Ascutney-Okemo
Loop Rides in Ride Options: ·
61 mile loop, 3 significant climbs, 8800 feet of climbing (per TopoUSA) ·
87 mile loop, 4 significant climbs, 11,700 feet of climbing ·
94 mile loop, 6 significant climbs, 13,000 feet of climbing Presented
here are three options for a loop that includes Mt Ascutney and Each of
the significant climbs on this ride is briefly discussed below. The elevation numbers given are min to max,
from low point since last climb to Profiled Climbs:
Ascutney, Mt Ascutney (2250ft) A good
place to park for this ride is on Rt 44A right at
entrance to This
climb is perhaps the hardest of all race climbs. It’s just short enough that riders push
deeply into the anaerobic realm. It’s
just long enough to destroy your legs.
The first 2.5 miles is steeper than any 2.5 mile section of other
raced climbs. It just doesn’t give
up. Sections are claimed to be
19%. But from 2.5 to about 3.3 miles,
you get a couple breaks, including a bit that may actual go downhill. But beware when it goes steep again. It’s not far from top,
some folks let up a bit on the respite, and then delve way to deep into the
depths of anaerobic despair to finish it off.
But the top doesn’t come soon enough, and most riders explosively hit
deflection (forced to back way down) before reaching the top. If you must hurl, please do so off the
pavement. I think at least one person
per race hurls at the finish. The
parking area up top sits in a saddle between two peaks, an upper peak to the
north and a lower peak to the south.
They both have communications towers on them, but the bigger peak to
north has hiking trails and look-out tower.
It’s about 300 vertical feet to summit. You won’t want to do this in cycling shoes
though. Some hands and feet bare rock
climbing are involved. If you have
somebody going up in car, put on some hiking shoes and check it out. On days when thermals and wind are right,
many hang gliders launch off Ascutney.
I’ve seen over a dozen circling above like eagles. The
descent has improved much over the last couple years with new pavement. Still though, more care than most descents
must be exercised. It is so steep that
most riders, especially bigger riders, require heavy breaking most of the way
down. Every year riders blow tires on
this descent. This is caused by rims
overheating and a) increased air pressure blows bead off rim, or b) rim tape
inside rim melts and tube blows out through spoke nipple hole. The later has happened to me twice. Bigger riders, say those over 165 lbs, or
anybody that rides with death-grip on levers all the way down should drop air
pressure 10-20 lbs as extra safeguard.
Really big riders should stop and check rims a couple times on way
down. If rim is too hot to hold, let
it chill for a while. I’ve heard of
rims warping and spokes breaking on this descent
too. The pavement used to be much
rougher, but there are still some serious frost heaves around and the
switchbacks haven’t changed. After
finishing your repeats on Ascutney, grab your water bottles and hit the road
for Okemo.
North on Rt 44A merges back into Rt 44. Follow this
through At
junction with Rt 100, go left into Looking back part
way up View part way down Echo Lake at bottom
of Tyson Rd Amherst Lake along Rt 100 on way to Shrewsbury Rd Brett, Dave, and
Ernie heading north on Rt 100. The
first switchback occurs almost right away.
The second is much further up.
The distance between second and third switchbacks is very long. The grade never backs off. It is all very steep, and you’ll probably
spin your tire if you stand. You will
be riding under a very dense canopy of hardwoods most of the time. Cars are very infrequent. In fact, the last time I climbed this road,
not one passed in either direction.
But make sure you stay visible to cars around corners and bends, as
the road is fairly narrow. After you
round the third switchback, the grade slackens a bit and you’ll be thinking
the top is near. Nope. From third switchback to summit is very
long, and some of the steepest pitches are in this section just before the
top. You’ll know them when you see
them. Might make you cuss. When
you start going down, you will have crested the When
you get to The At the
junction of Rt 155 on Rt
103, there is a gas station/general store.
