It is a tough descent. It is so steep and curvy, you can never let up and just let the bike go because you can't see that far ahead and you really don't have your own lane to take.
Thom says he was about 15 feet behind me when we came upon the truck, so the truck had moved over to his side of the road and Thom had a reasonable amount of room. He did say that distance behind was a little too close for a descent like that because I went from 17 mph to 0 pretty fast!
I really like it (sort of) as a climb. Good news - my knee held up just fine!
V.
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02-03-2008, 02:37 AM #1
"Ride lots!"
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02-03-2008, 09:11 AM #2
TimeTrial Wannabe
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What a ride, eh?
Good to hear your knee continues to behave itself
And thats one heckuvalot of climbing, way to go V&T
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02-03-2008, 09:24 AM #3
back of the autobus
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Hee hee. Not to mention the cows! Part of that area is cow grazing land - hence the lovely cow grates in the road.
Originally Posted by Veronica
The last (and might I say only) time I went partway up & down that road, cows were roaming about on the steep hillsides & along the ravine alongside the road, and occasionally clumsily lumbering across the road.
Lee had to hit the brakes really hard on his descent because a cow chose a particularly inopportune moment to decide to get to the other side.
Perhaps not as terrifing as a big truck, but certainly up there on the
scale.
But must say it is good for honing those bike handling skills.
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02-03-2008, 09:37 AM #4
"Ride lots!"
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Ahh... yes cows. There were no cows out yesterday.
One of my favorite memories of my grandmother is her wading in between the cows on their farm and just pushing them out of the way. She was trying to convince me that they weren't scary. She wasn't successful. When you're five, cows look big and scary!
V.
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02-03-2008, 09:41 AM #5
It Matters To This One
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So glad to hear you are ok. Sad to hear the truck didn't stop to check...
"The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew, and live through it." ~ Doug Bradbury
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02-03-2008, 11:36 AM #6
"She's a little dense"
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Wow V. What a crazy story. The climb itself is adventure enough but that truck.... eek. Good on you for not panicking!! Bike handling is so important.
You're my hero.Living life like there's no tomorrow.
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02-03-2008, 04:59 PM #7
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Ditto what KnottedYet said. By the way, for those of us that live in vertically challenged areas of the earth, what kind of gears are you pulling on a 9 and 15% grade?
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02-03-2008, 05:11 PM #8
"Ride lots!"
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I have a compact double with a 46 - 33 in the front, 11 - 34 in the rear. I spent most of the ride in the 34.
There were a couple of sections where it did flatten out a bit and I shifted up a few gears. I only stood once and not for very long. That would be where my heart rate went up to 191, I think.
V.
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