlled by your gear ratio (which is predetermined) weight, the slope, and maybe wind resistance. When you climb, your cadence drops. When it gets really steep, all you can do is stand and use your entire body to push harder and harder (more torque) on the pedals. So, on a fixed gear, when the hills get steep, your primary focus is "how hard can I push on the pedals?" It becomes a test of strength, like doing squats, not power/watts.

Doing squats wears out your legs much faster than spinning a bike at 90 rpms. At times, I found myself as low as 20 rpms, which is a revolution every 3 seconds. At that rate, you are pushing hard down on the pedal each time for a long time, and really hard, compared to spinning. Maximum strength, and then the ability to repeat your maximum effort over and over, becomes the limiting factor.

So, I think you may be getting the idea. Fixed gear hilly rides are not the same, and that's just the climbing part of the equation. With 13,500' of climbing, there's a corresponding 13,500' of descending. Since you're stuck with the same gear, and you can't coast, your descent speed is controlled not by gravity or wind drag, but by how fast you can (or want to) move your legs. With the 47x19 (66 gear inches) I was using, 25 mph was about 130 rpms  (here is a chart of the speeds and rpms with those gears). While I've sprinted downhill up to 196 rpms, almost 40 mph, anything over around 130 rpms for extended descents wears me out very quickly, including the legs and lots of extra chafing. So, I ride the brake (only a front brake necessary) and keep the speed down. Of course, this means losing lots of time on the descents, going 25 mph instead of 40-50 mph in many places. For example, on the 7 mile descent from Tamarack Ridge to Shaver Lake, I normally average well over 40 mph, topping out around 50. On the fixed gear, it takes almost twice as long, plus you're not sitting there all comfy letting your legs rest -- your going half as fast and working 10 times harder (it does take effort to spin fast -- you can't simply let the pedals push your feet around).

Now to the ride. Leaving Clovis, I managed to find some groups cruising just over 21-22 mph. I ride alone about half the way, as any time there's much of an acceleration to 25 mph or so, I bail, as I don't want to spin that fast. I had some pleasant conversations on the way to the hills, which is more fun than the nose down hard core pace line style of riding I've done in this event before.

After "the corral," around mile 15 or so, where the road turns to head up to Wildcat Mountain, the ride really starts, in my book. There are some rolling, but somewhat steep, climbs and descents, with a net climb from the corral to the real climb at Wildcat. When you hit Wildcat, you are already a bit winded from the lead up.

Wildcat hits around 16% (I have a bike computer that shows grade) at the steepest part, with most of it around 8-10%. It's not a really long climb, but steep and long enough to separate people substantially. Of course, I had to stand all the way up, except for some brief reprieves around some of the switchbacks. I have learned to sit and drink quickly on the flatter parts, as I've not yet found a way to reach for and drink from a bottle while standing.

The descent down the backside wasn't nearly as much fun as it normally is. I get passed back by people I passed on the climb or at the water stop at the summit. It's a little discouraging, but hey, I chose to do it this way.

The Borough Valley climb is not very hard, in fact, almost ideal on the fixed gear. Its 3-5% slopes are actually fairly efficient on the fixed, requiring a lot of standing, but at a very comfortable cadence and effort. Didn't lose any ground there.

Leading up to Tollhouse (2,500' climb over 6.5 miles), I was conserving a bit. I've ridden Tollhouse many times this year on the fixed gear, including a 70 inch (taller) gear, but that's not the same as doing it in the event, with over 100 miles and 9000' of climbing afterward. Tollhouse has its steeper and flatter parts, very irregular, and every irregularity is very noticeable on the fixed gear. When the slope changes, you instantly get feedback in the pedals and cadence, as you can't effortlessly shift to a different gear, giving your legs the impression that the slope is the same.

The top of Tollhouse was very hard this time. It's normally hard for everyone. Sometimes on the fixed, when the slope gets very steep, I'll traverse the hill a bit, in effect making it less steep and allowing a little rest. Can't do that, though, when there is traffic and other bikes around. So, it was straight up the road, just pushing harder and harder.

By the time I hit the Shaver rest stop, I was tired. That's a 5,000' net climb and 50 miles from the start, probably 6,000' gross. I took my time to get plenty of water and energy, as it's my belief that what you do at Shaver and there to Big Creek determines how badly you suffer on Big Creek grade. So, I took all my electrolyte pills, refilled the water bottles with energy powder, and even drank a bit of Coke. I hit the road somewhat refreshed, but conscious that I was feeling a little bit more tired that I would have liked, thinking that maybe I started out too fast.

