Fifty Plus (50+) - Wilderness Road Ride/Mountains of Misery

May 23, 24--Blacksburg, VA area?

http://www.cyclingdoubleheader.com/mountains-of-misery

Anyone planning on being there?

I try to avoid rides whose description includes the word "Misery".

"Chain Stretcher", "Widow Maker", "Ball Buster", "Puke Fest", "Death March", and "Agony" have made my list, as well.

But, hey, that's just me.:o

Could we ride it in the opposite direction.....:rolleyes:

Boys, I'm beginning to think you're onto something. I think I might just take a nap that day.

I am sure that I have something planned that day...Perhaps next year. But here's to those who do it.

:cheers:

I am sure that I have something planned that day...Perhaps next year. But here's to those who do it.

:cheers:

Rides like that would take some training- I know- I use do do one like it. End of May so you should have been doing 30 mile speed runs up severe hills for the last couple of months at least. When you couldn't get out because it was dark- too cold- too wet- it should have been a 2 hour hard cardio vascular down at the gym- and that would have just been to replace the 30 mile bike rides. You would also have been down the gym for a couple of gentle Spinning sessions with a masochist. All of this in addition to the 50 mile hill rides at the weekend- every weekend no matter what the weather.

So start training now and you will be able to do it at the end of may--2010- or even 11.

Even with all that training- you can still fail

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=197532

Even with all that training- you can still fail


My wife just stuck her head in the door, and said, "What are you laughing at?"

All I could say is, "stapfam, again."

Thank goodness I have to go to the Coca Cola 600 to entertain customers on 5/24 otherwise I'd probably be dumb enough to come back up and do the MoM again. The first 100 was pretty nice. That last 3 miles was the toughest finish to a ride I've ever done. I think I recall seeing the odometer fall under 4 mph a time or two on that stretch. I had to pedal really hard just to go faster than folks that were walking it. At least I managed to do the climb without stopping....thanks to the young lady at the last rest stop with about a 1 mile to go that sprayed a mist of water all over me. Boy that felt good......

May 23, 24--Blacksburg, VA area?

http://www.cyclingdoubleheader.com/mountains-of-misery

Anyone planning on being there?

Ah yes - good old Bleaksburg, spent many a year there in the halls of higher education...
I have ridden most of these rodes but never up to Mountain lake - I use to drive up there and hike the trails. This is some amazingly beautiful country with some big hills. I use to ride between Roanoke and BBurg on the back roads - the climb up from Dixie Caverns through Ironto I still remember - from 35 years ago...

If you ever see me signing up for this event, just shoot me and get the misery over sooner. Thanks. :)

Yeah..what Louis said.

I signed up for it, but I'm having serious doubts. I've been trying to do a lot more hills this winter and spring, but I'm really worried about it. I did a relatively flat century ride on Saturday (Capital 2 Capital from Richmond to Williamsburg.) There was almost no hills except for the overpasses and the bridge over the river.

I expected to have an easy day of it, but I'm way more wasted than I expected to be. I was riding in a pretty fast group for the first 50 miles, and maybe I overextended myself.

For sure I will be in NO RUSH on the MoM. I'll be in the "8+ Hours" group for sure. I may even mentally plan on just walking the last three miles if I have to. No sense in just dreading it the whole way.

I'm signed up for this pretty hilly ride next weekend in Lynchburg:
http://www.cvbikefestival.com/

If I fail at that I may just stay home for MoM...

Looks to be a ride that you would remember. Hey JT, you could ride with me in PA the weekend before to get some practice hills in. I'll be doing this ride and it's only 77 miles with 6,000' of climbing. http://www.montour75.com/Race_info..html

I'll be there. I did this ride in 2007 after deciding that I should risk doing a ride that I was not at all sure I could complete. I did finish it, but that last climb has to be experienced to be believed. I measured grades that peak over 21% for short periods (Garmin) and I didn't believe the GPS could be right....until another rider told me he had gotten the same numbers.

The good thing about this ride is that you will simply laugh at all other "hills" for months afterwards.

I feel a little better about it today. Despite being a little fried from Saturday's flat century, I did 62 miles from Front Royal, Chester Gap, Washington, Sperryville, and back on Skyline. I actually felt better on that than I did on Saturday. Maybe the key is just to take it SLOW....

Met a couple of guys who did the ride last year, and got some good encouragement from them. Maybe I'll live after all :)

I'll be there. I did this ride in 2007 after deciding that I should risk doing a ride that I was not at all sure I could complete. I did finish it, but that last climb has to be experienced to be believed. I measured grades that peak over 21% for short periods (Garmin) and I didn't believe the GPS could be right....until another rider told me he had gotten the same numbers.

The good thing about this ride is that you will simply laugh at all other "hills" for months afterwards.

I was getting something close to 19% for short stretches as I recall so they were definitely close to 20%. The thing I remember is actually trying to rest a little when I'd hit a short stretch of 10-11% grades.......and yes-all the hills after that finish never seemed quite as hard. I guess it makes even more fun when the sun is warming up the asphalt.

I was getting something close to 19% for short stretches as I recall so they were definitely close to 20%. The thing I remember is actually trying to rest a little when I'd hit a short stretch of 10-11% grades.......and yes-all the hills after that finish never seemed quite as hard. I guess it makes even more fun when the sun is warming up the asphalt.

Yah, I would gasp it out to my friends whenever the grade went down to 9% with a call of "Single digits". The steepest climbs I've ever done anywhere else are the same as the "flat spots" on that last climb at MoM.