Rapha Rising Ride #3 - Cypress Mountain

Cypress Mountain looms large over the Vancouver skyline. It was an obvious choice to include in my quest to complete the Rapha Rising challenge.

Cypress Mountain is a popular destination for cyclists. There is even a Cypress Challenge organized annually by the Glotman-Simpson Cycling club to raise money for pancreatic cancer research.

I used the SkyTrain to get into downtown Vancouver. I rode through Stanley Park and over the Lion's Gate Bridge to get to West Vancouver. I did a small stint along the Upper Levels Highway to reach Cypress Bowl Road.

The lower slopes of Cypress Bowl Road

The climb started off easier that I expected.  I was expecting a much steeper ride, similar to my ride up Seymour the day before. I saw quite a few cyclists descending. I wonder how many, if any, are competing in the Rapha Rising challenge. It was quite overcast, so there weren't many cars on the road. At one point I didn't see anyone for just over ten minutes. Aside from my laboured breathing, the hum of my tires, and the chirping birds there wasn't a sound.

Climbing into the clouds on the upper slopes of Cypress

I started entering the clouds as I neared the top of the mountain. There was a pretty stiff breeze that was quite cool. The clouds were swirling across the road, definitely and interesting thing to observe. After climbing for just under an hour, I was at the top.

It was quite cool at the top, luckily I was prepared for the descent. I had the foresight to bring a vest and arm warmers in my jersey pocket. No gloves meant my fingers were due to get a little cold. Despite the cool temperature descending for 10 minutes down the mountain was pretty awesome.

A quick ride back over the Lion's Gate Bridge and down through Stanley Park brought me back to the SkyTrain and on home to Surrey.

My biggest day of climbing so far, 1,177 metres total, brought me up to 3,341 metres, which is good for 48% of the challange.

Hopefully three more rides up Burnaby Mountain and the Valley GranFondo will put me over the top.