Today was the club rides annual Mt Greylock climb. Greylock is the highest peak in Massachusetts at 3941 ft. Even though it is not high by western standards it is still a long climb. When the ride was posted the ride leader said it would be an 11 - 12 mph average and 70 miles long starting in Eastern NY. I was not sure which route they were going to take but one way or another you had a mountain range inbetween the start and Greylock - so this was going to be a challenge. Being a little cockie I also was hoping some of the other group riders I ride with would be there and we could move that average up closer to 16-17. When I got to the ride there were a lot of B+ riders - those I can only stay with on a very good day and a lot of riders I did not know. The ride was out and back - I have posted the elevation profile for the first half.

We started the ride at an elevation of about 500 ft and steadily climbed up the west side of the ridge, I was easily staying with the lead group - they were not going very fast - saving thier energy for Greylock. As you can see there were actually two climbs before the main event which turned out to be a 10 mile climb up the south road. When we got to the base of Greylock I was already a little tired. I stopped and took off my jacket (the start temp was 40 degrees) and the group did not wait. I started the climb alone and it just went on and on. I had the Tarmac so I was using a gearing of 30/24 or 30/25 most of the way. This climb really got to me. The last two miles I kept repeating "Don't give up, Don't give up". I didn't - I made it to the top. I did not enjoy it, I was too waisted to enjoy the views. The group I rode out with must have made it up quite a bit quicker because no sooner than I set the bike down and refilled my water bottles did they say they were getting cold and wanted to get off the top and start down. I wolfed down a big protein bar and a Guu, put my jacket back on and started the descent - it was a cold ride and not a lot of fun either - my teeth were chattering.

Once at the bottom we regrouped and started right off. We hit the first hill and the group took off and left me for dead, which is about what I was at that point. Like the old Bee Gees song "Alone again - naturally". I slugged through the rest of the ride, had a flat tire around mile 55 but never got past by the slower group. My thoughts of finishing with a 16 - 17 mph average were well dashed. I finished with an average of a little over 14.

Now it's time for dinner and a glass of wine - maybe two...
Greylock is done - I guess I'll go back next year, I know what to expect now.

Here is the elevation profil - it did not take on the first post

My first thought is "bus ride up, bike ride down". Good on ya for riding it.

Congrats on completing the ride. 70 miles with that much climbing is very difficult. I know what you mean about cold descents. On a Mount Diablo climb, the descending was so cold, I started to shake such that I had to stop for a moment. It is hard to dress for both the ascent and descent. For our upcoming low key hill climb races, there is a car that will carry a bag of extra clothes to the top os that we can dress warm for the descents. This now falls in the category of now you know you can do it and the next time will be better / different.

Great job on doing all that climbing! I was trying to get a feel for the average grades of the climbs. Do you know how much climbing was in the 10 miles up Greylock-I was having trouble deciphering the graph. I know it's probably 3900ft - the elevation at the base.........

https://www.northeastcycling.com/Mtn_Climbs.html

Did you do the north or south route?

BikeWNC included the link to the website I use as my directory for big climbs in my area.
The climb up greylock from the south covers 2290 ft but there is a little added fun due to the little descent about 1/3 of the way up where you loose about 25% of what you just climbed. Here is the plot from the same website - Greylock from the south was the climb:


What made this hard was that you had already ridden 25 miles and climbed to ridges before you hit this one. There was just one short 10 min stop to let some stragglers catch up (note: they did not wait for me on the way back - but I would have felt bad if they had).

That helps. Okay-it looks like it averages 7-8% over the last 5 miles-and at a pretty steady grade. That's pretty similar to many of the longer climbs on the BRP.

There is about a 1 mile stretch at the beginning that is 10% then the dip and then a steady 8% to the top. I have done quite a few 2 to 3 mile climbs at 8% to 10% before and back in June I did a repeats 4x on a 2.8 mile climb which ranged 6% to 8% - I thought I was well prepared for this kind of climb, I suspect if I had not already gone 25 miles and climbed two ridges and I had been able to taken a break or two I might have made it up faster. And then to ride back with no more than about 10 minutes rest at the top and the ride down added insult to injury. I almost bonked and if I had not had a flat tire at around mile 50 which forced me to stop I am sure the last climb would have done me in. I feel a lot stronger today, I would have like to have had short ride today but it has rained all day here.

