The Rides

The Ride. It is the cathedral of our sport, where we worship at the altar of the Man with the Hammer. It is the end to our means. Indeed, The Bike may be the central tool to our sport, but to turn the pedals is to experience the sensation of freedom, of flight. It is all for The Ride.

The world is overflowing with small, twisty roads that capture our collective imagination as cyclists. We spend our lifetimes searching out the best routes and rides; we pore over maps, we share with our fellow disciples, we talk to non-cycling locals all in pursuit of the Perfect Ride.

The Rides is devoted entirely to the best routes and rides around the world. Some are races or cyclosportives, others feature in the Classics and stages of The Great Races, while others still are little-known gems, discovered through careful meditation on The V. Be warned: these rides are not your average Sunday Afternoon spin; these rides are the best and most difficult rides in the word – they represent the rites of passage into La Vie Velominatus. It is to be taken for granted that these rides require loads of Rule #5, many of them Rule #10, and all of them are best enjoyed in Rule #9 conditions. They have been shared by you, the community. The Rides also features articles devoted to the greatest rides and providess a forum for sharing other rides for discussion.

If you’d like to submit a ride or an article about your own favorite ride, please feel free to send it to us and we’ll do our best to work with you to include it.

[rideitem status=”public” title=”Haleakala” distance=”56km” category=”Grimpeur” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/50412514″ location=”Paia, Maui, Hawaii, USA”]

haleakala

Haleakala is simultaneously the longest paved continuous climb in the world as well as the shortest ascent from sea level to 10,000 feet in the world. Though not terribly steep, this is a long, grinding climb that will reduce a strong rider to a whimpering lump.

To put the effort in perspective, this climb is 60km long a an average of 6% with two pitches as steep as 17%. That translates to somewhere between 3 or more hours of nonstop climbing, usually in Maui’s direct heat and often into a whipping headwind that spins around into a headwind no matter which direction the switchbacks take you.

[/rideitem]

[rideitem statuc=public title=”Liege-Bastogne-Liege” distance=”265″ category=”Rouleur” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/58053308/” location=”Liege, Belgium”]

lbl

Liege-Bastogne-Liege is not only La Doyenne, the oldest of the Classics, but also represents perhaps the most demanding course in cycling. The 280 km, 3000m vertical route starts with an easy ride out from Liege to Bastogne which lulls riders into a false sense of security; the hills are frequent, but none of them terribly demanding. Into Bastogne, and the story changes on the way back to Liege with 9 categorized climbs in the second half, including the fearsome Côte de la Redoute and the Côte de Saint-Nicolas.

[/rideitem]

[rideitem status=public title=”Paris-Roubaix” category=”Hardman” distance=”265″ url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/58052610/” location=”Compiégne, France” guideurl=”http://www.cyclingpave.cc/” guide=”Pavé Cycling Classics”]

paris-roubaix

L’enfur du Nord. The Hell of The North. The Queen of the Classics. This isn’t a ride over the stones from your local brick-paved roads. You think climbs are what make a ride tough? We’ve got news for you: this is the hardest ride on the planet and it boasts a maximum elevation of 55 meters. These are vicious, brutal stones; the kind that will stretch each kilometer to their full length, the kind of stones that you will feel long after the rattling of the bars has stopped. These stones will change you. Forever.

[/rideitem]

[rideitem status=public title=”Mortirolo/Gavia Loop” category=”Grimpeur” distance=”115km” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/59027020/” location=”Bormio, Italy” contributor=”Joe”]

The Mortirolo is perhaps the most feared pass in Western Europe, and the Gavia the most storied. Given their proximity to each other, its a wonder why this isn’t the most talked-about ride in Italy. Maybe it is; its impossible to say without being Italian. The loop nature of this ride makes it feasible as a solo escapade, but any ride with the kind of stats this one bears – 3200 meters ascended in 115 kilometers including the viscously steep Mortirolo – is best enjoyed with a riding partner or support car.

