MacMan

Anyone done this ride? It looks like a lot of fun. I'm thinking of giving it a go in 05. 124.5 miles, 10,700 feet of climbing. Of course, training for it might be a problem!

https://www.horriblyhilly.com/home.html

DogBoy

Several of the guys in my bike club have done the ride and I've ridden many of the roads it covers. I have thought about doing it, but it competes with the madison marathon, and I know I can't do both. If you do it, you might want to invest in a cassette with a 27 or 28 large cog. I think your Felt has a 25, so if you are strong you may be okay, but its lots of hills. The hills are relatively short but they are quite steep. 50+mph decents are easy to reach on many of the hills. The last hill though is long and steep, and at the end of that many hard miles, you might be begging for a triple.

MacMan

My F35 came with a 12-23, but I do have a 12-26 (SRAM) that I got when I went up to WI one time. I'm thinking of going to the area in the spring to have a little look - there's no way I'd go without knowing what I'd be getting into! I figure even if I bag it, I should be able to do the 100k curcuit, but the 200k will require a bit of training for sure!

Thanks for the advice!

DogBoy

when you go, check out https://www.bombaybicycle.org/maps.htm and get a map of the area. Check out the hills around Cross Plains, Black Earth, Mount Horeb and Blue Mounds. That will give you a good flavor for the types of hills you can expect.