Slowest Ride! or... How Slooow Can You Go?

[fatbottomedgurl]

Was coming out of a canyon today after mtb'ing. It was a forest service access road. Asphalt. Sun. Steep. I think they call it the black b*tch. I was riding...2.7 mph! Whoo Hoo!

[Veronica]

Yeah - I've done that. Patterson Pass - 5% grade, 25 mph head wind with gusts to 30. Thought I was going to fall over when I reached the top, the wind was strong.

V.

[mimitabby]

Was coming out of a canyon today after mtb'ing. It was a forest service access road. Asphalt. Sun. Steep. I think they call it the black b*tch. I was riding...2.7 mph! Whoo Hoo!

2.7mph?? and you didn't fall? I am afraid if it goes below 4mph.
live and learn.
sounds like quite a hill!

[kelownagirl]

I regularly go about 3 mph near the end of the hardest hills. I'ts kinda hard to steer at that speed isn't it? :rolleyes: I am getting better now though - didn't go below 4.5 mph today. (I did 32 mph downhill though so that makes up for it, right?)

barb

[fatbottomedgurl]

It's the steering that keeps you from falling over!

[kimct]

I end up around 4 or 5 mph alot on hills...lol. I always wonder what people passing think. I know they're thinking 'man she must be out of shape' and I really want to use the line 'I wanna see YOU do this and see if you can do it better!'...lol.

I'm trying to get over the 'they're watching me' thing!

Kim

[maryellen]

my goal for my august aids ride is not to go less than 4 mph. :D

[KnottedYet]

I'm usually at 4-5 mph going up hill on my way home. I get excited when I can go a bit farther up the hill before I have to drop into my mega-granny gear.

[bikerchick68]

I know I've done 3.7 mph... and stayed upright :D back when I was really, really new (2nd ride actually) I was going too slow uphill and just tipped over... the ex yells back "What are you doing?" Gee, I'm laying in the road with my bike on top of me.... what does it LOOK like I'm doing???? :mad: :D :D :D I can ride that hill at 6.5 now ;)

[Tater]

There are a couple hills around here that I scream up at a whopping 4.8 - 5.2 mph. Any lower than that and I think I'd tip over!

[mimitabby]

I end up around 4 or 5 mph alot on hills...lol. I always wonder what people passing think.

I'm trying to get over the 'they're watching me' thing!

Kim

when people pass you, they aren't thinking about YOU they are thinking about themselves. "cool, i passed someone else"

I remember the first time I passed someone I was SO THRILLED. (I'm still not very fast, I get passed a lot) so don't take it personal. the person that passes you might have never had the opportunity before. We've all had scads of super athletic types on million dollar bikes pass us.

[CR400]

managed to stay upright on a slight false flat at 3mph. I was tryin to see how slow I could go without falling over.

[mimitabby]

managed to stay upright on a slight false flat at 3mph. I was tryin to see how slow I could go without falling over.
lol... you are braver than i am!

[LL_Super_D]

In an effort to pace myself, right now I go about 5 mph on hills. I get passed a lot but am happy that cyclists are now saying hello as they pass me rather than "hey - are you OK? Is everything all right?" like they did when I first took on my first serious hill and I thought and probably looked like I was going to collapse :rolleyes:

[bikerz]

I think 2.7 mph was my slowest ever :o (last year - just at the top of Pinehurst, for any Bay Area cyclists). I can stay upright - barely - but it's really a challange to keep some sort of line. I do go a little faster now - last week's crawl up Mt. Diablo, I think I managed to stay above about 3.2 mph the whole time! My primary improvement has been endurance and pacing - I rarely need to stop anymore, I just chug along.

I really appreciate any encouragement I get from the zillions of cyclists who pass me going up hills! It's usually in the form of "You're doing great!" or "Almost there!" as they zoom by. Sometimes I ask how fast they're going, just to see what I can work towards!

[fatbottomedgurl]

Found out today that my speedometer can't go below 2mph! I was still climbing... up a nasty fireroad. One of the climbs was 727 ft elevation gain in 1.5 miles. Whew!