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 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.
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[rideitem statuc=public title=”Liege-Bastogne-Liege” distance=”265″ category=”Rouleur” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/58053308/” location=”Liege, Belgium”]
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.
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[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”]
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.
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[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.
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[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.
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[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.
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[rideitem status=public title=”Seattle Master Urban Ride” category=”Rouleur” distance=”130km” url=http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/57732282 location=”Seattle, Washington, USA”]
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.
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@Vin’cenza
Nice to see you back Vin, couldn’t stay away huh?
@snoov
Back to the bike. Later
@Tartan1749
Quite a grip in this one, too.
Tour of the Gila 2012
Redmond Watershed Trail, a mere 35km ride from Seattle:
@G’rilla
Dude, you’re killing me with those! I gotta get that CX-V built!!
@G’rilla
@frank
I have been saving my pennies at this summer I plan on doin some Rule #12 work with a…Gasp…29er. To enjoy te beutifull single track in the desert.
Great day in the PNW for bike racing and girl watching:
Oh ya; bike racing too (my boy “Calves” bringing a packed field up the hill);
@RedRanger
I’m surprised at the price of mountain bikes (or maybe I have only looked at the high end ones).
The Devinci Atlas is US$4,000, aluminium, and 28 lbs! And I’m not convinced it would serve me better than a Van Dessel G&T with 40mm tires and a 32t rear cog for most of the stuff I plan to ride.
what g’rilla said @RED RANGER. afterall the wheels are the same diameter, you can dial in the same fit as your roadie, and get more chicks.
@RedRanger
650b. Just wait.
@G’rilla
28lbs for a 29er trail bike is pretty respectable, and despite what you’ve read it could be made lighter.
@marko
You could (and should) ride those gravel roads on your road bike. And real singletrack isn’t much fun on a cross bike after an hour of it.
@G’rilla
@marko
A proper cross bike would cost me way more than the the 29er I’ll be getting. Trust me I looked into it.
@brett
Not gonna wait on 650b and not convinced its even neccessery.
But your right. I’ve done my research and talked to folks and a 29er MTB is the way to go for the trails we have right here in the city. Arizona and Tucson specifically has some incredibly diverse trails. From high desert to pine forests. And yeah I could/should ride my road bike on gravel.
Rocky Mountain trailhead 29er
Just over 1k. Not fancy but hey, I only work part time and go to school 40 hours a week.
@RedRanger
That’s a well-specced bike. Just get the shop to swap the tyres out.
Any Velominati recommendations for what type of Mountain bike I should get if I was to get one in Canberra? It looks flat as a pancake for the most part, and none of the local hills from what I gather look hugely steep – but I see heaps of guys tooling round on long travel harry hardcore huck bikes. What’s the terrain like? (I’m actually too lazy to rent a bike and find out so just tell me)
@brett
Good tip. Thanks.
@minion
You and mountain biking don’t mix.
Canberra has the best trails in the country, which is the only thing it has going for it. A 100mm 29er would be a good choice there… but, you’re not a mountain biker. Or a Kiwi anymore.
I knew I should have insulted you first. Miss me much? Thought so. I might just go SS to see what it’s like for a while.
PS if this is the best in the country, then shouse?
@minion
Maybe one of these?
Yeah, forget about long travel. So last year.
I’m pretty happy with my HT 29’er… Vassago frame, XT/XTR components, Reba SL 100mm shock, Stan’s Crest tubeless wheelset. I’m into it about $USD 2k. Got ‘er set up a lot like the road bike, but not exactly (mtb’s are different, kids). Just a shade over 12kg. Perfect for climbing.
In the early nineties we rode singlet rack like it was our job. Nothing will build your handling and pedaling skills like the rooted, muddy, sandy, thorny, shit single track we rode in Pilsbury Forest near Brainerd, MN. We had 65km of it, and the course record was around 7 hours. That’s almost 10kph. At full fucking clip. Of course, we had no suspension – maybe a rock shock – and my dad got a prototype full suspension Cannondale MTB frame for free because he had the honor of being the first person to get a frame warrantied though their lifetime guarantee program a the time. They were so shocked (he snapped the chain stay on one of our more technical climbs) that they sent him the FS bike. It sucked massive ass – FS was a though nut to crack and they hadn’t cracked it yet. I think they have with the scalpel by the way, awesome bike.
I digress. All I wanted to do was post a pic of my hero, Johnny Tomac, on his drop bar MTB, because he was too bad ass for straight bars.
Mountain biking is about having a fucking blast. End of.
