8,500 feet of climbing .... 100 miles

I can't believe I actually did this on Saturday. I did Heartbreak Hundred in Lebec, CA. Most I had ever climbed in one ride was 4,500 in Solvang in March and on a shorter training ride since then. I always teased that my husband was nuts for doing rides with such horrendous names as Heartbreak Hundred, Breathless Agony, etc. All with stupid tons of climbing, which he's really good at. I was NEVER gonna do such ridiculous rides!

Well, I did such a ridiculous ride. Dh came within 11 minutes of the course record. I was just glad not to be the last one in, or even close to the last one in. But I did it. It's an awesome feeling to have accomplished something so grand. Makes you feel like you can do anything. The piddly 4,000 feet of climbing in the Cool Breeze Century that I opted to do the shorter Metric Century version of last year seems like a piece of cake by comparison. Can't WAIT to do that one now! :D

I CLIMBED 8,500 FEET IN 100 MILES!!!!!!!!!! :eek: (And survived to tell about it.)

Excellent! That is something to be proud of.

are you training for the death ride or something?

congrats!! was it pretty, at least?

Congrats!!!

Way to go, Jiffer!! You rock!! :D

That counts. :D

Way to go!

Wow! Great job!

Good for you! are you going to buy Brent's slot for Ride Around the Bear?:p

Way To Go!!!! Wow!!!

Congratulation!

This summer, friend and I will challenge a route where we will climb to 3275 m in 88 km (10,745 feet in 55 miles). But we'll ride it for two days. I'm also practicing climbing now.

A local race going to the same point is on different route of 55 km (34 miles). :eek: That's more challenge than the one we'll take (but we will go down on that route).

Outstanding! Congrats!

She loves (big) hills....
Awesome!

Wow! I bet you have veritable buns of steel!

I still have nightmares about my 3200 feet of climbing century (my first and only). I'd like to think I'd be better prepared this time for a century of that caliber... but I'm sure it would still be painful.

Did you eat a whole cheesecake the next day? I would ;)

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

are you training for the death ride or something?

congrats!! was it pretty, at least?

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No Death Ride for me, thank you! Dh is possibly doing it next year when we happen to be already have a camping reservation at Lake Tahoe.

Yes, it was pretty. Not as awesome as Solvang, which I LOVED, but there was some cool scenery. I'm ALL into cool scenery!!!

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Originally Posted by Fredwina

Good for you! are you going to buy Brent's slot for Ride Around the Bear?:p

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Um, nope! Alex has commented on that a few times, but this is one he's not sucking me into. Not this year anyway. :cool: He's trying to enlist me to be his mobile SAG support, though, along the route, so he can blaze through and potentially win the thing. We'll see.

Congratulations! What an accomplishment.

The FDH and I are currently training for the Livestrong Century which has 7k of climbing. Any tips? Did you trade off standing and sitting on climbs? I know my lower quads hit a certain point of burning after so much climbing on a ride and then they're toast. Hoping to keep extending the time that takes.

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Originally Posted by bluebug32

Congratulations! What an accomplishment.

The FDH and I are currently training for the Livestrong Century which has 7k of climbing. Any tips? Did you trade off standing and sitting on climbs? I know my lower quads hit a certain point of burning after so much climbing on a ride and then they're toast. Hoping to keep extending the time that takes.

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I guess my best tip is to climb a lot in preparation. I had to balance my climbing rides with easier rides because my body took longer to recover from the climbs than most people. My husband's training schedule included more climbing days than I could physically do. My legs were horrendously sore after a 4500 feet training ride for several days. I expected possibly the same after Heartbreak, but was pleasantly surprised to find I recovered much quicker. This means I'm getting stronger. So, listen to your body.

I wasn't even planning on doing Heartbreak until the week before. I had been climbing simply to get stronger, and was training for other events. I had tossed around the idea of Heartbreak, but had decided not to. Then changed my mind after a good ride the weekend before.

On the actual climbs, you have to find what works for you. Most advice I read says to mostly stay seated on extended climbs, which is pretty much what I do. Standing exerts a lot more energy. Yet, many people do stand a lot, like my dh, who is an amazing climber. You have to find what works for you. I typically sit on the long climbs and will stand every now and then just to alleviate the pressure from the saddle and to relieve my aching muscles for a bit, while making use of some others. When you train, practice standing for a bit on a long climb, not for speed, but for a break. Change to a higher gear first, and don't stand too long or push too hard or you'll be completely out of breath. But it's good to train your body for both.

I also stand on shorter climbs, to try to get to the top as fast as possible. On rollers, take advantage of your downhill speed to help you up a smaller hill, start pedaling as soon as you are able to on the climb and then stand to push yourself as far up as possible.

I was lucky with Heartbreak, that dh had done it before. So I was able to study the course and get tips from him. He even taped a piece of paper to my handlebars that told me at what mile the peeks of all the climbs were, so I knew how far I had to go before a downhill break. That was a big help. If I were you, I'd look for as much info about the ride you are doing beforehand. Google ride reports from other riders. Look for a graph that shows what the climbing is like, etc. I personally like to be as mentally prepared as possible.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes. :) You'll feel so proud of yourself when you accomplish it.

hi

do you have any specific tips on heartbreak 100?