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Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest, another US 100 Bike Climb.
22.4 miles gaining 7,371’ to 6,985’ elevation at 4.9%.
This climb can be done along with two other Top U.S. Climbs that are within eight miles of each other, specifically #20 Bear Creek Road and #112 Balch Park Road / YouTube.
The bike climb begins just east of Springville on Highway 190.
Enter Sequoia National Forest and National Monument in first mile.
This climb is at the very southwestern end of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
Views along the first half of the climb.
Two lane road throughout, but no shoulder.
The climb seemed safe the one time we rode it.
Climb’s Finish.
Southern Sierra climber extraordinaire, Joey Galloway, writes of this bicycle climb:
"Hwy 190 is a long climb! It should be 26 miles, from the bridge to Ponderosa, and 6,200 ft climbing. The first 14 miles, from the bridge to Pierpoint Springs, is the tough part with quite a few kickers. There is also a sustained section of around 5 miles @ 7% avg beginning at the power station. Once reaching Camp Nelson the gradient drops to almost a false flat for the last 11-12 miles. As with virtually all the climbs in Tulare County it starts in a desert-like setting, then around the 5,000 ft elevation mark it turns into an alpine setting. Also, 190 is a very twisty, turny ascent with plenty of switchbacks and blind corners. Once I reach Ponderosa I like to pull into the restaurant and have a burger or two as reward for conquering this beast. The food is quite good!"
End of the highway, end of the bike climb.
Thank you Stacy Topping.
We climbed this challenging ascent in July 2015 and add the following to Joey’s excellent summary:
We do not encounter the Giant Sequoias on this climb that we do on the Whitaker Forest (#19), Bear Creek (#21), Highway 21-245-180-198 (#43), or Balch Park (#97) climbs noted elsewhere on this site.
Steepest ¼ and mile begin at mile 6 (12.1% and 9.3% respectively).