March rides.....riding into the days of the Spring equinox

[ny biker]

Yes I thought of you -- I assume it's more interesting to ride in person than on the dvd! I've only ridden up mountains once, on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, and I averaged about 5-6 mph there. It's really a different experience from the shorter hills that I'm used to. I have friends who like to ride in the mountains in southwest Virginia but so far I have declined to join them.

[Crankin]

I don't do so well with longer climbs, like in the west. I can do short and steep, mostly because that is what I am used to. I'd love to try Mt Lemmon, though.

[azfiddle]

Mt. Lemmon is mostly a steady 5% grade, with a few places that are a little flatter and a few that get up to 6-7%. I find I just need to have the right mindset to do it. Slow.

[ny biker]

One thing I remember from Skyline Drive was being numb from the saddle. It was perfectly comfortable on other rides but not good for the constant upward incline. If I were going to do a long climb again I'd think about tilting my saddle nose down a bit. Also I had other cyclists to talk to for part of it, which made the ride more pleasant.

[Crankin]

Yes, those grades don't sound horrible, but I did just a 10 mile climb in Spain, with similar grades. I felt like puking and had cramps in my calf so bad that it took 2 years to recover, it was so tender. It wasn't hot out and I had plenty of food and drink. There just aren't places like that around here.
And, I was going about 4 mph on that one. I was definitely not mentally ready. This was a cat 3 climb on the Vuelta. But, my usual speed on a hard climb is about 6 mph, so AZ, we are very similar!