Breathless Agony                                A Rated Now here is a ride for those of you that love to climb.  It is well supported and has a great atmosphere. It is run by the Santiago Cycling Club.   One of the key figures is a very good man by the name of Chuck Bramwell.  You will see his name often when it comes to epic rides.     Breathless Agony is billed as the toughest century in Southern California.  The ride begins near the University of Redlands.  It has 12,000 feet of elevation gain as it covers 114 miles.  I prefer to tell people the real data.  You will climb almost 11,000 feet in under 75 miles.  The ride includes four passes.  The first two are followed by descents.  On the last two passes you don't get a break.  The road just goes up and up and up some more.  You finally top out at the 8443 feet above sea level on Onyx Summit.   It is one of my favorite centuries.  I enjoy long sustained climbs and there is plenty of that here.  Once you get your climbing legs you should attempt the Breathless Agony Century.                  Breathless Agony Elevation Chart        Coach George far right Onyx                                                                            Summit 8443 Elevation Results 2006 Coach George 34th Place  out of 299 racers Time 5:58 Results 2004 Coach George 45th Place Time 6:50                         2004 Coach George with his Swamis Cycling                                                 Team  and the Grim Reaper.  Not today Mr                                                    Reaper.

2006  Edition of The Breathless Agony Even though I took 52 minutes off my time. I only moved up from 45th to 34th place out of 299 racers.  I thought for sure this year I would break the top 20.  But as the years have gone by more and more climbers have discovered this great event.  I guess I will have to train harder.   A few positive notes: 1.  I didn't have any cramping issues this year. 2.  The weather was a little cooler. 3.  My iPod kept me motivated on the climbs Power Data Descents bring the avg power down.  In particular the 37 mile descent back to the start/finish Energy            4043 KJ Avg power       153 watts 30 min Avg       220 watts 60 min Avg       207 watts 120 min Avg     191 watts            At the start              with my Swami brothers