Yes, there is a Coe factor

[Wherewolf]

Even though it isn't any farther away than most of the places I ride, I've been avoiding Coe Park for years because I heard it had some pretty tough climbing that would probably hurt the knees. But I decided to finally give it a try today (11/10) after D-bug and The Law offered to guide me. Well, the rumors are true, it seems like endless climbing, starting with five miles straight up from the parking lot. Although the elevation profile doesn't look much worse than many of my Tahoe rides, it seems the "Coe factor" invented by Big Larry makes it seem a lot tougher.

Despite being one of the shortest rides I've done in a long time, it seemed especially tough. D-bug and The Law are quite the climbers and they made the climbing look easy. Although at a much slower pace, I managed to stay on the bike fairly well early on. But by about 3 1/2 hours the climbing started taking its toll. No eight hours of riding this day! It was generally a pretty nice day, but there were occasional very cold winds. Thanks for a great ride guys

STIL

My view most of the time

[darich]

That is some steep sh*t!

[TahoeBC]

I especially like the shot of the Law powering up a climb while Dan walks his bike

[d-bug]

I especially like the shot of the Law powering up a climb while Dan walks his bike

Yeah, that's my favorite too

Good riding with you. I was worried my 25+ mile loop was going to be too short for you! Good thing we cut it a little short. If you ever want more I suggest coming in April or May when the flowers are blooming.

[BigLarry]

The new Jim Donnelly Trail is one of the few Henry Coe climbs under a 10% grade, is very nicely built, and heads out right from the Hunting Hollow lot. A good choice to start a day at Henry Coe. At the top, your descent down Willson Peak Trail to Grizzly is one of the nicest for a shorter ride. But for getting deep into Henry Coe, this route takes you too high over the peak.

I see you were then inflicted with the steep climb up Anza/Jackson, then down Domino Pond and Grapevine which are fun technical trails. For a better climb grade, I go up Coit road and come down Grapevine or Anza/Jackson for all the fun of the switch back singletrack.

To really get quickly out into the depths of Henry Coe for the remote panoramic views, Lyman Willson to Wagon Road is a better route, but is steeper and and involves some hiking for me. Again, Coit Road is a good option if you want a knee friendly ~10% grade.

The Coe-factor isn't just from the steep hills, although it's a major component. It's that the trails are rugged. Sometimes the streams are trails, and sometimes you're scampering over big rocks or fallen trees, etc.

Glad to see you finally made it to Henry Coe. You had some good guides.

[theseawind]

Can someone please post the route for this ride. I'm terrible at reading Garmin's map. I would like to give it a try some day.

[BigLarry]

Done Henry Coe so often I can practically map it out just from the elevations alone:
Hunting Hollow Parking Lot
Up Jim Donnelly Trail to Willson Peak
Down Willson Peak Trail to Grizzly Gulch Trail.
Jog over on Coit Rd to go up Anza Jackson
At the top, jog over Wasno Road to descend on Domino Pond
Continue on Cattle Duster to climb down the Grapevine
Return to Hunting Hollow on Coit Road, then the paved Gilroy Hot Springs Road

[francois]

Those pictures do not look fun at all! I do like hearing DanK described as a climbing stud.

The Law is just The Law.

fc

[theseawind]

Done Henry Coe so often I can practically map it out just from the elevations alone:
Hunting Hollow Parking Lot
Up Jim Donnelly Trail to Willson Peak
Down Willson Peak Trail to Grizzly Gulch Trail.
Jog over on Coit Rd to go up Anza Jackson
At the top, jog over Wasno Road to descend on Domino Pond
Continue on Cattle Duster to climb down the Grapevine
Return to Hunting Hollow on Coit Road, then the paved Gilroy Hot Springs Road

Thanks BigLarry!

[IAmHolland]

nice ride! Coe is pretty cool, except for the climbs.

[diskus]

Yes there definitely is a Coe Factor, but the challenge is well worth the exploration and wilderness attained. But to be honest for me its not as hard when compared to what some of you can do up at high altitude at Tahoe etc,now THAT is tough!!!

[Stripes]

Yes there definitely is a Coe Factor, but the challenge is well worth the exploration and wilderness attained. But to be honest for me its not as hard when compared to what some of you can do up at high altitude at Tahoe etc,now THAT is tough!!!

Thought it was called the Coe-efficient

BigLarry: What was the math for it? Reduce your time a 1/3 for typical rides that aren't Coe?

[BigLarry]

Thought it was called the Coe-efficient

BigLarry: What was the math for it? Reduce your time a 1/3 for typical rides that aren't Coe?

I've found for the same distance/elevation, Henry Coe rides tend to be 1.3 to 1.5 times more effort than other locations, as measured by things like average moving speed, time for the ride, and comparable fatigue at the end of the ride.

[grumblingcrustacean]

[FONT=Arial]

I've found for the same distance/elevation, Henry Coe rides tend to be 1.3 to 1.5 times more effort than other locations

Does this include post-ride beer consumption?

[JMac47]

nice ride! Coe is pretty cool, except for the climbs.

Because of the climbs!

[ratpick]

And one more person now understands why it takes 21-24 hours for a normal human to ride 100 miles at Coe

[etuck]

Ratpick, I'm not sure normal human and 100 miles at Coe should be in the same sentence there!

[ratpick]

Ratpick, I'm not sure normal human and 100 miles at Coe should be in the same sentence there!

Ha! I had to make the exception for super-humans like Brian Lucido and Sean Allen!

The other part of the Coe factor is that it is 1.5x as rewarding to ride as anywhere else. The first time you clean Anza-Jackson, or the Lyman-Willson Wall or the Mahoney Wall, you'll scream a long and loud "F**k Yeah"!!

Or at least, I did

[cohenfive]

if steve says the climbs are hard, they are hard! i remember riding that park several years ago, and the never ending climb..this ride looks like it had 2 of 'em!!