ok if this has been asked recently, I apologize in advance... but I am wondering if the route is ready and/or has anyone heard what it is / a link to it perhaps? Thanks....
The route is never given before the event but the 200k route is probably close to the previous years. It has been posted previously on this board. We won't get the final map until Saturday
It is a bit contradictory to have the Ride email you and suggest that family and friends set up a cheering station but then not tell you where you are going.
Thanks SilverFox for the route links and your suggestions. I've checked both routes, so I have a bit of familiarity of direction and distance. Thanks all for your tips, suggestions and thoughts of encouragement. It will be a blast. See you Saturday
The main thing I'm worried about on the route is that escarpment. I'm a big guy, and a huge hill like that at the end of the day doesn't sounds like fun... has anyone ridden up that hill before? Is it steep or not too bad?
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------------------------------- Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. -Yoda
Dumanoir. I ended up talking to a woman about my age, 46, on trail last June, a week after the R2CC 2009. She was with her father. he's ancient. THEY did it. "It wasn't bad, but that hill into Hamilton? Brutal." She looked like an advert for cycling and said it was hard, but people either geared down and took their sweet time or walked it. I don't know that those of us in the M200 (LOL,, I typed M2000 first...can you IMAGINE...) will have that hill. One can hope. THat at the end of 161 km would be .... mean.
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Never Give Up; Never Surrender! Strength in Numbers. Livestrong!
drove it Saturday evening. First leg is a three kilometer climb then it plataus for a bit then the real grind begins, 5 kilometers of switchbacks with a really steep climb.
Using SilverFox's M200 link, use the terrain link and view sulpher springs road. Gonna be a workout. :)
Thanks all for the posts. I looked at the M200 route and it looks different than the approach for the K200. The K200 route looks like it went up Wilson St. last year, and it has a somewhat gradual climb to it.
I'm refusing to walk up that hill. I'll stop halfway and take some deep breaths, but dammit - I'm riding up that bad boy!!!
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------------------------------- Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. -Yoda
I'll do that now. Having promised my brother 23 hours before he'd die I'd to the M200 for him, I'm certain I'll hear his hysterical laughter all around me as I do these hills. If it rains, he's going to be laughing loud enough for all of us to hear him.
My philosophy is that I beat cancer twice, what's a couple of days of "oh my God" in comparison? Jerry didn't make it. I'm here to do it. It's still going to be a bit of temporal hell....
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Never Give Up; Never Surrender! Strength in Numbers. Livestrong!
and I'm not walking a hill at gunpoint. I may have to gear all the way down and stick both asthma inhalers in my mouth, I may swear and sweat, but i'm making it to the top of each hill. It's a personal pride thing.
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Never Give Up; Never Surrender! Strength in Numbers. Livestrong!
I do my hill training on Twin Rivers Dr... probably steeper than what we'll be seeing on the M200 route.
Here's the google maps link with terrain. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.81164540817085+++%09+-79.15645122528076&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.999937,93.076172&ie=UTF8&ll=43.81276,-79.156494&spn=0.016475,0.045447&t=p&z=15
There's a secret to hills, at least this advice made the much easier for me.
You've probably heard the phrase "attack the hill"
before you hit the hill...
Get out of the saddle and build up some speed. Sit down, soft pedal and change to your small chain ring and adjust trim for your small gears. you'll get some chain rub, but it'll be gone as soon as you hit the hill (second on a triple or mtb) Bring your RPM (cadence) to 80 or better (it feels odd at first but a high rpm is easier on your knees and you will last longer)
when you hit the hill
Do not adjust your front derailleur Remain seated (it forces you to use your quads which are much stronger than your calf muscles) Don't look at the top of the hill, it will discourage you. Look five feet or so in front of your tire Keep your cadence as high as you can and down shift one gear at time when your cadence goes below 70 rpm.
if you hit the hill with zero momentum, your climb is going to suck... no way around it. If you can manage 30 - 35 kph when you hit the hill, you'll end up spinning up the hill in the neighborhood of 12 - 15 kph rather than grinding up at < 5 kph
-- Edited by RSinfield on Wednesday 9th of June 2010 11:21:07 PM
My big hill climbing tip is to ride at your OWN tempo (tempo = speed/pace). I emphasize "own" because there are a lot of other people out there and it's easy to intentionally or unintentionally let ego or just perception make you ride at someone else's pace. We've all done it driving, someone passes you and subconsciously you speed up a little bit, same idea.
The idea of "attacking the hill" is good in that you do want to carry some momentum into the beginning of the climb but you have to be careful on longer climbs (there's really only one) in that if you attack too hard you can get your heart rate up too quick and as the hill continues to go up your heart rate won't go down and then the suffering begins. Agreed, use the gears and keep the cadence/pedal stroke per min high and you'll be fine!
Another little climbing tip if you can manage it is to shift your position on your saddle/seat. Shifting more towards the back will engage your hamstrings a bit more giving your quads a slight rest and conversely, shifting forward will use more of your quads.
Happy riding and happier climbing! Will practice hills can actually be something to look forward too! haha, I know it's crazy but it's true!
