Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.SaiKaiTai
05-09-07, 11:04 PM
I mean, really. I found this place 6 months into my current journey. To know you are not alone -truly not alone- really helps to keep the motivation high. It proves that just because we're over 50, we ain't dead. Not by a long shot. We are share the common ups and downs of pursuing a physical dream -to ride- at a "certain age". Some -many? most?- here do some pretty wonderous things and we constantly push to be better. And if you push, you WILL get better. Isn't it a wonderous thing?
And when I read of people who have never climbed before and try just because they haven't.
And when I read of people who do climb who work to make harder climbs, longer climbs... climbs beyond their abilities, maybe. For now anyway.
It makes me try harder. And I win. Like tonight. As I've mentioned a few times, there's no way out of Pacifica that doesn't involve a 600+ climb. I've tried a couple with varying degrees of success. They're hard. Climbing with asthma is just going to be. OK, fine. But there's one way out that I've sized up a number of times and it has always convinced me I wasn't ready. But I've never tried any of the climbs with the LeMond and certainlt not this one. Until tonight. I've never actually analyzed the geography of my rides in toto. Tonight I did and it was revelatory.
I live at 202' above sea level.
From here it's a pretty rapid drop and by the time I get to my central jumping off point, I'm at 89'
So, I head for this beast of a climb and I go 3/4 of a mile to get back to 202' - a 3% climb.
From here, I broke it into segments where I would stop, more to mentally collect myself before moving on.
1096' at 7.8% followed by 660' at 13.5%. Then things get easier: 750' at 11.8% but after that comes 495 ' at 16%. I'm somewhere in the vacinity of 500' above sea level. At no time did my HR get over 167bpm. That's a first. I worked at timing my breathing and taking "belly breaths". Wow, it really works.
So, now I'm riding pretty much level for a mile, mile and a half, then I drop down considerably.
I'm ready to drop back down toward home. But I see another climb and I know what's at the end of that climb. What the heck... I climb 1460' of a 13.2% grade and just below the top I see a side road drop down. I take it; spirit of discovery, right? And find that know I have to climb 1287' at 5.8%.
And I made it. So, where am I and what's waiting for me? I'm at 685' above sea level and I get to drop back down to 202' (lower actually and then I have the last climb home. That one I did all out of the saddle). The 483 feet drop first down a 17% grade -the sign says so- followed by a 19% drop.
Believe me this is an accomplishment. I just cannot believe I did this. And except for a few ocassions where I wanted to give myself a break, I didn't use my granny. OK, I'm convinced: road bikes really are different. Now I know, I'm free.
I never would have tried this but for all of you and for that, I thank you.
Pictured to follow
And when I read of people who have never climbed before and try just because they haven't.
And when I read of people who do climb who work to make harder climbs, longer climbs... climbs beyond their abilities, maybe. For now anyway.
It makes me try harder. And I win. Like tonight. As I've mentioned a few times, there's no way out of Pacifica that doesn't involve a 600+ climb. I've tried a couple with varying degrees of success. They're hard. Climbing with asthma is just going to be. OK, fine. But there's one way out that I've sized up a number of times and it has always convinced me I wasn't ready. But I've never tried any of the climbs with the LeMond and certainlt not this one. Until tonight. I've never actually analyzed the geography of my rides in toto. Tonight I did and it was revelatory.
I live at 202' above sea level.
From here it's a pretty rapid drop and by the time I get to my central jumping off point, I'm at 89'
So, I head for this beast of a climb and I go 3/4 of a mile to get back to 202' - a 3% climb.
From here, I broke it into segments where I would stop, more to mentally collect myself before moving on.
1096' at 7.8% followed by 660' at 13.5%. Then things get easier: 750' at 11.8% but after that comes 495 ' at 16%. I'm somewhere in the vacinity of 500' above sea level. At no time did my HR get over 167bpm. That's a first. I worked at timing my breathing and taking "belly breaths". Wow, it really works.
So, now I'm riding pretty much level for a mile, mile and a half, then I drop down considerably.
I'm ready to drop back down toward home. But I see another climb and I know what's at the end of that climb. What the heck... I climb 1460' of a 13.2% grade and just below the top I see a side road drop down. I take it; spirit of discovery, right? And find that know I have to climb 1287' at 5.8%.
And I made it. So, where am I and what's waiting for me? I'm at 685' above sea level and I get to drop back down to 202' (lower actually and then I have the last climb home. That one I did all out of the saddle). The 483 feet drop first down a 17% grade -the sign says so- followed by a 19% drop.
Believe me this is an accomplishment. I just cannot believe I did this. And except for a few ocassions where I wanted to give myself a break, I didn't use my granny. OK, I'm convinced: road bikes really are different. Now I know, I'm free.
I never would have tried this but for all of you and for that, I thank you.
Pictured to follow