The pizza there always looks tempting, sometimes almost 2” thick. I like thick crust, but I think most east
coast natives like it thin. You can continue
on Rt 103 directly to Brett cresting
summit of Looking back on View from Okemo Mtn (aka If you
are like me by this point in the ride, you may be wondering why you are out
here, you hurt so bad, and how in the heck are you going to survive another
2167ft, 12% climb. Half of the time
I’ve done Ascutney/Okemo loops,
it should simply be called an Ascutney loop for some of the riders (myself
included). When you have a couple
excellent cafes on either side of the street at the bottom of the climb, it
becomes easy to let the others go do their nutty climb thing while you chill
out over a cup of joe and pastries. No problem with that. But
let’s assume you are hardcore and want to charge right into this beast. What is Okemo
like? Well, it’s a near twin to
Ascutney. The average grade is just
about 12%, the distance about the same but just a tad less vertical. Also, you won’t get the special treatment
that the first 2.5 miles of Ascutney gives you. The first 2.5 miles of Ascutney is around
15% grade, and the first 2.5 miles on Okemo is 12%
at best. Oh yeah, there is no fee to
ride here. From Rt 100/103, the climb instantly throws your legs into
shock after easy spinning the last 11 miles.
No easing into this climb. It
levels off just a bit at the ski base area (bearing right at fork), but then
becomes a serious grind for much of the remainder. You’ll be in the open a lot more on this
climb than Ascutney, as you will be criss-crossing
ski runs most of the way up. Nice
views and gives you a progress report each time you look down on You’ll
know when you reach the end, as the road just... ends. Pavement turns to fire road with closed
gate, and really no parking area to speak of.
Maybe a dozen cars or so can fit up there. This is about 150ft vertical from summit of
mountain. I have ridden my road bike
beyond the gate to the top of the ski area.
The It
seems the descent lane of this climb is in much worse shape than the climbing
lane. That’s too bad, as this is
really a nice descent. You have to be
very careful of some holes, and long deep cracks that run right down the
lane. These are easily bad enough to
cause wheel damage or a crash. You
might not notice them on the left while climbing on the right hand side going
up. Plus, the top kilometer of this
climb is badly frost heaved. This part
is not as steep, and you will notice this going up. When you get to the bottom, head directly
across Rt 100/103 to the café for
replenishment. Limited hydration
options, but yummy treat options galore. Time to
finish the ride. Heading through
center of When
you get to blinking red light at junction of Rt
106, go straight across. In a few more
miles, you’ll begin climbing, a 400 footer that flanks Mt Ascutney. Again, if you are like me, you’ll be in
pure survival mode by this point. The
descent down the other side towards the At
junction of Rt 106 and 131, if you chose to go left
on Rt 106, you’ll add about 5 miles and back track
on first part of ride by taking Rts 44 and 44A back
to car. The reason you may want to do
this is great views of the west side of Mt Ascutney and a rocky knob called
Little Ascutney Mtn. Scenery here is rural This kid on a
suicide mission came flying down as we went up Okemo. No
protection of any sort. No brakes. Cars can fly up
around corners in a heartbeat. In high-res photo, there appears to be smoke coming off either the tires or his shoes. From near summit of Okemo. That is and Mt Ascutney on right in
distance. Nearly whole ride in one
scene. Other Options (8800ft and 13,000ft) Say skinny tires on gravel doesn’t interest you. You can always skip the Profiled Climbs:
Ascutney, Rt 155/Rt 100 Double Hump Option Say the
gravel road extension still doesn’t satiate your climbing desire and you want
more. There is an option to add an
additional 1300 ft and 7 miles to the loop.
Instead of heading all the way down Rt 103
back to Ludlow, after 3 miles bear right on Rt
155. Follow signs to stay on 155
south. This road has much less traffic
on it than Rt 103.
Rt 103 sucks, in fact, since it seems to
carry a lot of 18-wheelers and there isn’t much shoulder on portions. From the profile below, Rt
155 begins at roughly the 47 mile mark.
It climbs gradually at first, in an undulating fashion. But the last few miles crank it up a few
notches. There are some very nice
views along the way too. You’ll know
when you get to the top when you see the 7% grade sign. This will be at about 54 mile mark on the
ride if you reset your computer before climbing Ascutney and after you warmed
up. You’ll lose 750 ft on this fast,
open descent with smooth pavement.
When you see sign for junction of Rt 100, go
left towards I
intended to do this full 94 mile loop on 13-July-2007, but after setting a PR
on Ascutney beginning the ride, my legs were so cooked upon reaching Profiled Climbs:
Ascutney, Compiled
by Doug Jansen 26-July-2007 |