@G’rilla
Test out a specialized epic 29er if u can live without carbon( there is a carbon version, but then anything is available for a price…). Should allow u to crush tiger mountain and save u a grand over whatever that is ur lookin at. I rented one in asheville, and riding up a >20% grade on road was stiff as hell (and didnt manually lock it out, just rode) felt almost as efficent as a road bike. Rocked the single track without being punishing at all. Took a while to not just buy one when i got back. Still dreaming of 29ers… I hear that any dually with the “pro-pedal” system will exhibit that type of dual personality.
@frank
Brainerd?
@gaswepass
Yep, that’s what I’ve got.
The Epic has “The Brain” which basically locks both front and rear suspension until you hit a bump. Works seamlessly. Mine’s 10.4kg. It is an amazing ride. Tried the Stumpjumper 29er Hardtail as well. Probably a poofteenth faster going uphill, though over a long ride, I found myself far more fatigued than with the rear suspension, which means in a race longer than 3 hours would likely be faster.
New equation is required for clarification: S-1 = n+3
@mouse
Shirley you can’t be serious… I’ about as far to the opposite end of teh spectrum as far as MTBs go. The one I want the most is prolly a fully rigid single speed. In my size I think 29ers look like clown bikes (not judging, just not for me) and I think the handling sucks. “Improved rollover” = good luck turning that fucker quickly.
@minion
That’s what I like about you, even though you know you’re talking bollocks, you still say it anyway.
this trail is 15 minutes to the east. Nothing like Jumping Cholla to help you improve your bike handling
And this 10 minutes west. @frank is right, this is gonna be fun!
@brett
FWIW I also think rear suspension on a MTB is a pointless waste of time and completely unnecessary.
@minion
Here in Arizona we have 2 pretty big MTB races, both in the spring. first one is down my ways(actually volenteered at it a couple of years ago)Its a 24 hour race in the Desert. We get folks doing it solo on a totally rigid SS 29er and doing 16-18 laps on a 18 mile course. the other race it up north a ways in the mountains, plenty of climbing and plenty of stuff to get in the way.
this guy one it this year on a full suspension 29er
point is the bike you get depends on what your gonna ride.
@brett
Pur-urtey-much.
@minion
And there’s the exclamation point on the stupidity!
@minion
Says the man who has to have a hand shoved up his ass to make his mouth work.
And, don’t call me Shirley.
I used to think as you do, until I rode one.
FWIW, I’m 168 cm tall (5’6″) in old speak. Midget territory. I used to think that I could never get my little body to deal with the clown wheels. I was wrong.
I’m on a size small, and it fits me real nice.
The whole ponderous steering bizzo is bullshit based on what you ‘think’ it going to be like rather than how it actually rides. It’s faster through corners cause you carry more speed into them. You also have far more grip due to the larger contact patch.
Until you actually ride one, I’d suggest it’s best to reserve judgement.
@brett
Canberra: also the porn and fireworks headquarters of Australia. Dont sell it short.
@mouse
@minion
Think you two should settle this man to man. Apologies for the size of the (people in the) photo.
@Marcus
I bags the mullet!
@ChrisO
I can’t get the time off. Have a good’n.
RedRanger
Yep. Which in Canberra is… the crux of the question. For such a seemingly flat place, admittedly I haven’t ridden here much, I’ve seen a lot of 160 -180mm travel bikes, guys with body armour riding to the trails, etc. I knew Bretto would pitch a 29er cos he owns one, even though for the stuff I enjoyed riding in Welly, I thought a 26 inch wheel bike was better. Or, I probably couldn’t clear on a 29er, and would be lucky to clear on a 26 inch wheel bike. (Bretto knows I’m shit at mountain biking), and I haven’t seen that many 29ers around (admittedly flawed straw poll). I guess I don’t wanna buy, for instance a 29er and find every trail round here is a shuttle trail/downhill run, or buy something like a Speccy Enduro and find miles of flat, rolling terrain.
@mouse
No offence meant, if I don’t lay my erroneous assumptions on the table people can’t correct them. I’ve had a long love – hate relationship with mountain biking, mostly loving it till I prang myself and then hate it for a couple of years till I want to get back into it, along with a number of years cycle couriering on 26 inch wheel bikes. Over that time I’ve seen a bunch of innovations, but my dream mtb remains a custom rigid SS based on aesthetics, the type of riding I’ve enjoyed the most and what I’ve ridden in the past.
@brett
If we could have signatures, this’d be it.
@minion
Hey, no offence taken…
Obviously my attempt at humour relating to your avatar fell flat.
All that I was trying to say was that I was firmly in the camp you are currently in (ie. 29ers are stupid / look wrong / are ponderous / handle shit (probably) / could never work for a midget like me).
That was until my Ex VMH got one as part of her sponsorship deal. (She’s 5’0″.)
And then until my LBS had a test ride day where you could take out what you wanted.
It’s no mean feat to be able to test ride something, especially in dwarf size.
The first 5 minutes, I was thinking “feels sluggish”. The next half hour I was thinking “Fast”. The half hour after that I was working out how I was going to afford it. Really, really impressive.
