mgearing

Hello All

Here is a picture of my Trek Pilot 5.2. I have had this bike about 9 months now, and have over 3,500 miles on it.

I am going to be 54 soon, and this bike is perfect for me. Really comfortable, but it still feels very high performance (at least to me, and that's all that really matters).

My goal is to ride this bike up Mt. Hood as part of the Summit to Surf. All my bike setup and physical training have that as the target.

If anyone has any tips on the Summit to Surf, please jump in.

wagathon

. . . and, here's a Pilot 5.2 too:



Sounds like a steep climb.

mgearing

So how do I upload pictures to the forum server?

mgearing

Another attempt

wagathon

Looks like you've got different cranks on there

mgearing

Hello

Actually, the bike is stock except for:

Bontrager Race X Lite wheels
Continental GP4000 tires
Bontrager isogel bar tape
Shimano 12-27 cassette

I am trying to figure out how to post a large picture like yours.

stapfam

Start at the top.


Hill climbing is a state of mind. Do not rush at them and for as long as possible stay seated. Compared to most performance road bikes you appear to have sensible gearing, but the legs and lungs might tell you otherwise. Good luck on the ride andkeep drinking on the ride.

mgearing

A better picture:

wagathon

Do you need lower gearing for that climb or is 30x27 low enough for you?

Not sure of the length or difficulty of rise or your hill climbing riding preferences (although I have no doubt that I'd need some lower gears before tackling Mt. Hood: I've seen it outside a train window and it looked awesome).

mgearing

Hello

Here is the course:



The 30 X 27 should be enough, as I also have also cut the wheel weight by upgrading to Bontrager Race X Lite wheels with Conti GP4000 tires. On a long seated climb, they make the bike feel like it has a 30 X 29.

I am hoping that the fact that I have dropped my weight from 196 to 180 will also help me. I have spent the winter riding to the top of 1,600ft Bald Peak or 1,500ft Rocky Point every weekend. Recently I have added climbing repeats of 1.6 miles at 7% average grade, and doing it 8 times.

My biggest problem is lack of experience (road biking 15 months) and age (almost 54). It takes longer to get the body ready at this age. My biggest advantage is that I don't care how long it takes me, I just want to get up there.

If anyone out there can throw me some good advice on this, I'd appreciate it.

By the way, if I don't make it to the top this year, I am going to keep going back every year until I do.

wagathon

I used to do a ride that was 40 miles and had a 4000 ft climb at the beginning that was over about 11 miles or so, and rides that were more than 70 miles and probably comprised about 4-5000 ft of climbing overall, but what you've got there looks like about 8000 ft over 60 miles: seems pretty tough by my standards. I was on a ride like that years and years ago, with two buds, probably about 80 miles, and families were stepping over our bodies as we were practically passed out on the cement walkway to the Der Weinersnitzl, and it was getting dark, and we were still about 15 miles from home. Good Luck

mgearing

I made it.

dauphin

congratualtions

serotta

That's it!!!********** That's all we get? I made it.

We deserve better. A simple paragraph with personal highlights of the journey. A short commentary, something more than........... I made it.

BIG accomplishment, and that's all we get..... tsk, tsk, tsk!!!!!

NOS88

Was it as difficult as you might have imagined?

mgearing

The ride was very different than I thought.

The opening 4,750 ft climb was more even than expected:

After a 2 mile loop in Welches, we climbed the next 18 miles. I was surprised how consistent the climb was. It kept getting steeper the higher you went, but it did not have the varying degrees of incline that I am used to. I just set my peddling cadence to 85, and kept down shifting until I ran out of gears. With a triple and a 12-27 cassette, that took a while. I was able to climb the entire thing seated. I can't do that on many hills around Portland because they have sections that are very steep, where I have to stand to keep my cadence at least over 60. That is where I did all my training for this ride. This never happended due to the even angle of this climb. That surprised me. We climbed up out of the clouds into the sun. The top was clear. The mountain top looked so close you could touch it. Knowing that you made it here under your own power made it a special moment.

The top was colder than I expected:

Even wearing a light jacket, and the 6:40 AM start temperature in the upper 40's did not prevent me from freezing my ass off at the top. Wet with sweat from climbing so long, the exposed summit at 6,000 ft was very windy. I stayed in the porta potty an extra few minutes because it was the warmest place I could find. Descending this mountain top, needless to say, was even colder. I became so stiff with cold that my descending skills deteriorated and my bike started to wobble. That scared me.

The climbs of the Barlow and Bennet passes felt great:

I would have thought I would be looking forward to climbing again, but when you are as cold as I was, it felt really good to get working again.

The run down towards Hood River was more windy than I expected:

The strength of the wind surprised me. But since it was getting warmer, and I was going downhill, no problem. The scenery was incredible. With a warmer body no londger acting like a frozen brick, my descending skills returned, and my bike rode perfectly down hill at good speed. There were some sections of the worst chip seal pavement I have ever ridden on. Made me question my decision to do this ride with 23 mm tires at 115 lbs rather than the 25 mm tires at 105 lbs.

The final section in the Gorge was awesome:

The Gorge was clear. The temperature was now in the mid 80's. The view was to die for. But the wind was consistently stronger than I have ever experienced. I climbed up to Rowena Crest, then down in to the town, and then turned into the wind for the climb back up to the Crest and finally back to Hood River. I weigh 180, and felt that if it was any less, I would have been blown off the road on a number of occasions.

Overall impression:

It took me 8 hours of saddle time to go a little over 101 miles. I have completed 2 other centuries this year in 6 hours. I am sure that is due to this course and weather. We had 9,500 ft of climbing and very strong wind. This ride was the most challenging and gorgeous ride of my entire year and half at this road bike thing.

The other riders on this event were so strong. Men and women, large and small, young and old. So amazingly strong.

I will do this again next year.

serotta

Thanks for a great ride report! Sounds like a terrific ride, but one that you would only want to do once a year. The 8 hours time is great, especially in light of the fact you've only been riding a year and a half on the road.

smokeystrodtman

Congratulations on your achievement, sounds like a very challenging ride. It always surprises me at how cold the mountains can be at the top, even though it's sweltering down at lower altitude. I like the way your Pilot is set up, with the seat about level with the bars and the top tube not being overly long. I have a bad back and things like that are important to me.

Terex

Sign me up for next year! I've driven up the descending route a number of years ago, and the views were amazing. This is just what I need to give me a focus for preparation. I will try to go the whole ten yards and stay at the Timberline Lodge where the exterior shots for The Shining were made. Yee-Haw!

jppe

Sweet!! Fantastic ride!! At least the longest climb was at the start where your legs were pretty fresh. I know what you mean about freezing after getting sweaty. That can be pretty miserable.

To keep your bike from wobbling on the descents, press both knees/inside of legs against the top tube. That should steady things better for you. It's easier to do with a traditional frame than a Compact frame but still doable.

Grampy™

Great post, great ride. Congrats man, don't let anybody call you a newbie, you lost that. You've got more riding experience than a lot of riders have after years of bikin'.

LynnH

Congratulations! I know that whole route, but not by bike. I've rode pieces of it, and you've made me want to do that ride. It sounds daunting, maybe next year, or maybe the year after that.

wagathon

I think 8 hours is a great time for that. The cold probably helped, e.g., you didn't spend much time at the tops of the peaks eating bananas shooting the bull.