Here’s the funny thing about cycling: I go out of my way to find the biggest and hardest hills I can, and I start to talk excitedly about how “good” the climbs are. “Good” in this application is taken to mean hard, steep, and long. Then, when I actually ride these “good” climbs, I suffer like a pig and find all I can do is try to keep my lungs from popping out through my eye sockets. I am increasingly certain this can in fact happen.
I found a site called MapMyRide. When I say, “found” what I really mean is “VeloNews posted a Site of the Day which happened to be MapMyRide and I clicked on the link and when the web site loaded, I saw it was cool.” I used a similar technique to “find” the Google on the Internets.
Anyhoochiemama, I played with this site, and it is awesome. I highly recommend that you sign up (free) and use the site even if you don’t ride, but partake in any activity which involves a route, such as walking, hiking, or Embrioing.
Naturally, I mapped the regular training route that Michelle, Jim, and I have painstakingly put together. Since I have obsessive-compulsive disorder, this took about an hour and a half. (I was really freaked out about doubling back on the route since the little green line looked wavy when doubled up, so I redid all the parts of the route that had doubled up sections and made sure the little green line stays neatly on opposite sides of the street in those areas. That was another solid 35 minutes.)
Here’s a screen shot (no, Paris, that is not the same as a money shot):
Coolest part of this tool: there is an elevation option which shows the elevation of the route and displays a neat little profile along the bottom of the map. To my delight and surprise, the little elevation tool told me I’m not a ninny and that the 36km route has a total elevation gain of 1500m (that’s almost a mile, for you Americans out there).
Check the route out here: MapMyRide.com
Mapmyride is great, if (being a web dev of sorts) I find it painfully slow.
Just wondering, how do you find riding in the city. I’m currently a student in a city (yes a real city, with a cathedral) of 45,000 people. And it takes a maximum of 10 minutes to get out of the city onto country roads or drafting cars on the dual carriageway.
I had a really awesome time on this ride with Frank and Josh (eventhough I was a day past my peak). But would someone please tell Frank and Jim that they need to change their T-shirts because there’s no way in hell Lighthouse is 22%.
@Marko
And I once caught a fist “this” big!
Hmm. 1500 meters in 36 kilometers. *yawn*
@Steampunk
That’s eiither a typo or more information than we needed …
@Geof
Oh dear God! Fish! I said fish! Dumb, stupid qwerty keyboard.
@Steampunk
@Steampunk
… sigh of relief …
@Marko
Ditto Marko on enjoying the ride, and ditto again on the skepticism of the lighthouse climb rating. From Le Frank’s description, I also expected it to be longer. I was looking for a big switchback that just never happened. Definitely a solid urban training ride all in all. 1500m? Really? @David, you have every right to yawn, but having ridden the route I am shocked that there could be that much gain in there. I’m into it, though. And I especially enjoyed Le Frank’s “pacesetting tactics” of withholding route information at key moments and calling out “TRIPPELL!” when he was too lazy to mash on the hills.
Dude, the “H” uses the right hand and the “T” uses the left. Fess up, you caught the fist didn’t you?
I was really thinking this site has changed in the short time I’ve been here…
Sigt…
@Joshua, Marko
Ok, Ok, we’re just going off the data that Jim’s GPS gives us. I’m not smart enough to question technology.
And all this talk of “expecting” another switchback…you know we rode DOWN the hill before riding UP it, right? I mean, you actually rode the entire hill before turning around to go back up. So, this mystical switchback – did you think the road was going to reconfigure itself before we headed back up?
I also find it interesting that all this tough talk about this climb is coming from one guy who rode it in a triple, and the other guy who rode it in a compact. Forget to mention that bid, did we?
@Steampunk
The mark of a genius is evident in the subtlety of that comment.
@frank
What? Where? Oh fuck!