Next year I will redo this ride, it should go better as I know what I need to prepare for.

I have done quite a few rides on the BRP and Skyline Drive when I lived in VA. I never road Mt Mitchell though. I would usually climb up to Skyland - but I don't recall it being that tough. Oh well - age must be catching up to me.

Congrats on the ride!

If you've ever seen any my threads on climbing out here in Washington you'll notice my bike (even in summer) often has a big Carradice seat bag on the back. Usually it's got leg warmers and a jacket, or tights and a jacket, and often full-finger gloves. I try to stay warm on long descents.

I'm not going to climb fast enough to stay with fast riders anyway so might as well stay warm.

Nice work! I did that Greylock climb twice this summer. Once on my Mezzo I-4 solo, and once on my roadie with my regular club wednesday morning ride. My experience with the club ride was similar to yours. The odd thing about the climb is the long downhill in the middle. My club is the Berkshire Cycling Association or BCA.

Thanks - I will try to do it earlier in the season next summer before the club ride which occurs around this time of the year. There was another group from our club that started near williams town but still went up and down the south side. Starting from the base would have been the smarted thing to do.

Adding on...I want to re-emphasize how well you did. My additional comment is to know yourself. Doing these major climbs is about conquering yourself. We are all limited by fitness but to an extent as much by our inability to know what we can do. Each time you do that climb, you will improve because your confidence and knowledge will build.

The first time I climbed Mount Hamilton 4400 feet in 19 miles of climbing with 2 downhill sections, it was very tough. I had no idea what to expect other than I thought I could do it. After 12 miles of mostly climbing, there is a bridge with a sign that says 7 miles to top. The grade to the top from there is a steady 7%. The first time I saw that sign I thought I have another hour to go and I am tired! From there, it was mostly mental. Since that time, I have raced up Mount Hamilton two times and will do it again on Thanksgiving morning and I am looking forward to it. I have conquered myself.

Thanks!
Ye sit is indeed mental. Last week I read Tim Krabbe's "The Rider", that book really lays out the mental game in all of this. In June when I attempted Whiteface I was less physically ready and in reality I was less mentally ready - I knew that because I was actually quite releaved to have flated out after about 2.5 miles. If that had not had happened I would have ground my way to the top of that one too I am sure. The lesson I learned form this is that although hill repeats are good for building your strength they really only partially prepare you for the longer climbs, for those you need to do more longer climbs. If I do Whiteface next June - Greylock's North side will be on my training schedule - it is 75% of the Whiteface climb.

I know what you mean about seeing the mile sign. I saw a mile post that said 2.5 miles to the summit, that was OK because I look done at the GPS and locked the numbers in. I rode 1 mile further and then past a sign that said 1.9 miles to the summit - that was hard to mentally gear myself up for another 0.4 miles.

Mt. Hamilton - 19 miles, 4300ft - thats a lotta hill. I am sure you will do well.

I was only doing some quick math on the last 5 mile segment on the 7-8%........the first segment looks to be a little steeper and could easily be around 10 percent. Most of the BRP climbs I've done have been on the Southern segment-they are just a touch steeper than those I've done in Va-but they're generally limited to around 7%. They'll be some shorter segments that can be a little steeper but generally only up to 10%.

I quit trying to keep up with anyone while climbing. I just making myself more miserable. I'm always just happy to get to the top of the darn things!!

I bet when you come back next year with another year of cycling under you it will not feel quite as steep-assuming you don't put on 20 pounds!!

Your right about that - I put on 15 lbs last winter, I got 5 back off last summer so I am up 10. My plan was to start to get that off over the winter when I am not too worried about biking strength. I have been riding for years - but it was not until 4 years ago that I started group riding and paying attention to speed on the bike. I'd say my speed has improved by 25% since then and I can climb so much better than I did.

For years (since the late 90's) I was unable to ride over 30 miles at a time due to a knee problem so I gave up on distance riding and just rode by myself. Since I fixed the knee problem it has opened up the sport to so much more. I am even beginning to think about casual racing - maybe next year.