The Circle of Death

The Circle of Death

It sounds kind of macabre for a cycling blog. However it only refers to the next challenge on Strava, Rapha Rising.

Rapha Rising challenges users to climb 6,881 metres, which happens to be the same amount of climbing the professionals riding the Tour de France will cover on Stage 16, The Circle of Death.



Stage 16 - 2012 Tour de France



The Circle of Death contains for extremely difficult climbs in the Pyrenees. The Col d'Aubisque (1,709m), Col du Tourmalet (2,114m), Col d'Aspin (1,489m), and Col de Peyresourde (1,569m) are all tackled in one day during the last week of the Tour de France.

Luckily, Rapha has given mere mortals like you and I eight days (Jul 16 - 22) to complete the challenge.

The Plan

I have to balance the requirements of the challenge with my work schedule and family life so it could get tricky.

Burnaby Mountain is a big part of my plan. It's not spectacular when compared to Pyrenees, but it's close to home. It would nice to tackle more big mountains, but it's tough to find the time for that.

Monday (July 16)

I work from midnight until 8:00 am Monday, so it's a tough start to the challenge. I hope to be up in the early afternoon, and I'll start things off with a ride up Burnaby Mountain to SFU.
Elevation gain: ~1000m

Tuesday or Wednesday (July 17/18)

Tuesday or Wednesday is going to be the big mountain day. I'm going to try to work in a ride up Cypress, Seymour, or Baker. I'll likely only have a chance to ride one of them and I'm still trying to work out the details. I'll likely do a smaller ride on the other day to gain a few hundred metres extra.
Elevation gain: ~2000m

Thursday (July 19)

On the ride in to work I'll make the detour to climb Burnaby Mountain.
Elevation gain: ~1000m

Friday (July 20)

I like rest days and Friday is a pretty good day to take one because of how my work schedule is.

Saturday (July 21)

A glorious Saturday at work should feature ascents of Burnaby Mountain before and after work.
Elevation gain: ~2000m

Sunday (July 22)

The final day of the challenge I'm volunteering for the Valley GranFondo as a Ride Ambassador. I have to ride the 160 km route on my bike and provide directions or minor mechanical help to the participants.
Elevation gain: ~900m

The Execution

If my estimates prove correct, I should have no trouble completing the challenge. Stay tuned for updates! I could win a patch or maybe even a Trek Madone 6.9.