[/rideitem]

[rideitem status=public title=”200 on 100″ category=”Grimpeur” distance=”330km” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/58052808/” location=”Vernon, VT” contributor=”cdelinks” contributorurl=”http://cyclowhat.com”]

“Dumptruck of Awesome” has become the catch-phrase associated with this brutally hard, yet strikingly beautiful 330 kilometer (200 mile) ride down Vermont Route 100.  This ride was made popular during the summer of 2011 when Ted King, Tim Johnson, and a local amateur cyclist, Ryan Kelly, documented this ride on film. The ride starts on the Canadian border and finishes on the Massachusetts border.  With over 2500 meters of climbing on this 330 kilometer ride, you will need to pack a few lunches to get through this one.  Do this ride in the Fall, and the foliage might be beautiful enough to distract you from the horrible pain you will most certainly suffer.

[/rideitem]

[rideitem status=”public” title=”De Ronde Van West Portlandia” distance=”76km” category=”Grimpeur” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/15276210″ location=”Portland, Oregon, USA”]

A ride that officially “never happens” each spring, this 76 km route charts a course through Portland’s West Hills, paying homage to the European Spring Classics. Approximately 1,800 meters of paved and unpaved climbs are spread throughout the course, with several sections reaching grades of over 20%. More information can be found at Ronde PDX.

[/rideitem]

[rideitem status=public title=”Seattle Master Urban Ride” category=”Rouleur” distance=”130km” url=http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/57732282 location=”Seattle, Washington, USA”]

seattleronde

This is perhaps the most challenging urban route in Seattle, hitting three of the big hills that define Seattle’s topography. The route starts and ends on Phinney Ridge, but hits the climbs of Interlaken and Alder Street/Lake Dell Drive on its way to Mercer Island, before coming back to hit Queen Anne and Magnolia, weaving its way up each of these hills as many times as possible via the steepest route available before the finale to the north via Golden Gardens, Blue Ridge Drive, and Carkeek Park. Panoramic views of the Cascades, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, The Olympic Penninsula and Puget Sound makes this a standout Urban ride.

[/rideitem]

3,329 Replies to “The Rides”

  1. Wellington Wednesday World Champs, I am riding in a white Capital Cycles top, black shorts, red Bonts, white socks and a BMC SLR01of course! Strong NW @ 20-30kph , N is straight up from the map top right, telemetry bottom left, most fun you can have in an hour, all welcome!

  2. @markb

    @markb

    @markb

    OK, so how about this for a ride? Steven Abraham is planning on beating the record set by Tommy Godwin in 1939 who cycled over 75,000 miles (sorry, not in Km, this was set in England and they didn’t particularity like johnny-foreigner measures back then with old Adolf stomping around Europe). At around 330 Km a day, every day for a year, that makes a grand-tour look like a gentle stroll in the park.

    I note from his page (http://oneyeartimetrial.org.uk) he’s ignoring some of The Rules, but big V’s to the man.

    a good article on this effort: http://www.chapeau.cc/blog/tommy-godwins-wheel-tracks

    He’s up to 2,372.9 Km, as of the 8th.

    He’s now up to 7,500 km so far, ahead of the pace set by Tommy in ’39.

    as of yesterday, Steve’s ridden 17,614.5km, or just shy of 11,000 miles in old money. Averaging 303 km a day, every day since 1st Jan.

    Write out 100 times:

    “I will not moan about riding in bad weather for an hour or two”

  3. Hey guys, looks like I may be heading to the Solvang area tomorrow to ride for 3-4 days.  Anyone here rode around there?

  4. Any of the Aussie Velominati at the Peaks Challenge Falls Creek this weekend?

  5. First rear ride of the year yesterday (Wisconsin finally warmed enough to get the ice off of the roads). Windy with temps above 40 for the first time in 4 months. 50 km. Great Wisconsin smells of smoke, skunk, and sh*t. Legs felt like noodles at the end but dodged TMWTH. Felt great to be out. Will do a longer ride tomorrow.

  6. Hmmm – just been invited to join a Dunkerque to Roubaix ride at the end of April.  9 sections of Pave and finish in the stadium.  Organised by Hot Chillee.