I was really surprised that no one passed me on the steep, winding, descent from the summit right off 168 at Shaver Lake down to Big Creek (course goes from 5,500' at Shaver  to 6,000' at the summit, then down to 4,700', and back up a bit and then down to 5,000' at Big Creek). Maybe people really did listen to all the warnings about being careful there. (A rider crossed the center line and was killed there last year.)  I felt really slow doing this on the fixed, even more so because I have to pedal through all the turns and can't brake and turn as smoothly as I can when coasting on a regular bike. Braking, cornering, and pedaling near the adhesion limits of the bike's tires is a lot to ask.

I got to Big Creek, the town, pretty tired. I was careful to control speed and eat and drink plenty in the miles before, but even the spinning down the hills was wearing me out.

I had to get psyched up for Big Creek (the hill), as it's very daunting. It starts out around 12% right out of the little town, and that's the easy part. I decide to just "conquer" little chunks of the hill at a time, consciously thinking things like "if I can just make it up to that turn, then I'll rest a little." When the climb goes over 15%, then 18%, the effort approaches impossible. It becomes nearly all I can do to push down on each pedal each time. At times, I'm not necessarily even breathing really hard, as riding really is now becoming a serious of squats or leg presses. (It's really more like "body presses," though, as every muscle from my hands to my shoulders, and all way to my feet had to be recruited on each stroke -- a genuine full body workout.) I stopped, by necessity, about 5 times on the climb, each time only for a few seconds, as I just needed to recover before tackling another section, sort of like resting between "sets" when doing a gym workout. I refused to walk, though, primarily because I wanted to ride the whole way, but also because the extra time spent dismounting, putting on cleat covers, and remounting takes too long. Even starting again after each brief rest was difficult on the narrow, steep, road, particularly since clipping in a fixed gear bike is harder anyway; I'd aim the bike straight across the slope, then go, clip in, then almost immediately traverse back since the road was so narrow. I was inspired to be able to ride past some riders walking in places, but I was barely going any faster, especially in places where I was traversing to lessen the grade. Traversing gets a little tricky on really steep hills, because the turns get tighter, and toe overlap with the front tire becomes an issue. I had to watch it, or I'd wreck myself at 4 mph.

On somewhat of a side note, keep in mind that when the road hits 18%, given the fixed gear ratio of 66 inches, the torque required to go the same speed as on a multispeed bike with a 33 inch ratio (like using a 30x25 or 39x29 gear) is twice as much, meaning the hill feels twice as steep, or 36%! That's really the best way to describe it -- like riding a 36% hill. At least if feels 36%.

It took a long time to climb Big Creek. My personal record is 34 minutes (when starting from Shaver), but this time I was around 75 minutes. With the inefficiency and stopping, it just took forever. Plus, I was getting more beaten up with every pedal revolution. When I got to the top at Huntington Lake, I was both worn out and delighted. I knew I completed the hardest part of the course, but I was barely conscious. I was about as tired as I'd ever been on a bike, right next to around mile 400 in the 508 in 2001, when I was blacking out and had to stop for 30 minutes. I could barely keep the bike up-right as the course wound around the lake, all too eager to get to the lunch stop and get off the bike for a few minutes.

Lunch revived me some, and I planned to stop at the store at the lake and get a Red Bull, which always seems to really help on a long ride to revive me more for a big climb. Knowing the 7 mile, 2,200' climb to Kaiser Pass was just ahead, and I was already beat, I thought it was a good idea. I bought it and drank it on the bike, stuffing the can in my jersey pocket on the way up to the summit.

The "good road" part of the summit climb wasn't too hard, staying around 5-6%. Those types of grades have almost become easy on the fixed, after doing lots of 10-15%. I held my own with regular bikes, and actually did so all the way to the summit. With just over a mile to go, the road gets much steeper and becomes barely one lane, with several switchbacks and rough pavement. I was surprised how relatively easy this part was, given the difficultly of Big Creek. I wondered whether I was bonking a bit on Big Creek, because even near the top of Kaiser, with some similar grades I was able to ride straight up it with little gymnastics. In any event, at the summit I thought for sure I'd hear blasting from speakers the theme from Rocky, but instead I was simply gratified to hear the welcome words of volunteers and other riders noting the achievement of arriving there on the fixed gear. Don't think it had ever been done, or attempted, before. It was my Everest, and I had summitted.

