Northern California - June Challenge

Since no one else has posted anything, here's mine. This one is tailor made for those living in the valley. We've done most climbing, commute, and some other variations. So how about:

The flattest 10 mile stretch. An out and back is permitted, but not repeated circles of the same route. If you're out for a short 1-hour training ride, count 10 miles of it. If you're on a recovery ride, count 10 miles of it. You get the idea.

Add up the climbing AND the descending for your total and post it back here. We'll go on the honor system.

Add up the climbing AND the descending for your total and post it back here. We'll go on the honor system.

Do you mean absolute values here? Technically a loop or out and back should result in zero if the descending is treated as negative.

Do you mean absolute values here? Technically a loop or out and back should result in zero if the descending is treated as negative.

He has to mean add up ascending and absolute value of descending.

If I do 10 miles in a parking lot, does it count?

Do you mean absolute values here? Technically a loop or out and back should result in zero if the descending is treated as negative.

No. If you climb 875 feet and descend 875 feet, your total is 1750 feet.


He has to mean add up ascending and absolute value of descending.

If I do 10 miles in a parking lot, does it count?

No. That would be riding around in circles for an hour. 30 minutes out one way and 30 minutes back the same way, consecutively, would work. But not riding around in circles.

Here is a great challenge that requires strength, stamina, and dexterity. Start with an empty rim, boxed tire, boxed tube, tiny pump such as a Topeak micro rocket and a floor pump/tire gauge. How fast can you mount the tire and pump it to 120psi with the micro pump? Bonus points for using notorious tires like Conti 4000's. No morph series or any mini pump with a handle that rotates 90 degrees to lessen the misery on your hand.

The flattest 10 mile stretch. An out and back is permitted, but not repeated circles of the same route. If you're out for a short 1-hour training ride, count 10 miles of it. If you're on a recovery ride, count 10 miles of it. You get the idea.

I'm bound to come in last on this one. :)

Polo Fields? :D

My commute involves a 10' "roller" onto, and off of, a levee. That's it. I don't track elevation on my commuter though. There's nothing to track anyway....

My commute involves a 10' "roller" onto, and off of, a levee. That's it. I don't track elevation on my commuter though. There's nothing to track anyway....

I think this is one challenge I may be able to win...
I was looking at my Garmin the other day riding down Franklin in the deep south and it showed the grade as being downhill the whole way for about 10 miles with the high being my house start at about 40 feet above sea level to the Mokulmne River at about 25 feet. I had descended a whopping 15 feet. Side note: There was about a 20 mph headwind so it was no different than riding up the wall at Diablo. :p

You might be a little, very little, bit surprised. On what I did for April (furthest in 1 hr), along baseline west of Roseville, I can do an out and back over 10 miles for 138' total climbing/decending

Here is a great challenge that requires strength, stamina, and dexterity. Start with an empty rim, boxed tire, boxed tube, tiny pump such as a Topeak micro rocket and a floor pump/tire gauge. How fast can you mount the tire and pump it to 120psi with the micro pump? Bonus points for using notorious tires like Conti 4000's. No morph series or any mini pump with a handle that rotates 90 degrees to lessen the misery on your hand.

Leave it to you to come up with tortures that are on par with the Medieval folks. :thumb:

I don't get the challenge in this? But here's my entry from my commute in, 130 ft in 9.8 miles (let's round off to 10) I had a whopping 40ft of ascending and 90ft of descending. All from 3 freeway overpass and one second floor parking lot. It didn't feel like 50 extra ft of descending, don't know why the difference, probably the barometer was changing from sitting in my car all night.


edit: just road the above commute backwards and the 130ft total stands. Probably can reduce the total by about 40ft by bypassing a couple overpasses.

Polo Fields? :D

Technically the polo field is an oval so the rule about not riding around in circles doesn't apply ;)

I had 96 feet on part of today's ride.