Video and pics of my toughest climb yet

[luv2climb]

You have some beautiful country to cycle in. You must have legs of steel. Those are some tough climbs. Thanks for sharing. I love it when others share photos of their rides. It's so nice to see what it's like to ride in other parts of the world.

Thank you. I enjoy looking at other people's pictures too. In fact here's a thread I started in the road cycling section of BikeForums a few months ago (before I found out about TE) that's all pictures that give the viewer a good idea of the steepness of the road. There's pictures from the whole world in that thread. I also enjoy the thread over there where people post pictures of their bike with mountain backgrounds. I tried to take a picture of my bike with the snow-capped Sierras in the background, but it threw off the white balance or something and you could hardly see the peaks, so I only kept the one I took without my bike in the picture.

[tprevost]

Well done! My SO cracks up, he always knows when I'm watching one of your videos... Re recognizes your breathing

[yellow]

My old ridin' grounds... I sure miss it. Thanks for the story & memories!

[luv2climb]

Well done! My SO cracks up, he always knows when I'm watching one of your videos... Re recognizes your breathing

ROFL! Cool that he has a sense of humor! I crack myself up editing these videos after a ride, especially while I'm still under the influence of endorphins.

My old ridin' grounds... I sure miss it. Thanks for the story & memories!

You're welcome. Did you ever get to do this climb?

[loopybunny]

Very cool! Congrats!

(I'm still working on learning to climb so I'm totally envious that you're out there doing it!)

[luv2climb]

Very cool! Congrats!

(I'm still working on learning to climb so I'm totally envious that you're out there doing it!)

Thanks! Climbing is addictive once you get into it.

[yellow]

Did you ever get to do this climb?

I usually did it at least once or twice a year. I lived right off of Carson Road (near Boeger) so I had lots of access to great riding. My standard after work loop was Carson-Hassler-North Canyon-Larsen-Carson. I also really liked riding out Pleasant Valley toward Fairplay and of course Slug Gulch, and out to Pollock, winding through the country roads. You really do have many wonderful places to ride. You are very lucky!!

[Tri Girl]

WOW! Judging by the heavy breathing- that is one TOUGH climb!!! I was hoping you'd filmed the descent on the way down, tho.

Congrats!!! We don't have anything resembling hills like that around here- but it sure looks fun!

[luv2climb]

I usually did it at least once or twice a year. I lived right off of Carson Road (near Boeger) so I had lots of access to great riding. My standard after work loop was Carson-Hassler-North Canyon-Larsen-Carson. I also really liked riding out Pleasant Valley toward Fairplay and of course Slug Gulch, and out to Pollock, winding through the country roads. You really do have many wonderful places to ride. You are very lucky!!

Slug Gulch is another one I'm going to tackle. I've heard it's a tough one. I haven't read anything about the other roads you mentioned, although I rode Carson from Snows Road up to Pollock Pines where it turns into a dirt road at the top.

WOW! Judging by the heavy breathing- that is one TOUGH climb!!! I was hoping you'd filmed the descent on the way down, tho.

Congrats!!! We don't have anything resembling hills like that around here- but it sure looks fun!

Thanks! Yup, it was a good sufferfest!

I did film the descent, but my camera has a "rolling shutter" which is typical of cheaper cameras. It causes a wavy picture, so I got rid of that footage. I seem to get more views and responses to climb videos because they're recorded at slower speeds that don't cause as much of the waviness in the picture.

Speaking of heavy breathing, I went to Nevada City yesterday to watch and record the Nevada City Classic criterium. For those who aren't familiar with the area, it's a hilly course. Of course I brought a bike along with me so I could do some climbing. Since I wanted to be able to carry my extra cameras, stuff I bought, and swag, I took my heavy, low-end Trek 7000 WSD hybrid with rack, rack trunk, lights, and kickstand.

Since I had a couple hours before the first race started I decided to do some climbing. I ended up on Red Dog Road, which is a long climb with grades up to 17%. It was a sufferfest! Total climbing was about 2,100', including the 720' I did trying to map out the course and find a good spectating spot.

After watching the Masters men and Women's Pro 1,2,3 races, I was motivated to do some more climbing, so I did another 1,200' up Nevada Street and Willow Valley Road. Willow Valley Road is also a long climb, with grades up to 15%. It turned into a sufferfest too. Here's the video from that ride:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJH2aBrxiWI

Here's the Garmin Connect data. Note the low average speed, partly due to time spent riding around the course trying to map it out and find the best spot to sit: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93643130

Here's the bike I rode:


Trek 7000 WSD at top of Red Dog Road climb by kittyz202, on Flickr