Wait... slow down, or speed up?
Monday, August 25, 2008
One Day, One Hundred Degrees, Three "HC" Climbs
What does "HC" mean, anyway?
I was actually planning on doing four, but a flat tire halfway up Onion Valley necessitated a trip to the not-so-local bike shop (after a hair-raising flat-tire descent, of course).
This was actually for the best, though, because even though I was drinking as much water as I could stomach, I was still in the desert, in mid-August, and, well, it was hot. I had stopped sweating before starting Onion Valley. It was 100 degrees in the shade... but I don't know where 'the shade' was, I certainly couldn't see any for miles around.
Tomorrow I ride on 5 mile road here in Detroit. Pretty much the same, all told.
I was actually planning on doing four, but a flat tire halfway up Onion Valley necessitated a trip to the not-so-local bike shop (after a hair-raising flat-tire descent, of course).
This was actually for the best, though, because even though I was drinking as much water as I could stomach, I was still in the desert, in mid-August, and, well, it was hot. I had stopped sweating before starting Onion Valley. It was 100 degrees in the shade... but I don't know where 'the shade' was, I certainly couldn't see any for miles around.
Tomorrow I ride on 5 mile road here in Detroit. Pretty much the same, all told.
Climbing Categories.
Plagiarized from the interwebz.
* Cat. 4: The Lowest category could be anything from a 2km-long hill with a gentle 5-percent grade, or a half-kilometer-long "wall" with a 12-percent average. (In 1997, there were 15 Cat. 4 climbs on the opening eight flat stages; and only four on the remaining 13 stages.)
ElJamoquio note: a Category 4 climb would be like Thorn Run Road in Pennsylvania, or Boyne "Mountain" in Michigan.
* Cat. 3: This is the first "serious" category, and could mean a 5km climb with 5-percent grade on good roads. (In 1997, there were six Cat. 3 climbs in the Tour; typical was the Cote de Chatillon on the stage to Morzine, which is 6km long with a height difference of 240 meters, 787 feet, on a wide smooth highway.)
* Cat. 2: Most racers in North America would consider this one the toughest climb they would be likely to encounter. The former Tour DuPont's Beech Mountain -- which is about 5km long with an average grade of 8-percent, topping out at 5000 feet about sea level -- would be a Cat. 2 at the Tour, even though it was a Cat. 1 at DuPont. (In the 1997 Tour de France there were 10 Cat. 2 climbs. Typical were the first two of stage 18: the Cote de Gueberschwir is 4.5km long, has a height difference of 400 meters, 1312 feet, and an 8.8-percent grade; the Grand Gallon is 24km long, with a height difference of 1000 meters, 3280 feet, but has a grade of only 4.1 percent.)
* Cat. 1: This is the classic mountain climb of the Tour, such as the Col d'Aubisque in the Pyrenees, with an elevation of about 1600 meters, 5250 feet, a length of about 15km, and a grade of about 6-percent. (In 1997, the Tour had eight Cat. 1 climbs. They varied from stage 9's Val Louron-Azet, which is 11.5km long, with a height difference of 770 meters, 2526 feet, on a narrow, rough back road; to stage 10's Port d'Envalira, which is 30km long, with a height difference of 1680 meters, 5500 feet, on a wide, smooth highway with easy grades.)
* Hors Cat. (or "above category"): These are the most difficult climbs at the Tour. They have a minimum height difference of 1000 meters, 3280 feet, and an average grade of 7-percent or more. (There were five Hors Cat. climbs in the 1997 Tour, including the Col du Tourmalet and L'Alpe d' Huez.)
* Cat. 4: The Lowest category could be anything from a 2km-long hill with a gentle 5-percent grade, or a half-kilometer-long "wall" with a 12-percent average. (In 1997, there were 15 Cat. 4 climbs on the opening eight flat stages; and only four on the remaining 13 stages.)
ElJamoquio note: a Category 4 climb would be like Thorn Run Road in Pennsylvania, or Boyne "Mountain" in Michigan.
* Cat. 3: This is the first "serious" category, and could mean a 5km climb with 5-percent grade on good roads. (In 1997, there were six Cat. 3 climbs in the Tour; typical was the Cote de Chatillon on the stage to Morzine, which is 6km long with a height difference of 240 meters, 787 feet, on a wide smooth highway.)
* Cat. 2: Most racers in North America would consider this one the toughest climb they would be likely to encounter. The former Tour DuPont's Beech Mountain -- which is about 5km long with an average grade of 8-percent, topping out at 5000 feet about sea level -- would be a Cat. 2 at the Tour, even though it was a Cat. 1 at DuPont. (In the 1997 Tour de France there were 10 Cat. 2 climbs. Typical were the first two of stage 18: the Cote de Gueberschwir is 4.5km long, has a height difference of 400 meters, 1312 feet, and an 8.8-percent grade; the Grand Gallon is 24km long, with a height difference of 1000 meters, 3280 feet, but has a grade of only 4.1 percent.)
* Cat. 1: This is the classic mountain climb of the Tour, such as the Col d'Aubisque in the Pyrenees, with an elevation of about 1600 meters, 5250 feet, a length of about 15km, and a grade of about 6-percent. (In 1997, the Tour had eight Cat. 1 climbs. They varied from stage 9's Val Louron-Azet, which is 11.5km long, with a height difference of 770 meters, 2526 feet, on a narrow, rough back road; to stage 10's Port d'Envalira, which is 30km long, with a height difference of 1680 meters, 5500 feet, on a wide, smooth highway with easy grades.)