@frank
And had you mentioned, “hey, this is the lighthouse hill” when we rode down it, I might have known. As I said, I was expecting more. Had I known, I would have mashed the 53 and left the little ring clean. See, for example, everywhere else on the ride…
@frank
As for whinging about triples and compacts, please see Rule 5. You might be familiar with it. It goes well with a potential Rule #78: It is poor form, but not always forbidden, to complain about a riding partner’s more efficient, objectionable, or less manly equipment or gearing when they are dropping you because you are too fat to climb (see Rule 5). Poorer still if they are not actually using said equipment or gearing while dropping you.
@Joshua
And then there’s the strategy of dropping your friends by not telling them where to turn on a route they’ve never ridden.
Geez! The three of you sound like you’re on a grade school playground. HTFU!
1. Oh, Frank! This doesn’t sound good. Any of it. Not good at all. Poor form.
2. Although, Joshua: triple? And you need your Garmin GPS to know where you’re going? Pretty weak, my friend. Beer in the bidons and bacon sounded good, but now it sounds like show-boating and the cognoscenti frown on that sort of thing. HTFU. (But I was carrying it for extra weight! Uh huh).
3. I’ll give you a pass, Marko, but that passive aggressive whinge at the end has got to stop. It’s very Canadian and we don’t take well to pretenders to our crown.
Sounds like y’all need some cheese to go with that wtine.
Chapeau
wow….sounds like someone has ‘found their form’ here
I for one was on an unfamiliar group ride last night, shown good hospitality and was the oldest one. I was also the first one back from the turn around point. I relished in pushing when I knew it was time and riding when it wasn’t when the younger ones were pedaling squares. Marko is right, you need to know when to push, and when not to…
I like ‘mapmyride’. Its a good site, used it for about 3 yrs now. The one downer to it is the elevation. I for one do not find its elevation ticker to be either helpful other than telling you in a very big way where hills and climbs are, but in terms of overall numbers it doesn’t tell you alot. The percentages it lays down are inaccurate and the overall ascent/descent is bogus, but trends are alright.
@Steampunk
None of it’s true. They’re making it all up to make themselves feel better for being outclimbed by the biggest guy in the group.
@Souleur
I’ve noticed the same thing; this post picture here is captured from one of their earlier versions, and the new version is skewed in the opposite direction. It’s really brutally hard to get this kind of thing right, and I’m not sure why they try. Showing the profile is one thing, but I’m not sure why they try to attach numbers. (For example, the start/stop is at the same spot but the plot here shows a differnt amount of accent vs. descent.)
This one is about 30% too generous from what Jim’s GPS plots, and my old Polar altimeter (which I haven’t used in years) had it at something like 3000m but I think that was so far off because the air pressure changes so dramatically when you’re in the Marine Layer.
At the end of the day, this is a great, really hard route with lots of climbing, but it’s not as brutal as this shows. At the time I wrote this post three years ago, it certainly felt more accurate as I was hauling myself back into some semblance of form.
@Steampunk
As usual the cheekiness of my comments is lost in the literal translation of the typed word. Joshua and I are just throwing jabs out left over from the ride, all in fun of course. Very cool ride with good friends. And Frank’s right, he was the fattest guy in the group.
@Steampunk
Wasn’t my bike. What can you do? (although I do ride a triple, for reasons that will become clear over time)
@ steampunk: all those gears make me confuscious…
plus my hands start cramping from all the clicking…clicking…clicking…
@Joshua
See? More excuses! That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Why didn’t you tear the extra chainring out with your teeth (and solder it back on afterwards with your sweat)? It seems Pac-10 grad schools are slipping mightily…
@Souleur
I know what you mean. I can’t count lower than 53 or higher than 11.
@Steampunk
Fair play, monsieur, fair play. WE RIDE IN PHOENIX!
@Steampunk
You are a fucking genius.
There is a deep truth in that contradicting statement that I’m going to to have to think about for a long time.
@Joshua
Oh it’s on! (and looking forward to it—it’ll be nice to finally meet you).
@frank
I’m still struggling with this one, too. But I think it’s inner truth is the essence of a true hardman…
@steampunk: “I’m still struggling with this one, too. But I think it’s inner truth is the essence of a true hardman.”
Or someone too lazy to fix his broken rear derailleur cable.
@david
Hmmm. Perhaps: I’ll have to check. I’ve never used it before…