Good comments all. Courtney - thanks for the great description of the Sauratown climb and reinforcing the danger of the descents. Bryan - YOU can ride a quad hump. We will give you extra credit for the hill repeat - I promise. Kevin - invite your wife to come join us as her birthday present. Wrap up my description of the ride and give it to her with a look on your face like you just bought out Tiffany's. Not only will you be able to participate in this mountain ride, but I would be willing to bet that as an added bonus you will get a kitchen pass at least through the Blood Sweat and Gears ride in late June. No, there will not be a SAG wagon on Tony's Three Mountain Romp but you can always hitch a ride in Bucky Studrock's pick 'em up truck (or with one of his many relations in the area). Good luck on that. Seriously, someone will pick you up after the ride if needed. I found that the best solution is to drive your own car to Pilot and take a couple cyclists. Make sure you keep your car keys with you during the ride. That pretty much guarantees someone will be back for you. Logan - unless you were driving a bulldozer the size of Cleveland I have to call BS on your claim of flattening those three "hills." - Gary
On Apr 12, 7:34 pm, Logan <[email protected]> wrote: > Hey guys, Steve and I went out there today and did all those "hills" > so dont bother. We flattened them. > > On Apr 7, 4:07 pm, "Kevin Dougherty" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > "Put a quarter in the juke & boogie 'till you puke" -- Root Boy Slim (circa > > 1978). > > > I might be interested in being one of the swept up A weenies. When do you > > need to know by ? I am anticipating a month of delicate negotiations to get > > a release on that date (my wife's birthday). > > Btw, the ends might not justify the means in this case. Will there be a sag > > wagon if you can't make it back up to your car ? > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of > > > Gary Rohlke > > Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 1:23 AM > > To: North Raleigh Cyclists (Gyros) > > Subject: [Gyros: 15212] Re: Spring Gyro Mountain Ride > > > I will lead a B+ ride if anyone is interested. The B+ ride is intended for > > those who want a slightly slower pace than the A ride. > > The B+ group will also be the sweep group picking up the many weenies who > > retire from the A group. Please let Tony and I know if you are interested > > in the B+ ride so we can get a count. > > > 1. The B+ ride will follow the same route and rules as the A ride. > > > 2. The overall pace will be a bit slower than the A ride, but will not be > > leisurely. There are no leisurely rides in the mountains. > > > 3. The route, not including the three major climbs, consists of continuous > > rollers and long, steep inclines. Just that part of the route is more > > difficult than anything we ride here in Raleigh at that distance. > > > 4. There are three mountain climbs on the route. The climbs are each over > > two miles in length and there are no flat sections where you can rest. It > > is a continuous climb all the way up. Mountain roads in North Carolina were > > built following old goat and deer paths. If you have ever seen a deer or > > goat climb you know what I am talking about. > > During the pre-Nascar, moonshine running days in western NC the good old > > boys had 400+ cubic inch engines ("got a hemi?") in their cars so a little > > "incline" was no problem for them. Each of the three climbs is > > "interesting." Sauratown, the first mountain climb on the route, consists > > of three long switchbacks. Each switchback gets progressively steeper and > > longer with lengthy grades of 10% or better. It is probably the "easiest" > > of the three climbs but psychologically seems very difficult because you can > > see almost all the way up the last mile and your slow progress up the > > mountain is all > > too evident and disheartening. This is the first climb on the famous > > Three Mountain Madness (3MM). If you are new to mountain climbing it will > > be your wake up call. When I ride in the 3MM as I am starting the climb up > > Sauratown I get to watch the "big dogs" on their way down, which puts them > > about an hour ahead of me less than 20 miles into the ride. Talk about > > putting you in your place. There is no rest stop at the top of Sauratown, > > only a turnaround, fence, bugs (yes, some bees > > too) and a radio antenna farm. Next stop is Hanging Rock which is ranked by > > the Rocket Man (Tom > > Sheffieldhttp://ncbc.addr.com/documents/Rocket_Man_Climb_Ratings.htm) > > as the third most difficult climb in NC. It has several, steep switchbacks > > with a 15% grade or more in some places. The bottom section is the only > > place where you can see ahead for a few hundred feet, after that the road > > twists all over the place. It has restroom facilities (a good place to > > puke) and water available at the parking lot off to the left before you > > reach the summit. I have had the pleasure of bonking on Hanging Rock and it > > was all I could do to keep from going down backwards. We finish with Pilot > > Mountain. No, contrary to popular opinion, Andy Griffith did not ride his > > cruiser bike up Pilot Mountain from the fictional Mayberry (Mt. Airy). But > > I have ridden up Pilot Mountain, several times in fact, and lived to tell > > about it - barely. Each time I am grinding and cussing my way up Pilot > > Mountain I question my sanity. Rocket Man ranks it number 6 on his list of > > most difficult NC climbs. But it deserves better in my book. It is at the > > end of the route so you face it when you are tired. And you will be tired. > > It has two switchbacks that are so steep (~20% grade) that I have to lean > > over my handlebars just to keep the front wheel on the ground while barely > > turning over the cranks. > > The final mile or so is a constant 9-10% grade that just sucks the life out > > of your legs. You are so high at the top you can see all the way to > > California. There are facilities and a parking lot at the top > > of Pilot Mountain. The first time I made it to the top on the 3MM I > > rode over to a guy sitting on a bench and asked him to kick the c...