It is funny though how you mention about the prevalence of Long Travel bikes.
I used to subscribe to the “more travel the better” school of thought. I don’t anymore as my primary focus is on XC and racing. That was the main reason for my bike change. Not much point in having 6 inches of travel if it’s locked out all the time.
The othe thing that I really like is that it seems to roll over rocky ledges and other scary shit much better than a 26″ wheel. It just doesn’t hang up. You might find that you can actually ride more techy terrain than with a 26er.
Oh and; I love you man.
@minion
Minion how tall are you? I have a single speed rigid steel mtb that is surplus to requirements. I am in Melb and it is almost free to a good home. I am 5 ft 9 and it has a Frank like seatpost show going on. I just never ride it.
@mouse
Ahhhhhh now I get it… (slow dawn, you may not have noticed that there are sharper tools in the shed) I thought you were channeling the Marcus there, but didn’t want to respond like I would to him.
That’s a pretty ringing endorsement to be honest, those are pretty much all the reservations I had about 29ers. Part of it was from talking to a guy who is 6 foot 2 or 3, (John Randall, of Oli’s roadworks fame) after getting a 29er when they first arrived in NZ, and he loved it, but the way he described it, it was like a tall guy who finally got a bike to fit. Which it did, but all the stuff that was cool about his 29r, was what I thought was cool about my bike. Might have to hit up the Speccy shop next time they have a test day. So if some one both taller and ah, not taller than me dig it there might be something in it.
Bretto’s opinion clearly counts for nothing. Though if he told Fa fa fa fa Fraaaank to get a 29er he wouldn’t be wrong.
@anotherdownunder
Cheers for the offer, but I’m 6 foot flat, normally ride a 18 – 19 inch HT frame. Might be on the tall side for it, though if you’re looking for a short angry man to throw a bike at, Marcus is in Melbourne somewhere isn’t he? Take the wheels off first in case he thinks you’re being nice to him.
@brett
Too soft and bouldery in parts. And you should see what the kicked up rocks do to my bb and crank arms. Not for #1. Besides, n+1 isn’t just about what’s in the shed.
@minion
Bro, I’m not knocking 26 at all – after all, that’s what I ride – or trying to push 29ers, but my experience is that if it’s a good 29er the handling will be fine, but the rolling will be be better than 26. Even if the handling is slightly slower than a given 26er, it won’t be so slow you mong up. Plus you get used to it in no time. Take from that what you will.
We received this video of a nice, sunny afternoon ride that goes a little wrong from Mark. It is one of those ‘holy shit’ moments that is worthy of a Lexicon entry… the “OHBRIAN!”
“Dear Keepers,
I forward to you an image which I believe is in general conformance to many of the Velominati rules, however I have not fully tested this proposition.
Lifted from a video taken 3 weeks ago on the dry side of the Barossa Valley, this leisurely ride went a bit wrong at the top of the descent. The pictured rider maintained good form and position for most of his aeronautical journey only losing composure after failing to nail the landing.
Unlike Hoogerland, he had no barbed wire fencing to arrest his fall. Post incident, the rider, (Brian) noted his rear wheel was no longer rolling as sweetly as prior to the fall so unfortunately had to abandon.
Action begins at 2.55 (just after the ‘Ohhhh Brriaaan).”
@brett
As @sgt and I have observed, Rule #85 compliance" title="" rel="nofollow">Brians tend to be deficient in the finer arts of Rule #85 compliance. However I must commend his clavicle-preserving crash technique. And glad he is OK.
Crikey that was lucky but the Sheila did not look to pleased to have her afternoon ruined…
One of these days… will organize a ride here in the SouthEast. A double-lake-loop 225 kilometers (140 miles). One lake loop alone is scenic and “heart” felt. Lake Murray, South Carolina.
One day, it would be great to meet some of the leggers from Velominati.
Got an e-mail from Klaus over at Cycling Inquisition. He’s organizing a recce ride this Friday, pre-NY Grand Fondo, for one of the participants, Pacho Rodriguez (podium, 1985 Vuelta a España, etc). Any NYC-area Velominati interested in a ride, check the website.
I went camping on Mount Lemmon yesterday. I havnt been up there in a few years(which is totally crazy since I like an hour away)
Its a real hotspot here in Tucson for cyclists since its the biggest hill we have at 40km from base to the top at a steady 5% grade. Ive never done it(one day). On the way up I took a few pictures. I would highly recommend Tucson as a winter vacation spot if you want to ride your bike.
only 10 minutes up from that last picture your in a full on pine wood forest.
I’m shattered…
162.7km
4h30m, avg 36/km/h
temperature at start 27C
temperature at finish 43.9C.
Put me on a drip and let me sleep…