At 4:50 a.m. on Saturday, 17-year-old Ray McPhee clipped into his bike at the base of Old San Marcos Road and pointed himself uphill.

Nearly 48 hours later, at 4:45 a.m. on Monday, he would complete his audacious challenge: to ride enough vertical feet up and down the same Santa Barbara climb, again and again—to equal two ascents from sea level to the summit of Mount Everest.

“Everesting” is a cycling endurance challenge that involves repeatedly climbing and descending the same hill until the total vertical elevation gain equals that of Mount Everest which in cycling terms is about 29,000 feet of vertical gain. McPhee completed this single Everest climb in May, and now set out to double that challenge.

Over two full days, with little to no sleep, McPhee accomplished his goal, cycling roughly 58,000 feet of elevation gain and close to 300 miles. He chose Old San Marcos, a punishing road that pitches into the foothills with little reprieve. It took 48 laps. Yet, he rarely rode any of those alone. Cyclists in the community dropped in for a few ascents, a few hours, or to shed light on the night-time ride.

Among those companions was McPhee’s inspiration for this ride, Daniel Connell, the Goleta-based ultra-endurance rider known as “Dirty Dan,” whom he met during a Santa Barbara Middle School bike trip about six years ago.

“I definitely look up to Dan,” said McPhee. “He planted a seed in me to think about doing this, and it’s really cool to see how far I can push my body and do things I thought were impossible a year ago.

“I’m trying to find my personal limitations and see what is possible,” he added.

“There are no other 17-year-olds doing this kind of thing,” said his father, Greg McPhee. “It
takes a tremendous mental and physical toll but he was born with that drive. He always wanted to be the best—first it was baseball, then he got into bowling and won championships. At Santa Barbara Middle School he found his niche on the bike.”

Now a junior at Olive Grove Charter School, McPhee benefits from a flexible schedule that
leaves time to train. He has his eye on the Tour Divide one of the most challenging rides in the world, and one that very few teenagers have ever attended. It’s a 2,800-mile, self-supported race from Banff, Alberta, to the Mexican border.

This past weekend’s effort also carried a community aim. So many came out to support
McPhee’s ride or offer supplies to his family’s base camp.

And a GoFundMe campaign tied to the ride is still raising money for the Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Club, with proceeds specifically supporting scholarships to broaden access to the sport. That fundraiser is available online here.