QUADS HILLA CENTURY TOURS
Suggested group start 7am, estimated ride time 6-9 hours.
You've survived California's Deathride. You've had a Triple Bypass in Colorado and Whimpered your way through Virginia's Mountains of Misery, but can you complete the King of the East, the Quads Hilla Century?
This challenging century combines most of the climbs of the original Highlander in the Bristol Hills and Canandaigua Lake shores, with some of last years DB4D climbs plus some new climbs with nearly 9,000 feet of climbing in 105 miles. We think this may be the toughest ride on the planet with its rollercoaster course, alternating between steep, up 23% grade, climbs and fast descends. While staying true to its beginnings and core, this year you’ll see some terrain the Highlander hasn’t visited in years. You’ll climb some familiar monsters along the way, passing multiple vineyards and lake shores and wish you could stop to enjoy the view. The shorter Quad Lite is a 100K (62 mile) course, featuring 6000 ft of climbing. It follows most of the Quads Hilla route skipping the Prattsburg, Italy Valley and Vine Valley sections. With climbs on grades up to 23%, either of the Quads Hilla centuries promises to be the ride challenge of your life.
Open and print the PDF route map and cue sheet to bring with you. We will have only a limited number of maps available at registration, so it is important that you bring your own copies. Because of changing road conditions the routes may be changed, so check the week before the event for any map updates. NB, cue sheet under construction
The map combines both challenging Highlander Tours: The full Quads Hilla is indicated by the solid route line, while the Quad Lite 100K is marked by dashed lines where it deviates from the full century.
If you ride with a GPS unit, you can download the route to your GPS and can ride without fussing with maps or cue sheets. Go to the Bike Route Toaster site for Quads Hilla or Quad Lite and follow the directions for downloading the gpx file on the Summary tab. Another useful Bike Route Toaster feature is a Google Earth KML route document that you can use to do a virtual tour.
If the QuadsHilla Century is not a sufficient challenge try the High Tri Challenge which combines any of the Highlander rides with a triathalon the next day.
Up to the challenge? Then go to REGISTRATION page.
The west facing, aerial view above is of the Quads Hilla/Quads Lite courses from Google Earth. To better see the detail, click on the images to enlarge (Note, it is a large file). Below is a description of the courses. Alternatively, if you go to this Bike Route Toaster link and download the Google Earth KML document, you can examine the route in detail or use it to do a virtual tour. The elevation profile in feet of the the Quads Hilla over the 100 mile course is shown below.
Road Conditions
Because we plan the routes a year in advance, unanticipated road deterioation or road construction can force us to change the route. We post any warnings or route changes here, but also check at registration for any last minute changes.
CLASSIC HIGHLANDER RIDER COMMENTS:
"I've done one thing tougher so far in life and that was taking lead down range in Iraq."
- Sgt Chris Edgerton, USAF
"I rode the 6-Gap Century in Georgia in 2005. The Highlander was more demanding."
- Mike Corcimiglia, Rochester, NY
"I've done the assault on Mt. Mitchell, and this was way tougher."
- John Price from NC
"...My sadistic Russian coach could take a lesson from you guys."
- Member of US nat'l rowing team from GA
"Calling this ride a tour is like calling a canoe trip over Niagara Falls doing some whitewater."
- John Swart, St. Catherines, Ontario, CA
|
