Commuting - I hate you guys that live in flat places.

I curse you ever time I'm struggling up some giant @$$ hill. :cry: Hills are EVERYWHERE here.

I'm traveling in a flat area, but live in the mtns. After 150 miles in flat country, I can safely say that I enjoy the hills!

With hills on a ride, I don't have to go near as far to get a good workout. And constantly flat areas get boring because it seems that you are constantly spinning. In the same gear. for hours.

Where I live sucks for a newbie who is as out of shape as me. I'm at the foothills of the Hollywood Hills/Griffith Park area. Even though where I am APPEARS flat, it's all different smaller grades that are longer and make me feel even worse. Need to go try the LA River this week. My problem is getting my husband to come with me. I need to get used to going out on adventures alone. Doing an errand alone is no biggee though.

Sorry...:)

But hilly landscapes look much prettier.....

Where I live sucks for a newbie who is as out of shape as me. I'm at the foothills of the Hollywood Hills/Griffith Park area. Even though where I am APPEARS flat, it's all different smaller grades that are longer and make me feel even worse. Need to go try the LA River this week. My problem is getting my husband to come with me. I need to get used to going out on adventures alone. Doing an errand alone is no biggee though.

You need to go down to Santa Monica and ride the path along the beach. It runs all the way to Torrance (15mi IIRC) and is dead flat. There's lot's of joggers/in-line skaters/walkers/etc. but it is a graet place for a newbie riding by herself. Lots of police presence and lots of people around... Also way cooler than just a couple miles inland.

I left L.A. way before the river bike path was even thought about, but I recall the area being pretty lonely. Also, the river runs through some pretty "colorful" areas of town, so you might be advised to take along a friend.

You need to go down to Santa Monica and ride the path along the beach. It runs all the way to Torrance (15mi IIRC) and is dead flat. There's lot's of joggers/in-line skaters/walkers/etc. but it is a graet place for a newbie riding by herself. Lots of police presence and lots of people around... Also way cooler than just a couple miles inland.

I left L.A. way before the river bike path was even thought about, but I recall the area being pretty lonely. Also, the river runs through some pretty "colorful" areas of town, so you might be advised to take along a friend.

Hi, yeah, Santa Monica is an easy option minus the driving there and finding parking :). I got a book with rides in LA and there are lots. Husband and I are supposed to do one a week but damn this hot weather!

The LA River is only a few miles from us. I think I could get there easy, but no way I can ride back up Los Feliz at this point. We always see tons of cyclists and such riding there. I think it's cleaned up quite a bit actually, but yes, I wouldn't go there alone. I'm pretty city smart.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I hate the hills, moved up here and now have to build up my hill muscles.

http://www.cyclevancouver.ubc.ca/

Just let it search with the default address. The darker the colour, the eviller the grade or something. I have to go up one long (by my standards) brutal hill right after leaving my neighbourhood on my way to work, then there's an incredibly steep (but short) one that I power up. On the way back I have an incredibly long grade to climb. I actually have to stop and catch my breath at least twice which bugs the crap out of me.

Amen Brother. Hate on!

http://www.cyclevancouver.ubc.ca/

Just let it search with the default address. The darker the colour, the eviller the grade or something. I have to go up one long (by my standards) brutal hill right after leaving my neighbourhood on my way to work, then there's an incredibly steep (but short) one that I power up. On the way back I have an incredibly long grade to climb. I actually have to stop and catch my breath at least twice which bugs the crap out of me.

On MapMyRide it shows the grades too. I don't even know what's considered super easy or medium, etc. My little ride the other day, I embarrasingly did have to walk half a street. Not far, but I needed to breathe. It might be time to get my childhood asthma formally reevaluated. I wonder sometimes, even if I'm not wheezing, if it holds me back.

I just looked at y our route. All those hills and only burns 200+ calories. BOOOO! :D
Here's the little ride that I mentioned: Link: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/los-feliz/247124776721816209
(if you can't see the elevation, there's a little toggle button to click)

Is it Topo? I can't see the grade, I'll take your word for it though. I developed exercise-induced Asthma more as an adult. It gets bad if I get a cold or flu though, way worse.

buy an electric assist conversion system for your commuting bike...

What is a hill?

Be quiet, you.

I went for a nice ride on Wednesday. 46.16 miles with only 1,463 feet of climbing. Go ahead, hate me for it. :D

The rides that are the most memorable for me though, include lots of climbing. For instance, the week I spent in the Front Range of the Rockies last summer. Even around here, when I get out to hill country south of the city, I seem to have more fun.

But what really sucks is the stinkin' little 2% grade for two miles from work to home. After a full day's work, that saps the life out of me for some strange reason.

What is a hill?

