June 24-26 rides

[maggie's sister]

I rode Friday (16 miles), Saturday (42 miles) and Sunday (14 miles). Good rides, even Saturday when I got dropped by the boys. Seems silly to complain about averaging 16 mph in the western PA hills on cool Saturday morning.

[luv2climb]

I rode three new hills in the Auburn area: Newcastle Road, Hayes Drive (14% grade), and Crater Hill Road, as well as ones I've ridden once before: Chili Hill Road, Bald Hill Road, and Baxter Grade. Also ran into a member of another bike forum, so in this ride video you get to see me ride with him for about 1/2 mile before I get dropped.

Garmin Connect data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95103145

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yzJFA6wsEg

Hayes Drive 14% grade:


Hayes Drive 14% grade by kittyz202, on Flickr

fi'zi:k logo spraypainted on the steep (and painful!) Chili Hill Road climb:


fi'zi:k logo on Chili Hill Road climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

Bottom of Rattlesnake Road climb (disappointingly easy climb, btw) at the north fork of the American River and Folsom Lake:



Crater Hill Road and Wise Road:



What I hope to become once all the excess weight's gone :

[Biciclista]

disappointingly easy climb??? lol. Nice pictures.

[Veronica]

[

Bottom of Rattlesnake Road climb (disappointingly easy climb, btw) at the north fork of the American River and Folsom Lake:
[/IMG]

Have you been up Shirland Tract?

Veronica

[luv2climb]

disappointingly easy climb??? lol. Nice pictures.

Thanks! I'm always looking for hard climbs, and for some reason I thought Rattlesnake Road was supposed to be one of the hard ones. Maybe I confused it with Rattlesnake Bar Road, which was a sufferfest when I climbed it last October.

Have you been up Shirland Tract?

Veronica

Yup. I climbed it for the first time on Memorial Day. Here's a ride report with pictures and video that I posted on BikeForums: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...o-Max-20-grade

[Veronica]

Last year I did World's Toughest Half. We swam right there at Folsom lake in your picture. Rattlesnake Rd was a nice little warm up before Shirland Tract.

Veronica

[luv2climb]

Last year I did World's Toughest Half. We swam right there at Folsom lake in your picture. Rattlesnake Rd was a nice little warm up before Shirland Tract.

Veronica

I hope it smelled better when you had to swim in it than it did yesterday. I had to take that picture and get out of there. Maybe I have a radar nose, but that nasty river smell was strong!

[loopybunny]

I rode the track for the first time on Sunday.

Hellyer was open to road bikes for a charity event and I couldn't resist signing up. I had 2 other road friends riding on the track for the first time so I wasn't alone in my fear.

The warm up laps were pretty cool, being able to go at whatever pace I wanted and starting when I wanted. However, the events I signed up for were the kilo and 2k. I had no idea the kilo was the event that many people don't like because it involves going all out the entire time.

I also made the mistake of letting myself get confused about how many laps the kilo was so I pushed really hard from the start, going just over 24 mph then pooped out about halfway through and dropped to 17 or 18 mph. It hurt! Having figured it out, I was much more relaxed for the 2k and kept a consist pace between 18-19 mph. Obviously not fast, but if felt amazing and I finished strong instead of slowing down.

During the 2k, my friends were cheering me on and in the last couple of laps one of them yelled for me to stop smiling and pedal harder. She later said that if I was smiling, then I wasn't working hard enough. I told her I was channeling my inner Chris Horner.

Scariest part was having a holder for the start. Takes a lot of trust to allow a stranger to hold your bike upright as you clip in completely. It's also quite difficult to start from a complete stop while in the big ring. For the first event, I was so nervous I thought I was going to hyperventilate.

Best part was having friends there to cheer for me. They even made me a sign!

[Bike Chick]

I checked out the ride website the other day, it does look like it could be fun - or brutal if there is a strong wind coming across those cornfields. Did you have much of a head/crosswind?

Gee, Catrin, how did you know I've done that ride 4 times and it's notorious for the ole north, south, east, west wind. You know, the kind you can never turn out of and get to your back??? It had stormed that morning before the ride so the first 30 miles were great but then the front moved through and we turned dead into a 17 mph wind and the next 30 miles were brutal. Thank goodness I could keep up with the guys and let them pull. I'm usually out there by my lonesome fighting it and that's an awful place to be. We turned back into town the last 5 miles and had the wind to our backs and it was so pleasant

[Veronica]

I hope it smelled better when you had to swim in it than it did yesterday. I had to take that picture and get out of there. Maybe I have a radar nose, but that nasty river smell was strong!

It didn't smell badly, but it was freezing!

Veronica

[Veronica]

I rode the track for the first time on Sunday.



During the 2k, my friends were cheering me on and in the last couple of laps one of them yelled for me to stop smiling and pedal harder. She later said that if I was smiling, then I wasn't working hard enough. I told her I was channeling my inner Chris Horner.

!

That's very cool!

Yeah, I'd like to look like I'm smiling when I'm working hard the way he does.

Veronica

[Catrin]

Gee, Catrin, how did you know .... Thank goodness I could keep up with the guys and let them pull. I'm usually out there by my lonesome fighting it and that's an awful place to be. We turned back into town the last 5 miles and had the wind to our backs and it was so pleasant

I am just used to riding in corn fields I've never drafted and it sounds like that would be helpful. Someone offered to pull me a few weeks back when we were in Eagle Creek and the wind was causing one of my old injuries to give me a problem but I was afraid to take her up on it - I am not really accustomed to riding with others in general but especially not that close Those last 5 miles were just awesome I bet!