    ·         165km classic with Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas who won the Junior Paris-Roubaix in 2004
    ·         Featuring 1987 Triple Champion Stephen Roche who also won it as a Junior in 1980
    ·         Rare access to Roubaix stadium and facilities including the famous Roubaix showers and pro riders bar
    ·         9 Pavé sections / 11 km
    ·         Outriders, lead cars, service corps and medical support
    ·         Yellow race section 14km on Paris-Roubaix parkers – best pro, amateur, male and female as well as best team
    ·         Limited entries
    ·         Seeded speed groups
    ·         Ride the last 40 km of Paris-Roubaix and finish in the stadium
    ·         Finish line Champagne
    ·         HotChillee Ride Captains
    ·         Professional support crew
    ·         Timing and race number
    ·         Official finishers medal
    ·         Event t-shirt
    ·         Access and use of digital photos
    ·         Includes one nights accommodation, parking and transfer back from Roubaix to Dunkerque for rider and bike.
    ·         Celebrity dinner on Saturday Night

    That’s going to be hard to turn down so I guess I’ve got some work to do to get fit in short order…………..

  7. @markb

    @markb

    @markb

    OK, so how about this for a ride? Steven Abraham is planning on beating the record set by Tommy Godwin in 1939 who cycled over 75,000 miles (sorry, not in Km, this was set in England and they didn’t particularity like johnny-foreigner measures back then with old Adolf stomping around Europe). At around 330 Km a day, every day for a year, that makes a grand-tour look like a gentle stroll in the park.

    I note from his page (http://oneyeartimetrial.org.uk) he’s ignoring some of The Rules, but big V’s to the man.

    a good article on this effort: http://www.chapeau.cc/blog/tommy-godwins-wheel-tracks

    He’s up to 2,372.9 Km, as of the 8th.

    He’s now up to 7,500 km so far, ahead of the pace set by Tommy in ’39.

    latest milestone (sic) is 25,069.0km reached yesterday.

  8. Knee pain!

    I’ve ridden over 1,000 kms on my bike since November, and not changed anything in terms of fit since I moved the bars down by one spacer a couple of months ago, and after a 50km ride this morning one of my knees hurts! Came on while I was riding now throbbing and sore to bend/straighten. Outside top of kneecap.

    Any ideas?

  9. @RobSandy

    Knee pain!

    I’ve ridden over 1,000 kms on my bike since November, and not changed anything in terms of fit since I moved the bars down by one spacer a couple of months ago, and after a 50km ride this morning one of my knees hurts! Came on while I was riding now throbbing and sore to bend/straighten. Outside top of kneecap.

    Any ideas?

    Big ring riding? See a sports physio to manage pain, get some exercises from physio for maintance. Last October I was 10km into a 100 km ride and my left knee felt pinched bigtime. Turned around, went home. Saw physio, rested for a week, wore a thermal knee compression, went to 172.5 crank arms from 175, put on speedplays, pushed saddle a little forward, been ok since.

  10. @sthilzy

    Big ring riding?

    Not really. I tend to go for higher cadences when climbing, which is was when it was most painful. And it was an extended loop on my commute so I was committed to riding all the way through to work once I realised it wasn’t just a ‘warming up’ type ache.

    Puzzled. In recent weeks I’ve done loads without a twinge, but I didn’t get out on the weekend so haven’t ridden since last Wednesday.

    Think I’ll put my bike on the train to get home and just rest up this week.

  11. Feeling like Eduard Delacroix from The Green Mile “I sure wish I could’ve met you guys somewheres else (before now).” I missed the ride Saturday. What’s wrong with me ??

  12. @piwakawaka

    @RobSandy

    try rolling your ITB with a foam roller, outside of your quad.

    Thanks. I’ve self-diagnosed as having an overly tight vastus lateralis (the outside front of the quads) and the therapy is stretching, foam-rollering and massage of the ITB.

    So I’ll give that a go over the next couple of weeks and see how we go.

  13. @piwakawaka

    @RobSandy

    try rolling your ITB with a foam roller, outside of your quad.

    Using a foam roller hurts like shit! I had no idea!

