I attempted Jester!

My husband and I set out this morning with one gaol- JESTER. If you have ever been to Austin to ride or met a roadie from Austin. you will probably hear of Jester. It is an omnious sight off FM 2222, just past Tumbleweed hill. In .5 miles you gain 350 feet at an average grade of 14%. For a few years the nuts held a time trial up it. The elite racers of the area covered it in 2-3 minutes. I was hoping to make it to the top in 10 and not throw up.

We started out from our house and had to go about 25 miles to get to Tumbleweed Hill. First DH had to have a flat at 18 miles which caused quite a bit of cool down. We hit Tumbleweed hill- woohoo 42.6 mph straight down. Then came Jester. It doesn't just sneak the steepness on you, it throws it from the time you turn off FM 2222. I started along at 6 mph, watched as my speedometer tanked to in the 3 mph range. I was bobing all over the road, fighting to stay upright. I wanted to conquer Jester so badly. I made it to the half way point and gave up. In hindsight I wish I had pushed further, I don't think I was quite ready to fall over yet! I'll be trying again though, I will conquer Jester. We then took the worst road ever, textured pavement, narrow, swithbacks galore and steep down. After a couple more nasty little hills we made it to the bagel shop. Ate lunch went on our way home. About 10 miles from home my husband flatted again. Had to get a Co2 (the first flat he messed up on needed two cans) from some kind cyclist and headed home. 62.63 miles.

Here is a YouTube of someone riding Jester, I balied out right past that first mailbox you see about 1:25 into the film:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMT9p7AHCDc

And here are some shots from the now defunct King Of Jester TT race site, so I don't look like a weenie.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y258/AggieAma/pain.gif

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25.../muchopain.gif

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...a/hillview.jpg

You Tube link didn't work, here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMT9p7AHCDc

eta: It looks brutal! :)

Aggie-Ama:

Congrats on going as far as you did. Those pics look awesome!. I still can't get a link to you tube to see the actual climb.

What a great goal to accomplish

Red Rock

Thanks Snap- I fixed it.

RR- I fixed the You Tube. I find it odd I want to try again. The thing is brutal and I am not a very good hill climber.

Way to go!

I have to tell you that my palms got sweaty just reading your post and towards the end I realized that I was holding my breathe. I've seen that hill (never tried it myself) and steep hills make me really nervous. as I fell over trying to get to the top of one in Austin.

Congrats on your success today and I'm sure you'll get to the top if you keep at it!

karri

way to go aggie-
half way is still super impressive!
I live in the flats of SE MI and we have nothing even close to that- a few steep inclines but way way shorter.

42.6 MPH seems crazy fast too!

hopefully your husband got the flats out of his system for awhilea nd can go on a few rides without any- it's a might anoying disruption to a ride. I seem to be a magnet for flats- I am very quick at changing them now, but I can completely relate to 2 in one day- i've had it happen several times....

One word.... OUCH!!!

Good on you for taking it on though.. You are a LOT braver than I am!

I wish I had the guts to try that:rolleyes: I'm still in the stage where I refuse to go looking for hills (and usually try to re-route around them)...

Brave woman! :cool:

Good job!!!

Wow Amanda, I'm impressed. I know the hill well as I live very close to the monster. :eek: I have never tried the hill myself and have no plans of doing it any time soon. Congratulations on your amazing attempt. You will get to the top of this hill if you keep at it. Sorry to hear about your hubby's flats.

:eek: What a great attempt! You'll get it next time!

I have to say, the "start the hurtin', end the hurtin'" picture made me snort-laugh.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ALCR

Wow Amanda, I'm impressed. I know the hill well as I live very close to the monster. :eek: I have never tried the hill myself and have no plans of doing it any time soon. Congratulations on your amazing attempt. You will get to the top of this hill if you keep at it. Sorry to hear about your hubby's flats.

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I have lived in Austin 21 years of my life and don't even like being in a car on some of those hills. I realized coming down Beauford road, it was one of the only roads ever to make me car sick.

It took fours year of riding to finally just try Jester. I have heard some people say they believe it looks worse from 2222 than it is. I think they are crazy, it is as bad as it looks. We already plan on going again next weekend. I have a sickness now that will only be cured by getting to the top.

Thanks everyone! I was feeling a little down about stopping, the encouragement and atta-girls made me feel better. :) I love how everyone is so supportive, even if we don't quite make it to the goal.

It's not a goal if you know you can do it. :)

That thing looks like a beast, keep at it.


V.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama

I have lived in Austin 21 years of my life and don't even like being in a car on some of those hills. I realized coming down Beauford road, it was one of the only roads ever to make me car sick.

It took fours year of riding to finally just try Jester. I have heard some people say they believe it looks worse from 2222 than it is. I think they are crazy, it is as bad as it looks. We already plan on going again next weekend. I have a sickness now that will only be cured by getting to the top.

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Do you ride 2222? I'm afraid to ride 2222 because of "The Hill" and there doesn't seem to be much of a shoulder to ride on. Also, I have seen too many accidents, some fatal, on that stretch of road that I'm nervous just driving it. I was driving 2222 on my way to an early morning run on Town Lake when I saw a guy climbing the 2222 hill, in the dark, without any lights on his bike. :eek: There were a lot of cars on the road for that time of morning and I couldn't believe that he was taking such a big risk.

I believe that Jester is as bad as it looks from 2222. I have driven up the hill and know that it is long and steep. I was just on a 50 mile ride in Blanco this past weekend and one of the guys I was riding with was talking about climbing Jester. He said that he thought that the curve in the road is what makes the hill so tough. Would you agree? To me, I would think the curve would add to the toughness of the climb, but the length of time climbing would be the toughest part. I have no intentions of climbing it anytime soon, but I wish you luck this weekend. I believe that you will get to the top of Jester. When you do, let us know.

ALCR- We ride down Tumbleweed Hill (what I call it from days of old when there was the Texas Tumbleweed restuarant up there). It is a little hairy but the lane is really wide and cars are very considerate. I will not ride it after about 11:00 am though. Weekend morning traffic on 2222 is not nearly as bad as other times. Being a native Austinite, I know the dangers of 2222 and how many fatalities the road has had but I feel pretty comfortable on that small stretch. I would never ride up it though! My little 4 cyclinder car doesn't make it up it well, no way I could.

I didn't make it far around the curve, but I think what is so tough is the hill starts steep at 2222. There is no easing into Jester. The part I did make it around the curve wasn't so bad, I was going so slow I didn't notice turning. My husband said that was bad and then it is steepest at the top. Your legs are already screaming and it turns to the 20%+ grade. I walked most of that part, so not sure. :p

Nice going Ama! Jester is a beast. I've tried it twice, made it once. I can die satisfied.

I still haven't made it but I have only tried twice. It is on the route tomorrow, I haven't been riding much this summer but maybe third times a charm? I have made it up Lakewood without collapsing.