I live in the area, so I will be there, but I won't be doing the double. A few friends and I will just be doing the metric.

Ha...I'm in Uniontown Pa., we're practically neighbors

"just" the metric!

It's so hard. So, so, so hard. The DD specs come out similar to the old route, but I'm convinced the new one is tougher.

Enjoy, it's too much for me. I rode the 44 route last weekend and walked funny the next day.

thanks Kyle. We're going to go low and slow.I'm not going to tell my friends about your comment.
Hope that you're doing well and good.
Bill Ulmer

Just look at that climb around mile 90! My legs cramped up just thinking about it.

I have done the metric a couple times in the past. It definitely left me sore for a couple days afterward, but it is a good event if you have a group of friends with varying fitness levels.

The new Limestone Hill, KOM3 just after aid station 1, is a hall of fame addition to the routes. It is just amazing. If you don't love it riding that one lane dirt road through the woods next to a cliff tumbling into a cavern below, then you aren't doing bike riding right. Problem is, it's like a 11% grade for over a mile.

Seeing as this is a triathlon forum, take a look at the climb just after mile 60. Which one, nothing there that looks particularly noteworthy? Well, that little hump is the famous Killer Miller from SavageMan. Yup, just another blip on the profile is Killer Miller, one of the most notorious climbs in all of triathlon. That should give some perspective to the challenge of the Diabolical Double.

I'll be out there doing the DD, my wife is doing the metric.

Just look out for someone on and old Litespeed wearing the Desoto Slowtwitch kit.

Well, the GCGF delivered once again. Did the new Diabolical Double live up to expectations?

I did the century this year after the DD in 2014 - and while I missed the new climb up Big Savage mountain I loved the dirt climb (was that the one with the band? they are all blending together). The hardest part for me was that little ridge around mile 85 after the left turn off New Germany road - after emptying the tank on the last timed climb it was a real struggle getting over that one!

Also wanted to give a nod of approval for the new start/finish. Having showers nearby after the ride is a huge plus that outweighs not having a summit finish.

Yes it did. I agree with another post that the climb through miles ~82-86 were tough.

I saw you flying a kite with your kids afterwards which made me happy...as you weren't running around dealing with all sorts of issues.

Bowman and Killer Miller were the best climbs of the day for me. Really felt good on them...and then pffffffttttt...

in a one word answer -- YES.
i knew about half of the roads from old DD and masacree race out there
i should have known more roads thanks to videos you made (i even rode most of them on an electronic trainer), but only recognized what we did after going up that brutal Michael road climb (the wahoo snap had me grinding there - but somehow it didnt stick in my head like the real thing).
i really liked the final 35 miles (the gentle descent into aid stat 5 (mile 102-ish), the final timed climb (shaded, less steep (except the top!), the rolling and challenging final 15 miles).
i think the stretch from aid station 1 to aid station 2 is the toughest 24 miles i can imagine that isnt a continuous climb. a unique challenge and one that you rightly (in my mind) tempered with stretches that were closer to the 100ft climb/mile standard.
the route is great and i bet you could keep tinkering and yet it would almost always feel the same - so many great roads out there and such relentless terrain.

probably most importantly the people you have working with and for the riders are unfailingly positive and helpful. its all the little touches that add up -- the way the roads are painted (so easy to follow and helpful for twisty descents), the depth of info about climbs and total elevation, the organization at registration and at every aid station.

congrats, thanks, and i really hope you can keep the community happy with this event because its a bucket-list type of experience.
sincerely, rick

p.s. a little data -- i reset a bunch of long term power numbers -- 5300kj; highest avg power (even with the descents) for any ride over 5 hrs; highest tss ever (466!). cant replicate any of that in training!

It was nice. Once the riders are all out on the roads, my work is pretty much done. I even rode the 44 (plus a diversion to AS3), so for the first time ever I got to experience it, albeit from starting well back from the final ride. Compared to a European Gran Fondo, the number of discarded gels and trash on the road was probably about 1:100000. I counted 3 with one being on Bowman Hill where I did not dare unclip to stop and get it.

Kyle, So glad all went well. Have missed the event and the hills for a few years now. With the new change and your not so encouraging endorsement, I suspect my DD days are done. Hope to make it next year for the "doable" ride. My Saturday was spent climbing Lookout Mtn road out of Golden Co. I was impressed with the number of cyclists on the hill. Now I wonder how many of those Rocky Mtn cyclists who were feeling justifyibly full of themselves as the progressed up that hill, have never experienced the "fun" that is the back roads and the steep unrelenting climbs of Western Md. My best to your better half.
Tom

Great ride. My first foray into Garrett County and it delivered. It delivered a bucket full of pain! DD was my longest ever ride by time or distance, most vertical climbing, KJs, etc, and sore-est butt the next day too. It's a shame I'm not racing an IM, b/c that ride was great training for anything long. The DD made the IMLP course seem easy.

Roads were great, very little traffic and great volunteers at the aid station. I'll be back, someday.

---

Brian
“Eat and Drink, spin the legs and you’re going to effin push (today).” A Howe

If this is the Tom I think it is, hello! You'll be back. You don't have trouble with the hills. You have trouble running on the flat pavement. You and I can ride the DD together next year. I just may need a few of those butt pushes up the hills that you so eagerly dole out to the ladies.

Here's a small photo album of what this year's Garrett County Gran Fondo was like.
https://www.facebook.com/..._id=1090104621036520

Yep, I plead guilty to tush pushing. As you inferred, some tushes being more pleasant than others. But, it wasn't just the sex of the tush necessarily, but rather the weight belonging to it that predicated preference. Now, if we can find a tush pusher for the both of us (I've since retired) or maybe a support vehicle with sticky water bottles for Bowman, Miller, Savage or any of those other blasted climbs, I would consider it an honor to ride again with you as you expertly lead the way down those descents and then we struggle together up the next Bowman. Just to do it over again and again and..... Let's do get the band back together and do a DD tour! Thanks for pics. They look hauntingly familiar.