    A few twinges from my knee during this morning’s commute – I’ll give it another week of rolling agony before I go running to the physio. Well, I wont run, obviously.

    I think the reason my knee started hurting is that I fitted an EPMS to my road bike for the first time (I had mitigating circumstances – I had to take a lock with me to work and couldn’t fit that in a jersey pocket). Clearly the Prophet has inflicted pains on me to remind me not to violate this rule, my bike and myself in this way again.

  14. @RobSandy

    @piwakawaka

    @RobSandy

    try rolling your ITB with a foam roller, outside of your quad.

    Using a foam roller hurts like shit! I had no idea!

    A few twinges from my knee during this morning’s commute – I’ll give it another week of rolling agony before I go running to the physio. Well, I wont run, obviously.

    I think the reason my knee started hurting is that I fitted an EPMS to my road bike for the first time (I had mitigating circumstances – I had to take a lock with me to work and couldn’t fit that in a jersey pocket). Clearly the Prophet has inflicted pains on me to remind me not to violate this rule, my bike and myself in this way again.

    Stick with it, it is worth it. This weekends suffering was this:

    http://www.ramblers.co.nz/index.php/events/taihape-to-napier

    https://app.strava.com/activities/275133930

    Managed to stay with the front group until third climb then a group of 8 formed up and I was distanced on the fourth climb, 2km at 11% -18% max, solo for the last 50km, became very well acquainted with my stem, 2400m over 132km was always gonna be hard, but damn racing over that shit is really tough, happy with 8th ‘oldman’ 28th overall and 20min off the winner’s time. Deep in the cave below, was unable to stand at this point because of cramps, the drool from my chin is down near my knees.

    nearly there…

    thank fuck…

  15. @Mikael Liddy

    @piwakawaka reckon that middle shot is a pretty good *modern* interpretation of RdV’s favourite position on top of the hoods, very nice.

    makes a huge difference, no doubt, but I did have time to get myself sorted as the VMH took the shot, as she was my soigneur, DS, photo-moto and No.1 cheerleader, so I knew it was coming.

  16. @piwakawaka

    Good skills! That looks awesome. I’ve been to NZ as a tourist, I’d love to have the opportunity to do some riding there some day.

    I have been persevering with the roller, and took the hilly route to work this morning…and didn’t even have a twinge from my knee. So either it was a one off and wont happen again, or the roller is fixing whatever the problem was, or it’s a problem with my road bike set up (I was on my commuter bike this morning).

    I’m hyper paranoid about the state of my knees; about 8 years ago I overcame a knee problem so severe that after a couple of hours mountain biking I couldn’t drive a car for 2 days, due to the pain of pushing the clutch pedal. They have been fine since a very intense 3 months of physio but I still worry about the problem coming back. Also ironic that due to other injuries biking is pretty much the only thing I can do!

  17. @RobSandy

    I sure ‘aint no Doc but my understanding is that your IT Band shortens down your quad and pulls your kneecap out of alignment, the roller  helps to lengthen it out again re-aligning the kneecap, once you are used to the pain in your quad do the hamstrings three of them, on the back of your thigh, calves, glutes and roll your spine! I love my roller, you also engage your core while using it.

  18. @piwakawaka

    @RobSandy

    I sure ‘aint no Doc but my understanding is that your IT Band shortens down your quad and pulls your kneecap out of alignment, the roller  helps to lengthen it out again re-aligning the kneecap, once you are used to the pain in your quad do the hamstrings three of them, on the back of your thigh, calves, glutes and roll your spine! I love my roller, you also engage your core while using it.

    yup, what he said.

    Once you’re riding heavily (you’ve been doing some TT training if memory serves), it’s probably best to give the guns a roller session a week to keep things nice & limber.

  19. The IT band is thick, strong, not really elastic, and is connected to the femur in several places along its length. It is also not connected to the quads or the patella in any meaningful way. So not only is it practically impossible to stretch the IT band by foam rolling, but such stretching would also have no real effect on kneecap alignment.

  20. @TheF

    The IT band is thick, strong, not really elastic, and is connected to the femur in several places along its length. It is also not connected to the quads or the patella in any meaningful way. So not only is it practically impossible to stretch the IT band by foam rolling, but such stretching would also have no real effect on kneecap alignment.

