Here was today's ride. I think this elevation profile (in large) is a pretty accurate picture of the ride. One huge mountain, up and over. A 1000 foot climb in one steady push. This should make Devil's Hill seem like a snap. This was on gravel forest service roads on the mountain bike too, so it was certainly rather effortful. Eighteen miles of pure abuse. As a side note of local trivia, this ride supposedly contains the sharpest turn in Pennsylvania, which you can see between miles 8 and 9. I can't vouch for this, except to say that the road is nearly parallel with itself after the turn, with nothing but a vertical wall separating the lanes. The way down was a typical jackhammer ride, made worse by forearms weakened by Friday's kettlebell and log-grip routines. It's so bumpy that you can't sit down for fear of being thrown from the saddle or breaking a wheel, so you have screaming quads, aching forearms, overtaxed calves, rattled teeth and smoking brakes. It's awesome.
Who's going to join me?
2 comments:
Awesome! Any chance I could handle the ride with my double? Or is that triple a necessity?
Mooseman is going to be a breeze for you!
Hey, with your incredible conditioning, you could probably do it, but I was in the third ring for most of the up half of the mountainside. Now if you are talking about the road bike, there is no way in heck you could make the ride down without destroying something. I'm not even sure I'd want to try this ride on a cross bike. You at least need some pretty beefy tires, and any amount of suspension would be better than none, though it can be done with none. It really is abusive. I was having difficulty maintaining my grip after a while, due to constant vibration and inability to take any pressure off for a long time. I swear there was a period of about 8 minutes where no pedaling was required, but it was like doing a wall squat and a plank at the same time, for 8 minutes straight. Yes sir, even the downs are a good workout.
And I think you're right. Mooseman might be a breeze. It's just going to be a slow summer breeze.
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