almost died from my second commute
06-10-12, 02:23 PM
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almost died from my second commute
finally made it back home. wohoo.
I live in the appalachia and decided to bike to walmart. not too bad, only 5 miles one way.
Little did I know how bad the hill will turn out to be. I just got back into this and i guess I am not that in shape. A 10" hill, which I can usually cruise through with cars, became juggernauts.... some of the uphills looked like they are 20".
Even worse, when it finally gets to the down hill part I couldn't just let my bike go. the cars' brake works way better and with the speed i get I would be barely be able to stop eventually, let alone not hitting anything in front of me. so i had to walk those on the side. Wah wah all work no fun.
Dont have a rack yet so i put the groceries in my backpack. bad idea.
anyway stuck to it and made it back home. people are pretty nice around here except this one dude cut right in front of me to go on a highway ramp. oh well, lesson learned.
I live in the appalachia and decided to bike to walmart. not too bad, only 5 miles one way.
Little did I know how bad the hill will turn out to be. I just got back into this and i guess I am not that in shape. A 10" hill, which I can usually cruise through with cars, became juggernauts.... some of the uphills looked like they are 20".
Even worse, when it finally gets to the down hill part I couldn't just let my bike go. the cars' brake works way better and with the speed i get I would be barely be able to stop eventually, let alone not hitting anything in front of me. so i had to walk those on the side. Wah wah all work no fun.
Dont have a rack yet so i put the groceries in my backpack. bad idea.
anyway stuck to it and made it back home. people are pretty nice around here except this one dude cut right in front of me to go on a highway ramp. oh well, lesson learned.
Last edited by CenturionIM; 06-10-12 at 02:41 PM.
06-10-12, 02:38 PM
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Those Appalachian hills aren't really hills. They call them mountains for a reason. Of course, I guess you've already discovered that by now! 
PS.
Sounds like you could use a little engine work and possibly some disc brakes, too!
PS.
Sounds like you could use a little engine work and possibly some disc brakes, too!
Last edited by SlimRider; 06-10-12 at 04:45 PM.
06-10-12, 02:39 PM
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My guess is your hills are worse then mine, but I found that it doesnt take to long before going up them becomes easier and you get more confident of your abilities on the downhill pretty quickly. Still it amazes me how steep hills are that I didn't give any thought to in a car. Stick with it and you'll be fine.
06-10-12, 05:13 PM
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My wife and I debate that every time we visit my family in Maryland. Having grown up in Oregon, she won't acknowledge anything as a mountain that doesn't have snow on it in July. She always snickers a little as we pass the sign saying that Big Savage Mountain has an elevation of 2982 feet.
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06-11-12, 04:38 AM
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And rack and panniers instead of the backpack.
06-11-12, 05:49 AM
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What gearing do you have? It sounds like you need a bigger cog on your rear cassette, or a smaller one on the front crank.
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WonderMonkey
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06-15-11 11:49 AM