    Fair enough. Rolling my quads does seem to help though. I don’t know if what I thought was the ITB is actually the outer extent of the vastus lateralis. It feels extremely tight though.

  21. @RobSandy

    @TheF

    The IT band is thick, strong, not really elastic, and is connected to the femur in several places along its length. It is also not connected to the quads or the patella in any meaningful way. So not only is it practically impossible to stretch the IT band by foam rolling, but such stretching would also have no real effect on kneecap alignment.

    Fair enough. Rolling my quads does seem to help though. I don’t know if what I thought was the ITB is actually the outer extent of the vastus lateralis. It feels extremely tight though.

    Physio put me onto pretzel stretches – works a treat (for me with prior nagging knee pain, now gone)

    http://www.knee-pain-explained.com/glute-stretches.html

  22. @sthilzy

    @RobSandy

    @TheF

    The IT band is thick, strong, not really elastic, and is connected to the femur in several places along its length. It is also not connected to the quads or the patella in any meaningful way. So not only is it practically impossible to stretch the IT band by foam rolling, but such stretching would also have no real effect on kneecap alignment.

    Fair enough. Rolling my quads does seem to help though. I don’t know if what I thought was the ITB is actually the outer extent of the vastus lateralis. It feels extremely tight though.

    Physio put me onto pretzel stretches – works a treat (for me with prior nagging knee pain, now gone)

    http://www.knee-pain-explained.com/glute-stretches.html

    So are you saying you think my problem is I have a tight arse?

  23. Visiting the in-laws, terrible nights sleep due to 3 year old getting up every 2 hours to chat to me. Mother in law suggested taking my bike out. Did a 80k loop around the New Forest in horrible weather.

    Everything is better now.

  24. I just got back in from my first road bike ride of the year, mostly because I just could not wait any longer.  Summer is not here yet, spring isn’t even here yet, and this was just a 7km loop around my neighborhood at 2°C, strong gusting winds, snow/sludge/ice/puddles and a minor hailstorm, but it was still great! Not even the sight of my spectaculary inept taping job could ruin the fun…

  25. @Sparty

    In Iceland… My ride since late October has been a mountain bike with spiked tyres, which gets old rather quickly.

  26. Velominipper educational day out. Took the eldest two, Katie (14) and Angus (12) to the Olympic Velodrome today. Two hours on the road circuit followed by two hours on the boards.

    The first session finished with a time trial. Katie edged the win over Angus by a slim 2 seconds. The track session ended with a timed flying lap. Eagger to show his skills Angus failed to listen to the coach and rode high line whilst Katie paid attention and kept it tight.

    The youngest, Ed, is properly pissed off as he’s got to wait another two years before he’s old enough.

  27. @Quasar

    I just got back in from my first road bike ride of the year, mostly because I just could not wait any longer.  Summer is not here yet, spring isn’t even here yet, and this was just a 7km loop around my neighborhood at 2°C, strong gusting winds, snow/sludge/ice/puddles and a minor hailstorm, but it was still great! Not even the sight of my spectaculary inept taping job could ruin the fun…

    Iceland!?! Wow, this one’s earning his fermented shark.

  28. My first competitive ride since The Big Off today. A Team Time Trial which went pretty well.

    We won, and were only a couple of seconds off the time we set in September when we narrowly came second to the UAE national team on the same course. And that was when we had super-strong Jamie.

    I think having a more even-strength team made it much smoother and more of a team effort. Plus this time I was on a proper TT bike (that’s my Trinity in the pic). Huge difference in effort. I’m still not 100% so no heroics but I was pleased that I was able to do my share – I certainly wasn’t a passenger.

    Non-geeks can look away now… @Tessar read on. NP of 287 and average 274 today versus NP of 300 and average 292 in September.

    Interestingly my VI in September was 1.03 and today was 1.06. While the average power reflects the more efficient effort on the front, the VI shows that I was getting a better recovery between turns.

