When creating the route for Sufferin' Summits, I had a few goals:
First, I wanted it to be a short ride, something in the 50 mile range
Second, I wanted it to go to some of the cool places I know about; places with great views and not a lot of traffic.
Third, I wanted it to be hilly. Not just a little hilly, but very very hilly.
Fourth, I wanted it to have a personality.
I hope that I have achieved that.
You can find detailed write-ups of each of the hills here.
I think of the ride as having three distinct parts.
The first climb of the ride is a trip up Grand Ridge. I really like this climb; there are hard sections - and I've deliberately chosen hard sections over easy routes - but they aren't too bad, and the top of the climb is really cool, with a lot of neat houses and a killer view if it's clear. And the descent is kindof fun, though a bit busy.
The second climb is up Squak mountain, and this is where you really get a taste of what some of the ride is going to be like. There are some quite steep sections, and then a little loop at the top, but unfortunately, no real views. The descent has crappy pavement at the top, and nice curvy stuff at the bottom, and drops you right back to the starting line.
This is the end of the "Quarter" route, and the end of the first part.
After that we head off to Talus - which is an overlooked climb on the east side of Cougar mountain which has a lot to offer, and - assuming some new construction is completed - about 800' of climbing, and no view. This is where the ride gets nasty, and it will stay that way to the end. That is its personality.
Working our way next, we hit the Zoo complex, which combines the bottom of Zoo hill, the Montreaux->Zoo connector, and then three climbs at the top: Zoo, Pinacles, and Belvedere. Followed by a stop at the park for water and a bit of a break. This is the end of the Half route option, and the end of the second part of the ride.
Then we move to the Summit/Somerset hill, which we will climb multiple times from multiple directions. Seasoned riders who are familiar with the Zoo/Montreaux area will consider this to be easier than the middle part.
Seasoned riders are in for a surprise; none of the climbs here are easy, and the steepest sections all live in this area. The view from the top of Summit and Somerset are quite nice, however.