* Hors Cat. (or "above category"): These are the most difficult climbs at the Tour. They have a minimum height difference of 1000 meters, 3280 feet, and an average grade of 7-percent or more. (There were five Hors Cat. climbs in the 1997 Tour, including the Col du Tourmalet and L'Alpe d' Huez.)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Mt. Washington: Part Deux
I frequent a few different internet forums where people can chat about cycling.
On one of them, there's a thread going about Mt. Washington.
Some quotes:
"7.6 miles of uphill on a mixture of paved and dirt road with nearly a vertical mile of elevation gain. Some of the nastiest weather in the world at the summit where they once recorded a wind speed of 231 mph."
"Oh, don't exaggerate, that was just the wind gusts that day. The steady breeze wasn't over 160 mph. "
"I have a buddy who makes this his sole "A" race of the year. Got very serious about it and stripped everything off his bike, went with mountain bike cogs on the back (to a 32 sprocket I believe), the bike came down to 12 lbs, he bought those ultralight carbon Specialized shoes. He had a video of the race that he showed me. I can't believe how harsh it is. No way I'd travel 1/2 way across N. America for that sort of suffering; I could probably simulate that in my backyard by doing VO2 intervals on the trainer, midwinter in a t-shirt while someone strafed me with a fusillade from a salt gun.
Full props to anyone who does it! Madness!"
"Climbing Mt. Washington is THE hardest physical accomplishment I have ever done in my entire life. I’ve completed three marathons and several triathlons and well know the meaning of pain. Once you cross the entrance bridge you coast for about .1 miles until the hill starts.
This is when the reality of gravity just slaps you in the face.
You come upon the initial slope of about 15% where it undulates between 10-15% with micro (10ft) grades of 7%. At about 1.5 miles you are smacked down with a grade of 21% and, knowing you still have a little over 6 miles to go, you start to question you sanity. In between this and the 2.5 mile mark (17%) are grades between 10-15%. You continue on thinking you have lost you mind (and your wind) with grades mostly between 13-18%, with micro gaps of about 7%.
At the 6.25 mile mark you get hit with another 21% grade and you start thinking how far back the broom wagon is.
At this point though you are convinced you can finish by either riding, walking, or crawling. You reach the 7 mile mark knowing you have less than 1 mile to go and you start thinking you can smell the finish. At about 7.4 miles you even hit a slight (-3%) downhill, but unfortunately it only lasts about 30 ft. After that the grade goes back to 10% with kicks up to 19%. You make the final turn and hear everyone cheering you on and you go smack dab into a grade of 22% for the final .1 miles. You wonder what cruel gods could have done this to you as you inch up the final few meters. As you come to the finish the announcer calls out your name for all to hear and you know you are there. As you cross the finish line you know all your suffering, and in my case, drooling, is over. Volunteers catch you from falling as you cross the finish line and place a blanket around you... "
Good times.
On one of them, there's a thread going about Mt. Washington.
Some quotes:
"7.6 miles of uphill on a mixture of paved and dirt road with nearly a vertical mile of elevation gain. Some of the nastiest weather in the world at the summit where they once recorded a wind speed of 231 mph."
"Oh, don't exaggerate, that was just the wind gusts that day. The steady breeze wasn't over 160 mph. "
"I have a buddy who makes this his sole "A" race of the year. Got very serious about it and stripped everything off his bike, went with mountain bike cogs on the back (to a 32 sprocket I believe), the bike came down to 12 lbs, he bought those ultralight carbon Specialized shoes. He had a video of the race that he showed me. I can't believe how harsh it is. No way I'd travel 1/2 way across N. America for that sort of suffering; I could probably simulate that in my backyard by doing VO2 intervals on the trainer, midwinter in a t-shirt while someone strafed me with a fusillade from a salt gun.
Full props to anyone who does it! Madness!"
"Climbing Mt. Washington is THE hardest physical accomplishment I have ever done in my entire life. I’ve completed three marathons and several triathlons and well know the meaning of pain. Once you cross the entrance bridge you coast for about .1 miles until the hill starts.
This is when the reality of gravity just slaps you in the face.
You come upon the initial slope of about 15% where it undulates between 10-15% with micro (10ft) grades of 7%. At about 1.5 miles you are smacked down with a grade of 21% and, knowing you still have a little over 6 miles to go, you start to question you sanity. In between this and the 2.5 mile mark (17%) are grades between 10-15%. You continue on thinking you have lost you mind (and your wind) with grades mostly between 13-18%, with micro gaps of about 7%.
At the 6.25 mile mark you get hit with another 21% grade and you start thinking how far back the broom wagon is.
At this point though you are convinced you can finish by either riding, walking, or crawling. You reach the 7 mile mark knowing you have less than 1 mile to go and you start thinking you can smell the finish. At about 7.4 miles you even hit a slight (-3%) downhill, but unfortunately it only lasts about 30 ft. After that the grade goes back to 10% with kicks up to 19%. You make the final turn and hear everyone cheering you on and you go smack dab into a grade of 22% for the final .1 miles. You wonder what cruel gods could have done this to you as you inch up the final few meters. As you come to the finish the announcer calls out your name for all to hear and you know you are there. As you cross the finish line you know all your suffering, and in my case, drooling, is over. Volunteers catch you from falling as you cross the finish line and place a blanket around you... "
Good times.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Saturday, August 02, 2008
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