    I wish someone had been on the course to take photos – I would love to see how my position compares to the other guys now. From the shadows it looked pretty good – I was nice and narrow and could see the outside of the bars on both sides when the sun was directly behind me.

  29. @ChrisO

    Someone’s chopped the front of your saddle off. For a TT bike that’s a fine looking amchine

    Glad to hear that your’e almost back to pre-@teocalli strength and power. I should know from all the post ride reports I’m getting from my indoor sessions but what is VI (other than the Velominati equivalent of turning it up to 11) and what does it mean?

  30. @Chris

    @ChrisO

    Someone’s chopped the front of your saddle off. For a TT bike that’s a fine looking amchine

    Glad to hear that your’e almost back to pre-@teocalli strength and power. I should know from all the post ride reports I’m getting from my indoor sessions but what is VI (other than the Velominati equivalent of turning it up to 11) and what does it mean?

    Yes I have gone a bit native with the stumpy saddle but that was as-recommended-by the guy who bike fits Richie Porte so I wasn’t going to argue.

    The bidonkadonk is a necessity – the thing is so narrow-profile there are no screws for bottle cages on the down tube. Having to reach behind to get the bottle was quite alarming at first, along with the general feeling of being less stable on the TT bike.

    VI is Variability Index @Chris. Basically how much your power goes up and down. So if you are doing a steady-state ride at  250 watts you ideally want to be holding between 240-260 not going up to 280 then falling down to 220, even though both might produce the same average.

    TT and triathlon, especially Ironman, is classic VI territory where they aim to have a very steady power output for long periods. 1.06 is still quite low but a solo TT or tri bike leg would be under 1.05 and as close to 1 as possible. If your NP and average power are identical then your VI will be 1.

  31. @ChrisO

    @Chris

    @ChrisO

    Someone’s chopped the front of your saddle off. For a TT bike that’s a fine looking amchine

    Glad to hear that your’e almost back to pre-@teocalli strength and power. I should know from all the post ride reports I’m getting from my indoor sessions but what is VI (other than the Velominati equivalent of turning it up to 11) and what does it mean?

    VI is Variability Index @Chris. Basically how much your power goes up and down. So if you are doing a steady-state ride at  250 watts you ideally want to be holding between 240-260 not going up to 280 then falling down to 220, even though both might produce the same average.

    TT and triathlon, especially Ironman, is classic VI territory where they aim to have a very steady power output for long periods. 1.06 is still quite low but a solo TT or tri bike leg would be under 1.05 and as close to 1 as possible. If your NP and average power are identical then your VI will be 1.

    Awesome. It would seem that I’m, silky smooth. 1.01 to 1.03 seems to be the range I’m getting during the indoor sessions if you exclude the warm up and cool down elments (arriving late, faffing around with the HR strap and falling off the bike are never going to give accurate readings).

    I’d probably put some of that down to all the roller sessions I’ve done over the last few years but I can’t imagine it would look quite as pretty transferred to the road. I really would like a power meter.

  32. @Quasar

    “The word “brennivín” translates to English as “burning wine”…”

    Now there’s a beverage I’ll have to try at least once (and reminds me that I have a bottle of akvavit on the shelf at home).

  33. @DeKerr

    @Quasar

    “The word “brennivín” translates to English as “burning wine”…”

    Now there’s a beverage I’ll have to try at least once (and reminds me that I have a bottle of akvavit on the shelf at home).

    I believe it is akvavit (water of life!) in terms of how it is made. Those who like that kind of drink in the first place tend to like this one, but those who don’t say it just tastes of pain. The shark on the other hand smells to high heaven but if you can get past that the taste is actually decent. Aquired taste for sure. Shark and Brennivín go together by the way, a match made in…???

  34. Weather is shaping up to make Dunkerque – Roubaix an interesting ride on Sunday.  Looks like my first Pave will be a wet one.

  35. Did any other Velominati ride the Cheesehead Roubaix yesterday? It was a fine day out: 270 riders, a great course, the gravel was dry and (mostly) smooth and Lovers Lane not too much of a mud pit. Dave Hanrahan and Belgianwerckx deserve a huge round of applause for putting on such a great free event.

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