I didn't stay long, just long enough to get water, and headed down the long descent. At this point in the ride, you have about 9,000' net and over 10,000' gross descending to do, with about 1,500' of climbing on the way back. About half way down to Huntington, I realized this was going to be a real chore. The descending was very uncomfortable, with my discomfort inversely proportional to how hard I squeezed the brake lever. Slow down, the cadence drops, and it gets easier. Chafing was becoming an issue, and I forgot to bring extra Chamois Butt'r. Lots of people whizzed by on the descent, a few of which I caught again on the Tamarack Ridge (Three Sisters) climbs, which aren't very steep.

Tamarack Ridge, at 7,600', drops down to Shaver at 5,500' in about 7 miles. It's not really steep, but it's nearly wide open; I've coasted the entire way on my aerobars on the regular bike, never touching the brakes. This time was a real chore. It took a long time, and it was very tedious spinning a 130 rpms while riding the brake and shifting around on the saddle to lessen the chafing. A couple of riders passed me near Shaver at what seemed like twice my speed. Could have been. One thing I've noticed about descending on the fixed gear bike, though -- at the much lower speed, there's more time to look around and take in the scenery; I see things I've never seen before while bombing down the hills with eyes glued to the road like a Formula 1 race car driver.

That first climb from below the dam up to Shaver is always hard, after "freezing up" on the long descent, but this time was even worse. All that spinning did something to my legs that made them very reluctant to return to mash mode to climb the hill again. That's one aspect of fixed gear that is difficult, going from one extreme to the other within a few seconds -- spinning at 130 rpms then mashing at 20 rpms, with very little transition in between.

I was in and out of  the Shaver rest stop quickly, now feeling the pressure to get in before dark. I figured I just needed to average 15 mph to finish before dark, which seemed completely possible, given there was another 5,000' of descending and very little climbing left.

Thank goodness for a water stop in Auberry this year. I always seem to run out of water between Shaver and Millerton, and one year this caused some severe dehydration problems the last 20 miles, when I was faster and finished in the peak of the heat of the day. It's more of a concern on the fixed gear, actually, because it takes longer to get from one rest stop to another.

By the time I got to the Millerton stop I felt totally refreshed and was riding as hard as my cadence would allow. I was in and out of Millerton very quickly, just fast enough to get water. I did pause to explain what a fixed gear was, though, even demonstrating how the pedals move the wheel in both directions, without coasting, to a volunteer there. The bike was a curiosity at nearly all the stops, even more so on this ride where many people change their bike from its configuration for the rest of the year, adding large granny cogs to enable easier climbing up the steep hills.

The ride to the finish was relatively easy. For some reason, I recovered well, and held about 21 mph all the way in; that speed feels fine on the fixed gear, as it's actually very efficient around 100 or so rpms.

Nearly had a disaster close to the finish. I passed two riders, then they jumped on my wheel. With only a couple of turns to go, on a right hand turn I felt a big bump on my rear wheel, like I had a flat. I turned and looked, and both the riders were on the ground. Apparently, they thought I was pointing at something on the ground when I was signaling a right turn, and they were close enough to me and each other that we all clipped wheels. Nonetheless, they were ok, and said their bikes didn't even get scratched. I was relieved.

The ride was extremely well run. Plenty of volunteers, and all were nice and helpful. My only suggestions would be bananas at the rest stops, and more SAG in the latter parts of the course. I've noticed that in nearly every ride, you see a SAG every minute in the first half, then maybe none at all in the last half. People get more spread out, but that's where I think people are more likely to need help.

Thanks for reading the ride report. Every time I write one of  these I get some useful feedback from someone about how to solve some problem, or I help someone to avoid a similar problem. I'll probably add some more post mortem as I think about it, but that's about it for now. Next report will follow the Furnace Creek 508 in October.

Doug

Click Here For More Fixed Gear Rides and Info

Speed / rpm chart

Back to Story

Other bike stories and links

Here are some additional Climb to Kaiser links and photos:

Felix Wong  |  Dave Wyman | Adam Paul | Chris Z. | Others