If you're up for driving a bit farther there are at least a few of us doing this ride Saturday morning: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=295253 I have no idea how flat/hilly it is though.

Thanks for the invite, but I'm going to skip the ride out of Rockton.

Have a great ride. Make sure to have someone take some pics and post them on the board.

Anyone still thinking of meeting up on Monday morning?

I rode this morning before the rain kicked in and had a fun time spinning up and flying down the Bull Valley hills. Plenty steep enough to hit 46 mph coasting down Deer Valley Road as I went back for more. :)

Who's in for Monday?

It's just Valley Road, no Deer, but that is where a deer jumped in front of me as I was going 35 mph, I hit the brakes hard and came within 2 feet of hitting it.

Probably, but it will have to be early.

you guys got a time for tomorrow yet? i am still in negotiations. actually i am spending this afternoon making a huge deposit in the wife bank.........wait, that sounds bad :)? anyway, let me know what time you two are aiming for. later.

I did the east loop of the HHH 100k :o I forgot about Barlow road, that thing kicked me in the ass and at the end I was averaging a whopping 3 mph (as I walked up the remainder of the hill). Think of Valley Rd in Bull Valley, same gradient except it is 3-4 times longer. My out and back to the loop wasn't terribly easy either, there was a nasty wind from the west.

Very pretty though, many wild flowers blooming (lots of that purple and white flox) and very green with clear skies. You can see the route here, 40 miles (actually 42, I took a wrong turn) and 3400 ft of climbing.

http://www.routeslip.com/routes/43006

iab, Barlow is crazy, isn't it? The first time I ever saw that road, I had climbed all the way up Garfoot and then descended Barlow. Serious fast downhill! :eek: :D

Climbing it during last year's HHH all I did was just put my head down and not look at the top until I hit the crest.

Psimet and aham, how early do you want to ride? 7am? 8am? Just let me know. I parked my car at a church lot in Ridgefield: link

let me know

I need to check in here more often! I rode the whole course yesterday (100K). Barlow is fun and Lakeview Rd. has another beauty on it :D . There are also some spots of gravel -- some kind of "road construction" :mad: on the last stage. This was my second time this year. The first time there was a 30 mph wind from the south -- not fun!

I was just out on the course checking out the final run in into the park. I've decided it is far more fun to barrel down Mounds Park Road than climb it (if you are willing to let loose you could easily hit 45+ MPH :eek:)

I hope all of you are planning on showing up with some low gearing. I was almost dying in a 36x25. Thank goodness it is only half a mile from the ranger station to the top.

Did hill repeats in the Bull Valley area. Steep grades for around here. CyLowe can fill in the details, but we did a lot of them....many times. Felt a ton better than I thought I would. 33 Miles of climbing (up.downs)

Bonus = I hit 50+ twice today. It's been a lot of years since I've been able to do that. Max = 50.4

^^^^ very cool. i need, i mean MUST get out there for some repeats. i may have to sneak out durning work one afternoon this week!

I don't have too many details beyond we climbed Bull Valley Road hill twice and Valley Hill Road three times, the short, but deceptive Cherry Valley Road hill twice and road around that area in a few other loops, as well.

The great thing out in that area is there were other folks doing the same hill repeats.

Oh yeah, I only hit 49.7 mph as a max. :D

aham, let me know when you want to head up there for a spin and I'll see if I can arrange some time. Afternoons work well, but traffic can be heck for you getting up this way, I'm guessing.

Psimet2001 there is a great hill right down the road from us in Sleepy Hollow. Hickory Hollow Drive is a long drawn out hill and right next to it is Oak Hill Drive which is rather steep. Bull Valley in our backyard!

CyLowe is just around the corner as well. Looked to find the road on the satellite photos...shows lots of nice big houses on that road. I might get thrown out by security. I assume you take McLean to get there.

Post a nice - relatively traffic friendly route through there and I might give it a try.

I kept looking over my shoulder in Bull Valley this morning. I half expected Steadman to be chasing me down to throw me out of the neighborhood.

as of this moment my thought is thursday. my office is in north naperville so it gets me a bit closer. it will come down to the weather and of course work. i will know more on the work front tomorrow. if the weather looks good then i really hope to ride it, but likely a noon depart so i can get back to will county before rush hour. later.

Here is the way I get there Link(the railroad track is the trail). I like a good warm-up, then a few smaller climbs, before hitting the wall.

got the gear loaded up in the car. if all goes my way at work i will be headed up to Bull Valley later this morning for some repeats. should be fun, i think. later.

Thank you for the link! I rode over there at lunch and got myself nice and lost on Beau Brummel and Crane just looping up and down.

I forgot about that Oak Hill Drive until I was cruising back down Sleepy Hollow, so it was a bonus for me. That sucker is steep and had my lungs burning, even if it is only about 1/8 mile long. Will have to go back for some repeats on that one.

I learned a few things on my ride. One is that Boncosky is a terrible road to ride on. I saw the Road Closed sign on Sleepy Hollow after I went under the I-90 underpass, so ducked onto Boncosky. I drive that road every week, but forgot how messed up it is with potholes and missing shoulder. Cars were giving no quarter, even with no oncoming traffic. I was quite happy to get to River Ridge to wind my way back to Sleepy Hollow and the hills. It turned out that I could have easily just stayed on Sleepy Hollow the whole way and that the road was not really closed. Ehh. Two is that I was able to ride through the Fisher Peanuts corporate park to avoid having to ride for the short little time on Randall to get over to Mason (which goes toward my neck of the woods). Much safer to just cross Randall than ride on it, even if only for 100 yards. Live and learn. :)

Done. crap this place is WAY up there! anyway, i only had time for one out and back. pretty much followed the route suggested by Cylowe. i was a bit surprised how much traffic was out there on these roads. anyway, 24.46 miles, 1812 feet of climbing, 17.1 mph avg with a 49.1 mph max. AND no walking :).

i need to plan to get back up there and try to knock out 40 to 50 miles to see how the body reacts. those really steep rises get to me as i just cant not get comfortable sitting and standing seems to blow me up. i think it's a lower back issue and i should get off this computer and stretch!

Complete Stats

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/5...e10eda01_o.jpg

later.

Your welcome :D ! That area is tricky to get through.

You can't forget Oak Hill :eek: !! And if you like that one, I've got a couple of beauties in Algonquin to show you :p

Just got an e-mail from the HHH. I like this part:

Regarding the e-mail, as soon as I can get out there I'll post info on how bad the roads look. Glad I ride in mtb shoes, I'll get pics if its real bad.

One other thing to be aware of (though it is not exactly on the course) is that a bridge is out on County K. You can easily route around on County KK but be prepared for some road work there too. I can't wait until they tear up my street and every ride is through debris :rolleyes:

I will be out on the course this saturday, so look for a Racer X jersey. Probably starting out at Blue Mound around 8:00 and finishing back there around 2:00. See Yah.

There was a long stretch of gravel on Blue Ridge Rd. Knutson, I think, had gravel on a small uphill section and a downhill. I don't remember it on Pinnacle. Also there was a small patch, about 3 or 4 feet wide across the whole road, on Mounds Park Rd just before you begin the climb.

got email confirmation that the gym at the school will be available for staying in Friday night. thoughts?? later.

I am up for the gym or camping. One of the two. I don't know if there is camping close by though.

i have Sunday slated for some Bull Valley repeats if anyone is interested. it will be early though. i hope to be up there and on the road by 8am. now, if i could just find my bike?? later.

Would love to, but have family in town this weekend. Haven't been on the bike since Sunday.

Is this too early to start tapering my training? :o