This is an event, not a private ride. This event was originally supposed to make a circuit from King City - Greenfield - over Calhoun Summit to Carmel - Big Sur, South to Kirk Creek - back over the mountains via the Naciemeinto-Ferguson Road to Jolon -Hesperia -Jolon - King City. But the Timber fire, south of Big Sur, closed Big Sur Village and Hwy 1, so the organizers had to re-route to a northern route. The replacement route went King City- Greenfield - Carmel - Marina, and return the same way. There are two "side trips" up some steep climbs going out, and one "side trip" on the return. Those three climbs added about 2 hours, and some very steep climbing to the ride. The skies were clear in King City for the start, and stayed clear all day. Usually there is overcast and fog on the coast, but today it was clear with only light winds. I started at 4:45 am to try to get in before nightfall. With clear skies, the stars were out and the dark road made for good viewing. It was cool, but not cold for the first 30 miles. The route is flat for 16 miles through the Salinas Valley farmland. Once past Greenfield, we headed up the Arroyo Seco River and into the hills. The climb is rolling but gentle for 20 miles, only becoming a bit steep in the last three miles before the pass at Calhoun Summit. The view from the top is expansive to the east, but the valleys were filled with smoke from the Timber fire, which is only about 20 miles south of us. We will see more of that smoke on the return. The descent down into Carmel Valley village is 18 miles of fast riding, with only a few humps to slow us down. One descent is 9% for over a mile, on a pretty straight road, which allows speeds up to 50mph, if you dare! (but we have to climb that on the way back!). After that, the road is smooth and fast into the village. Up to this point, we have seen few cars. After the village, the traffic picks up, but within a couple of miles the shoulder is wider so the cars are not a bother. Five miles after the Village we started up the first side trip into the hills - Tierra Grande Road, which nominally is 2.1 miles at 7.4%, but is actually two climbs. The first is 0.6 miles at 10.6 average, 14% max, then a 0.2 mile steep descent, then a climb of 0.8 miles at 10.7% avg, 16% max. So, not easy at all! At least the view from the top was nice, and the descent was fast. Another 5 miles towards Carmel, and we did the second side trip, up Canada/Outlook road. Again, nominally 1.9 miles at 6.2% grade, but, again, two climbs of 0.4 miles at 10.6%, 16% max, and 0.6 miles at 9%, 11% max. The cruelest part was that the turn around was after a steep 0.2 mile descent, which we then had to climb to get out. After these two side trips we rolled into Carmel and the rest stop at the Carmel Bike shop. They were just getting set up at 10AM so I just got water and headed out. From this point, we had a mix of tourist areas, through Carmel, near the beach, some forested areas, heavily-trafficked city streets through Seaside and Marina, then out the other side to lower-traffic roads past the California State University, Monterey Bay, and farmland, to the half-way point, lunch and turn around at a farm stand on Nashua road. The wind was less than I expected and from the southwest, when normally it is a strong NW wind in this area. This is not an ideal route, with some roads being jammed with traffic. But the organizers had little choice due to the last-minute re-route they had to do. There are bike paths through much of this area, but I suppose they didn't want to route 100 cyclists on these when they have a lot of tourists with kids, pets, people on electric bikes clogging the paths. So, we rode in traffic for about 5 miles, both ways. Once back through all that, we headed back up the Carmel Valley. In the mid-afternoon, the traffic to Carmel Village was very heavy. But about 3 miles out of Carmel, a car crash blocked the road, and the car was burning, backing up traffic for a couple of miles. We rode past all that and were able to find a route through the residential areas to get around that blockage. A few miles later, we started up the last side trip, on Robinson Canyon Road. People had said this was “pleasant," so I was looking forward to it. However, it turned out to be pretty tough. The road starts in densely shaded redwood forest along a creek, and goes up and down for a mile before climbing into oak woodland. The road is narrow and still shady with overhanging trees, but getting steeper. We reached a section of 1.4 miles where the grade averages 10% and maxes out at 18%. Still shady though! Finally, the last 3/4 mile opens up to a grassy ridge with an expansive view back down the canyon. It is also much warmer up here. The climb up took 45 minutes; the descent, 15 minutes. We headed back up the Carmel Valley road, and through Carmel Valley village, still with a lot of traffic. Once past the village, the traffic drops dramatically, to almost nothing. We have an 18-mile climb to the Calhoun summit on 3-4% grades, with only that one 9%, one-mile climb to give us a challenge. The road is almost completely shaded. But some of that shade comes from a dense cloud of smoke overhead that almost blocks out the sun. Luckily, the smoke is not at road level, though a little bit of fine ash is falling. We passed by a large helicopter base where several water-dropping helicopters are reloading before heading out to the fire. The final ten miles to the summit seem to go on forever, and in the dense shade we have gnats flying in our faces. I have to wave my hand in front of my face to keep them away. I also had some twinges of leg cramps, but was able to work them out. The final rest stop is 1.4 miles from the summit, and I was out of water, so I reloaded and headed up. Once at the summit, it was smooth sailing to the finish. We had 36 miles to go - 22 miles of descent and 14 miles of flats, with a strong tailwind. But dark was coming; I had figured to be at the summit by 5:30 and was shocked to see it was 6:30, and sunset is at 7:45, so no time to waste. I powered down the hill and across the flats. I got into King City just as it became necessary to use my light to see the road, around 8:30. It's nice to finish strong, with a descent and tailwind! The support was excellent. It is too bad we could not do the full loop. That has been done only once in the 10 years of this ride, due to fires and landslides blocking Hwy 1. Maybe next year!