Kinda like a tall bridge over water, but they tend to last longer and seem more random :D

Hi, yeah, Santa Monica is an easy option minus the driving there and finding parking :). I got a book with rides in LA and there are lots. Husband and I are supposed to do one a week but damn this hot weather!

The LA River is only a few miles from us. I think I could get there easy, but no way I can ride back up Los Feliz at this point. We always see tons of cyclists and such riding there. I think it's cleaned up quite a bit actually, but yes, I wouldn't go there alone. I'm pretty city smart.

Thanks for the suggestions!

driving to Santa Monica from Hollywood? it's not that far, make it part of your workout

Is it Topo? I can't see the grade, I'll take your word for it though. I developed exercise-induced Asthma more as an adult. It gets bad if I get a cold or flu though, way worse.

it's not Topo, is just a graph/chart. you're prob. missing it cuz they're so small to the normal person:D

driving to Santa Monica from Hollywood? it's not that far, make it part of your workout

ROFLMAO! From here to San Mo, I'd be done! Hell, if I even made it. Do you know I JUST started riding a month or so ago. Was gone 2 weeks of that time. I can count my bike rides on two hands :innocent:

But what really sucks is the stinkin' little 2% grade for two miles from work to home. After a full day's work, that saps the life out of me for some strange reason.

The last 2 miles of my commute home are Novelty Hill, which if you saw the morning downhill run video of mine, is steeper than 2% for the whole run (with the exception of a 20yd section where I get a break.)
The overall for my commute home is anywhere between 1,100' and 2,000' depending if I take the "flat" 15 mile route or the hilly 18 mile route.

Hills are like sex. The better you get at it, the more you like it.

I curse you ever time I'm struggling up some giant @$$ hill. :cry: Hills are EVERYWHERE here.

Dude I wish that I was forced by terrain to do some hills. I live in northern Indiana. A highway overpass is a hill to me, and at 300 pounds those are painful. If I had a few more hills then I'd be forced to get back into shape a bit quicker.

I curse you ever time I'm struggling up some giant @$$ hill. :cry: Hills are EVERYWHERE here.

Dam, I hate you flatlanders...wait, that's what I am now! AND I HATE IT!!! I'm sure I lost my mountain legs I had when I rode in the Southern California mountains for about 25 years until I moved to the flatlands of northern Indiana about 5 years ago.

Don't curse us, instead think of all the flatlanders you can beat up those mountians without hardly breaking a sweat while singing Dixie while their being attended to by paramedics for heart attacks!!!

Just remember this next time you are giggling down the backside of some huge @**ed hill:

Us flatlanders have to pedal ALL THE TIME! You hill folk only pedal half the ride.

Just remember this next time you are giggling down the backside of some huge @**ed hill:

Us flatlanders have to pedal ALL THE TIME! You hill folk only pedal half the ride.

Except when I'm riding my fixie. ;)

Hills are like sex. The better you get at it, the more you like it.

And when you get older, you may not be able to get up that hill at all. :lol:

Agree that hillier places are generally more visually appealing.

Minneapolis is flat. St. Paul, which is right next door, is less so and is the better for it.

During a race last year we were on a route that went from Minneapolis into St. Paul and then back again. I was riding next to the same guy for about 4 miles. After climbing the 3rd hill or so on the St. Paul side, he was openly cursing the city.

Truth is St. Paul isn't all that hilly either. It's all relative. There's is a street called "Ohio Street" though that's a fairly long and steady climb (for around here). Steeper at first but then flattens out a bit so it's not too bad. The best part though is going down hill across the high bridge after you're done with the climb.

Yeah, it's flat here, but it's somewhere around 115 f---ing degrees farenheit. I thought I was going to die this evening on a little 2 mile pedal. :twitchy: :p

Just remember this next time you are giggling down the backside of some huge @**ed hill:

Us flatlanders have to pedal ALL THE TIME! You hill folk only pedal half the ride.

Except going up hills you have to exert way more energy for a longer period even if the going up is just a short distance because your not going fast as you would on flats. Unless the downhill was very steep I always pedaled downhill in the smallest gear at or near max rpm. At least for me I never pedaled just half the ride.

Yeah, it's flat here, but it's somewhere around 115 f---ing degrees farenheit. I thought I was going to die this evening on a little 2 mile pedal. :twitchy: :p

Where is your desert? I use to ride in Lancaster and Palmdale (upper desert) and Bakersfield in California where it would get 110f in the summer, and would ride from there up to Wrightwood and other surrounding mountain areas. So if your in that same area why aren't riding up to those surrounding mountains? Palm Springs also has mountains near by that I've ridden to from Palm Springs; where are you at there are no mountains for 50 miles around? At the very least you could throw the bike on the car and drive to the foothills of mountains and start your ride from there.

