Looking for a ride that is a bit longer and more challenging than the "Garrett's Greatest 25", but is not quite so extreme as the Masochistic Metric? Look no further than the "Fabulous 44"!
At 44.4 miles and 4,800 feet of climbing, the "Fabulous 44" is no cakewalk. But it is fabulous, and with only three "severe" climbs is very achievable! The route follows the Diabolical Double, Savage Century, and Masochistic Metric rides through Checkpoint 1 at mile 18.6 in Friendsville, Md. Leaving Friendsville, however, the "Fabulous 44" climbs very gradually for six miles alongside beautiful Bear Creek while the other three rides take a far more punishing route repeatedly climbing up and plummeting down extremely steep hills.
The "Fabulous 44" reconvenes with the other rides at mile 26.6, the base of Bowman Hill. Oh, Bowman Hill. At 1.1 miles and 800 ft elevation gain it has to be experienced to be understood. Once over the top of Bowman Hill, the "Fabulous 44" and Masochistic Metric rides diverge from the other two longer rides and share the same route to the finish line atop Wisp Mountain at ASCI. Compact cranks or triples are very strongly encouraged.
The "Fabulous 44" route in detail:
- Printable map and cue sheet
- Plaintext cue sheet
- GPX file
- Load "Fabulous 44" into Garmin device
- View the route in Google Maps
Select the Section of the Course to View in Detail:
Map is interactive. You may zoom in and out, and hover your mouse over an icon for more information.
Dashed Grey Lines = Most direct route back to Finish at ASCI from each checkpoint