Seven Summit Super Cycling Sufferfest Spectacular

Seventy-five miles by bike. Twenty miles and 5,800 vertical feet by hike. Last weekend I completed the Seven Summit Super Cycling Sufferfest Spectacular, and here's the manifestation of the bragging rights earned.

The Sufferfest was my self-initiated, one-man race inspired by the official Seven Summit Challenge (ftp://www.phoenix.gov/pub/PARKS/psc81day.pdf) to hike the seven “summits” of the Phoenix Parks system without the traditional use of automotive transport. Seven hikes. Eight bikes. Fourteen unassisted transitions. And (almost) no stopping. It was a day-long exposition of human power and attrition.

Here are links to the eight “suggested” bike routes of the Sufferfest:

• Granada - South Mountain: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3622987 (14.7 mi)
• South Mountain - Papago: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3623006 (14.7 mi)
• Papago - Camelback: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3623015 (16.1 mi)
• Camelback - Lookout Mountain: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3623038 (13.8 mi)
• Lookout Mountain - Shaw Butte: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3623050 (5.4 mi)
• Shaw Butte - North Mountain: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3623051 (1.3 mi)
• North Mountain - Piestewa: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3623058 (7.2 mi)
• Piestewa - Granada: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3623064 (1.4 mi)
  

My actual routes deviated just slightly: I missed a turn on the way from South Mountain to Papago because I still haven't figured out the roads in north Tempe, and I detoured to gas up (buy some burritos) between Camelback and Lookout Mountain. Additionally, between Papago and Camelback I added the out-of-the-way 56th St. and Castle climbs (included in the map link) for an “honor point”, and I rode to the top of Squaw Peak Pkwy (also included in the map link) before climbing Piestewa for a second honor point.

People who followed the link to the official Seven Summit Challenge PDF earlier in this post may notice that I did the hikes out of order. This was intentional. Firstly, it allowed me to bike to South Mountain and back, the traffic-heaviest routes of the ride, before the Sunday morning motorists took to the roads, and I decided to make Piestewa the last climb because I figure the last hike should be one of the biggest ones.

So how did it go?

The Sufferfest was windy and tough and took me all of 13 hours and 40 minutes to complete (2 hours and 40 minutes over the 11-hour time limit set in the official Challenge), but it needn't have been so hard and time-consuming. Here are some of my thoughts on how to do it quicker and easier in case there's a next time.

• Train some. The 5,800 ft of trail descent took its toll on my unsuspecting legs. Let me make this clear: I did no specific training for this event. I think if I had spent just a few weekends hitting the Piestewa or Camelback trails multiple times each day then I would have been able to maintain a much faster pace on the descents during the Sufferfest. As it was, I descended the final climb, Piestewa, in 32 minutes, which is about half-speed for me. Next time I would train some and expect to be able to ascend and descend the final climb in about the same speed as if it were the first climb.
• One pair of shoes. I switched between my trail runners for the hikes and my cycling sandals for the biking. Next time I would install a pair of clip pedals on my bike and wear only the trail runners to save time in transition.
• Faster bike lock. I used my commuter bike lock for securing my bike at the trail heads. It's a heavy, durable lock and takes an extra minute or so to use. Next time I would use a simpler lock.
• No backpack. I lugged all my gear in my hydration backpack on all the hikes, and the extra weight made running the trails needlessly harder and uncomfortable. Next time I would carry nothing with me on the hike except my wallet, phone, bike key, and a single water bottle, and I would keep all other gear in a trunk bag on my bike rack.
• No Clif bars. Next time…well, it's hard to say “no” to Clif bars, but I'm beginning to suspect that energy bars and real food don't mix.
• Know the hiking trails. I lost about 15 minutes being lost on the Papago buttes because there's no “official” trail between them. Fortunately I had the hike route instructions with me so I was able to figure it out. Next time I'll be prepared.
  

The big question is: is it possible to do the official Challenge—with the hikes done in the official order—without automotive transport and in under 11 hours? Now that's a challenge.