Although I like my flat commute, I hate not have any long hills anywhere within a day's ride from here.

I curse you ever time I'm struggling up some giant @$$ hill. :cry: Hills are EVERYWHERE here.

I live in a flat area, but I'm cussing out loud at times when I ride home everyday against a 20 mph wind with 30 mph gusts the whole way. Guess there's always some type of challenge.

I curse you ever time I'm struggling up some giant @$$ hill. :cry: Hills are EVERYWHERE here.

Well, at least you're not having to manoeuvre around obese folks while moving about in Van. A city with hills is a fit city.

I notice that you are in Vancouver. I would recommend that you try riding via the Central Valley Greenway. It is designed for pedestrians/cyclists/skaters in mind. So the grade elevation is minimal.

Yeah, it's flat here, but it's somewhere around 115 f---ing degrees farenheit. I thought I was going to die this evening on a little 2 mile pedal. :twitchy: :p

I feel like that on a regular day : ) (but i must confess, I don't ride enough...yet)

I have about 6 feet of elevation change in 6 miles from home to work. Yet the wind seems to ALWAYS be blowing straight into my face.

I have about 6 feet of elevation change in 6 miles from home to work. Yet the wind seems to ALWAYS be blowing straight into my face.

It is always blowing in your face silly. If your moving your bike 20mph then you have a 20mph wind in your face!

I notice that you are in Vancouver. I would recommend that you try riding via the Central Valley Greenway. It is designed for pedestrians/cyclists/skaters in mind. So the grade elevation is minimal.

What the shinto is the "Central Valley Greenway?" Is that out by Langley somewhere? :roflmao2:

Today I took a different route in. It is much flatter. After 10 straight minutes of spinning along I actually found myself missing my usual hills. I have come to the conclusion that small rolling hills make for the ideal ride. You get to hammer up them for little workouts, then blast down the back sides.

I used to envy you flatlanders, but, now, I think I am actually glad I have hills. I'd be real glad if I ever knock about 40 more pounds off.

Hills and mountains rule. Windy areas stink.
I pitty anyone who has to ride in a flat windy area or just flat for that matter.

...If only not for three hills, I think my 26 mile commute could have been shortened by about 20 minutes.

Hi, yeah, Santa Monica is an easy option minus the driving there and finding parking :). I got a book with rides in LA and there are lots. Husband and I are supposed to do one a week but damn this hot weather!

The LA River is only a few miles from us. I think I could get there easy, but no way I can ride back up Los Feliz at this point. We always see tons of cyclists and such riding there. I think it's cleaned up quite a bit actually, but yes, I wouldn't go there alone. I'm pretty city smart.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I live in Los Feliz and ride to the beach sometimes, it's really not as bad as it seems, but I did read your other post about being a new rider, so.. think about parking this way. All those other people are battling each other, trying to park as close as they can to the water so they won't have to walk far. You'll have a bike, you can park a mile or two from the beach in the empty spots the swarms of weekenders are shunning and ride the rest of the way.

I live in Los Feliz and ride to the beach sometimes, it's really not as bad as it seems, but I did read your other post about being a new rider, so.. think about parking this way. All those other people are battling each other, trying to park as close as they can to the water so they won't have to walk far. You'll have a bike, you can park a mile or two from the beach in the empty spots the swarms of weekenders are shunning and ride the rest of the way.
Hiya Neighbor! We really are neighbors if you're in LF too! Yeah, from here to beach I know for sure I couldn't do, but parking and riding is what I was thinking. Honestly, I didn't think riding flat would take building up to even. :O

I have never had the joy/hate of riding my bike over anything bigger than an on ramp.

Chad

I have never had the joy/hate of riding my bike over anything bigger than an on ramp.

Chad

Don't let Luddite know that! :D http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=563851

I curse you ever time I'm struggling up some giant @$$ hill. :cry: Hills are EVERYWHERE here.

And therefor your legs and bum is going to look great just a few weeks from now! :love:

Get yoyrself a big mirror to follow the progress. :D

Where is your desert?

Phoenix metro area. I would have to drive for a couple of hours to get to cooler country.

I curse you ever time I'm struggling up some giant @$$ hill. :cry: Hills are EVERYWHERE here.

This is actually one of the reasons I am so looking forward to visiting Vancouver... I am tired of doing the same old climbs all the time and miss B.C.

The upcoming SiR 300k starts with a 35 mile warm up ride to the base of a 24.5 mile, 4090' climb.
Then there's still another 130 miles left to the finish. :D

I have a 200K club ride Tuesday that starts with a 60 mile climb up to 12K feet with no support, food, or water. We pack it all in.
Then we turn around and descend for 60 miles. Good times.
I'm going to try a brevet series next year to see how I like it.