@p > > out of me so I would never do it again. But I did and he didn't. > > Tony and I are toying with the idea of parking at the top of Pilot and > > starting the ride there thus forcing everyone to climb Pilot at the end of > > the ride to get back to the cars. Machiavellian, aren't we? > > > 5. All that being said don't let me scare you off - "you can do it!" > > I have done it - several times. Some suggestions though. a) You will need > > proper gearing. A compact crankset with a climbing gear on the cassette, > > such as a 25 or 27 tooth, is the minimum in my opinion. A triple is better. > > One time I put a mountain bike derailleur, longer chain and "pie pan" (34 > > tooth) gear on the cassette on my road bike to give me a nice, low climbing > > gear. b) Know your ability. Pace yourself throughout the ride and > > especially on the three mountain climbs. You should have the experience > > and common sense to ride at your own tempo. Everyone will have a different > > tempo and it is important you find and ride yours. Don't try to chase down > > or ride with someone faster and stronger than you on the climbs. You will > > bonk - I promise. c) Be aware of cramping. If you are susceptible to > > cramps on long climbs (like me) drink the proper amount of fluids and take > > supplements you know work. I have used Lava salts with some success. > > Others may have their favorite potions to recommend. d) It is OK to rest on > > the climbs. Just find a place to pull off the road and rest. I promise we > > won't call you names (at least until we are on the way back to Raleigh). > > Getting started again on a steep incline is another matter, one I will let > > you figure out and experience on your own. e) Be careful on the descents - > > you will pick up speed rapidly and the switchbacks can come at you in a > > hurry and surprise you (false cambers, oncoming traffic, etc.). Make sure > > your brakes are in good shape. One lesson I learned is to feather my front > > and back brakes alternately to allow the rims to stay cool. It is possible > > to flat by overheating the rims. Tony knows about that. f) You will get > > very tired and need to make an extra effort to stay attentive to the road > > conditions, other riders and traffic. > > > The good news is all of the mountain climbs are up and back down > > (loops) so you can ride part of the climb or skip it entirely and wait for > > everyone at the bottom. So come with us and enjoy some of the "high > > country." > > > Gary > > > On Apr 5, 8:18 am, "Tony" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > G's, > > > > Bert and I have scheduled a date for our spring mountain ride. > > > > Date is Saturday, May 15th. Mark your calendars! > > > > For all of you newbie Gyros, we have done this over the last 4 years > > > in preparation for upcoming mountain rides. > > > > This year we'll make our trip to Sauratown, Hanging Rock and Pilot > > > Mountains. > > > > The plan is the same as in the past. We'll meet at the Kohl's Store in > > Brier Creek early Saturday morning (6am), carpool to Pilot Mountain, have > > breakfast along the way, ride the course TOGETHER, and eat dinner on the > > return trip. So, if you haven't figured it out, this is a one day > > excursion. > > > > This is an A ride but B's are also welcome to join in IF you can get > > > enough to establish a group. The point here is to ride and stay together. > > > > On every climb, the philosophy will be every man for himself but we > > regroup at the bottom and will continue our trek to the next climb. What's > > nice about this is that you do not have to do every mountain or if you make > > it up part way and realize that the task at hand is just too great, turn > > around and meet everyone at the bottom. > > > > I believe the course is around 55 miles. > > > > It's a great time and a fantastic workout for those of you that are doing > > Blood, Sweat and Gears or the 3 Mountain Madness. > > > > We have had many Gyros do this in the past so we expect a great turnout > > this year too. > > > > If you are interested, we would like to get a head count so please email > > me, OFFLINE, to let me know. > > > > If the weather looks iffy or too many Gyros have this date already > > reserved, we'll reschedule for a Saturday in June. > > > > More information will come as we get closer. > > > > Thanks, Tony > > > -- > > You received this message because you subscribed to the Gyro email group. > > To post to this group, send an email to [email protected] To > > unsubscribe, send an email to [email protected] > > > To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject. > > No virus found in this incoming message. > > Checked by AVG -www.avg.com > > Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2796 - Release Date: 04/07/10 > > 06:32:00- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you subscribed to the Gyro email group. 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