A scenic but grueling route, especially with a stiff mountain to climb at 100 km! I used Google Maps to find an alternative route out of Courtenay. It was fine, however, there were some stretches with bone-jarring gravel roads to contend with. Mount Washington is a brute It starts with a steady 12-13% grade for several kilometers before leveling out slightly then continuing on at 11%. Eventually it settles down to 7-8%, but by then you are beyond pain. Worse, it was HOT. This is the third year that I've done it, and by the time I get on the mountain, it's well into late morning when the sun is high. Try to catch a bit of shadow from the trees, it helps a bit. The decent was, of course, thrilling. I took the old highway along the coast on the way to the mountain, but returned by the inland highway to try to save time. I got home just in time for dinner. A very long day. The last 50 kilometers was punctuated by intermittent leg cramps that told me, painfully, I had not consumed enough electrolytes. Five Gatorade G2 bottles wasn't enough, I guess. Hilary thinks I was nuts doing it. Most sane folks would agree. Now that the pain has settled down, I'm glad I did it.