My first serious ride since I experienced clinical death for 10 minutes on 7/14/25. 27 miles and 2,880 feet of vertical on Nightmare, the Canyon Grizl ON: CF 7, 36 pounds, 60nm of torque. Did not go through Griffith Park, rode around it to conserve battery, but I had 36% left by the end of the ride.
17 miles were completely unassisted, no motor. The toughest part started around mile 10, Los Flores Motorway, about 2.2 miles averaging 10% with a max grade of 19%. I made it just a bit past Mt. Tongva, and it's the same as it always is up there-- wild, remote, beautiful, only saw about six other people, very hot on the climb, but then I know the deal: Take a few pictures, but don't linger, because the temperature starts dropping FAST about an hour before sunset.
As you can see, this is kind of right at the edge of what Nightmare can manage. The grade was no problem-- she could have done a bit steeper, and for a bit longer, and so could I, though I would have had to stop and rest more. The surface is considerably trickier to manage on this bike than on Seeker, the 46 pound Motobecane eMTB w/ 40nm of torque, mostly because of the sandy stretches. It's tricky on the descent because the bike actually handles better on sand at 12 MPH than it does below 10 MPH, but that only works if the sand ends in a straightaway runout with harder surface. When the sand ends in a curve, you just have to go slow and stay balanced, there's nothing for it. Some minor fishtailing, but workable, harder descending than climbing, and whoa-- I wondered why they offer this bike with a dropper post. Now I understand-- a gravel bike puts far more of your weight on the front wheel, and it takes concentration to remember to keep your weight hanging -- somewhat -- off the back.
What all of this also means is that it's critical to descend no less than 40 minutes before sunset. Seeker was more forgiving, and it didn't matter if I didn't read the surface perfectly in late twilight. Not on this bike! Here's a shot of the toughest segment...
This is the view towards La Canada Flintridge from a mile or two past Mt. Tongva, about three miles and 500 vertical feet short of Verdugo Peak, where I went in 2021... or 23? I don't remember. I got onto Verdugo Motorway, but didn't get to the point where Brand Park Motorway joins it, so ALL of this trail was new to me.
On the other side, you can see Griffith Park, it's just too irritating to downconvert and post the photos.
The takeaway from this ride is that it SHOULD be possible to ride the ENTIRE spine of the Verdugos on this bike with only the stock battery and without buying the supplemental one. The stretch I rode has the steepest grade and the longest stretch over 10%. My range calculations seem to be pretty close-- still figure this bike at just over 40 miles with just over 4,000 feet of vertical. The entire spine, round trip, would be 37 miles and about 3,800 feet of vertical, so if I do it, it's gonna be tight! Will definitely have a support vehicle on call for that one in case I run out of juice! Though if it's getting too close, I can always shut off the motor for most of the 12 mile run on surface streets back home, which is mostly downhill, and save 10% for the final climb to my house.
Surprisingly capable bike. Very happy with its performance under these conditions. Nothing ever felt dangerous.
That was a blast!
