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.
[/rideitem]
[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.
[/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”]
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”]
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]
@Teocalli
While it might not contain anything new, the lack of evidence in itself is, I think, telling. The lack of records/receipts/general awareness of medical records, proscribed drugs, paper trails is ridiculous for a team that set themselves such a high bar for organization, transparency, and ethics. That Freeman basically took the 5th to me is damning in and of itself. Personally, I think they totally abused the use of various drugs that were available under a TUE, knowing how they could be used to not just treat whatever affliction was present, but to boost performance. The Froome salbutamol case being a case in point. Like USPS and EPO, it’s all in the management of dosing, and in Froome’s case they fucked up.
I look forward to hearing what Wiggins has to say. Right now, his entire reputation is on the line.
It’s not news is it, just last years findings re-presented. My opinion is unchanged from then; Wiggins used an inappropriate medication, for a spurious medical need, and benefitted from the performance enhancement. If that’s not cheating then I don’t know what is. As far as I’m concerned the “I didn’t break any rules” defence is, whilst true, as disingenuous as “I have never tested positive”. I don’t really care about the knighthoods, but it seems to me that Brailsford’s position is untenable. He’s either complicit, or guilty of serious mismanagement.
@wiscot
The number of people at BC/Sky who handled that package of medication and never asked what was in it or have ‘forgotten’ is staggering. The bloke who got the drugs out of the storeroom in Manchester, put it in a jiffy bag, wrote a note on it ‘For Dr Richard Freeman’ and gave it to someone else from BC to take to France says he can’t remember what was in it. Complete bullshit.
@Steve Trice
I agree, Wiggins telling the BBC that he 100% did not “cheat” is laughable. Abusing the rules to facilitate weight loss before a Grand Tour is absolutely cheating even if it technically did not “break any rules.”
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bradley-wiggins-tells-bbc-he-100-did-not-cheat/
@Rick
From my perspective, Brailsford & co have dug their own grave, for two reasons:
At risk of sounding like my mum, it’s not what they did; it’s that they lied about it. Additionally, I’m not angry…I’m just very disappointed.
In reality, I’ve never been a particular fan of Wiggo, nor Froome, nor Sky in general. The one exception to that is Geraint Thomas, I really hope he isn’t embroiled in this shit, because then I will feel genuinely let down.
Also, not my usual cycling news source, but: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/sport/2018/03/bradley-wiggins-claimed-be-true-british-hero-he-wasnt
@wiscot
I noticed that at least some of the peloton were rocking long cage RDs so were either pulling mid compact or 30 or 32 Cassette sprocket (or both). Makes me feel better about fitting one for hilly events this year.
@mulebeatsdrums
I don’t have a particular affinity for SKY, Wiggins, Froome, nor even Thomas. I am angry, and disappointed for the sport that I love. Regardless of the outcome it is another black eye for cycling. Another vacated TdF due to doping would be a tragedy but another cloud over that title may be worse.
I have remarked several times that SKY reminds me of a certain team of the late 90’s and early 00’s that never, ever seemed to have a bad day on their bikes.
Also, anyone else wonder how British Cycling can fail to win very often on the track in non Olympic years but always manage to sweep the medals every four years?
Just asking…..
@Rick
They have stated in the past that they don’t prioritise the Worlds and run on a 4 year cycle to the Olympics. It does make sense in some of the major folk just starting ramp back up and new team members coming through. Otherwise you’d expect them to clean up at both if they were on an “abnormal cycle” and so turn things on at the throw of a switch.
@Rick
Bear in mind that yer average British “fan” knows nothing about the Worlds and only follows the Olympics as that is the main event covered in the Trash Papers. So they prioritise to the public for funding purposes which is based on the medal count at Olympics. As I understand it the lottery funding is based on Olympic Medal counts not Worlds.
@Teocalli
Of course they do. Also, no other country prioritizes the Olympics so British Cycling has that four year cycle to themselves. Sorry for the cynicism but I find that reasoning rather suspect.
I currently assume that the British cyclists develop asthma every four years…………
@Rick
Of all those Sky riders, I like Thomas, but I think his tenure at Sky has tainted him. If there are shenanigans going on, he knows and I feel that Froome’s “I can only talk from personal experience” to be a cop out. Just because things happen behind closed doors, doesn’t mean you don’t know. There are no tape recorders in the peloton when people get chatty.
And I totally agree that this just hurts cycling. Add to the mix that the Armstrong case will go to trial this summer and that whole shitstorm will be reborn.
@wiscot
I don’t dislike Thomas, I simply don’t care either way.
@Rick
To be honest, I don’t have any strong emotions about the pro road scene at the moment at all, especially the men’s. The women’s CX is what’s really motivating me to ride right now, which would be great if the season hadn’t already finished.
The big bummer is that my mental health is being a real COTHO at the moment, and I left my job when I moved out of London in December so I’m not in the best place right now, and with cycling being my main self-prescribed therapy, my brain will take the smallest thing (e.g. doping scandals) to de-motivate me.
Sorry, that got really heavy and personal. Anyway FUCK RUPERT MURDOCH AMIRITE?!
@wiscot
Not a Sky fan, but I do like G. I think he’s given Sky more than he’s gotten. Whatever his true potential was, I think it’s now too late to realize it because he gave those years to Sky in service of Wiggins and Froome.
@Teocalli
GVA is running a 32 on his bike for the Classics.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/greg-van-avermaet-debuts-custom-bmc-for-classics-gallery/
And it would be me posting here if I didn’t include my latest for PEZ. But appropriate for this time of the riding season. Review of GORE Oxygen Classics kit.
https://www.pezcyclingnews.com/technspec/gore-oxygen-classics-kit-review/#.Wp8i2mbMzdQ
@sthilzy
Going under the knife under the procedure known as Cheilectomy
Anyone has had procedure done? If so, how was the outcome?
@sthilzy
I’ve known it in some older relatives but they were not very active anyway at that time of life but it did help them. Best wishes for a good outcome.
@mulebeatsdrums
YES.
Something else which occurred to me about this. This quote (BBC Sport):
“The report by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee said Team Sky used the anti-inflammatory drug triamcinolone to prepare Britain’s most decorated Olympian Wiggins and a smaller group of riders for the Tour de France, which he won in 2012.”
Smaller group of other riders…
Chris Froome
Mark Cavendish
Edvald Boassan Hagen
Bernie Eisel
Mick Rogers
Richie Porte
Kantanstin Siutsou (who the fuck?!)
Christian Knees
That’s the Sky 2012 team. Which of those is also being accused of doping or extreme rule bending then?
@RobSandy
Not defending Sky here but rather a comment on the select committee and that claim. From what I have seen the “source” has not revealed who the smaller group was but it appears to me that said select committee assume that cycling teams train together like a football or rugby team. Reality is that very seldom do they do that in season. So any supposition based on any small group training together vs the whole team doing so is a seriously flawed supposition. Across the board team members generally train in their home localities or specific to individual race goals and will also depend on the race schedules of each individual in the run up to a Grand Tour. They even state that they broke no rules in the way those rules exist. As seems to be the practice of the select committees, they get a bunch of career politicians to act as judge, jury and executioner in a manner that would not stand up in any legal court. I repeatedly find the attitude and behaviour of select committees pretty jaw dropping in their arrogance.
What other country would do this as a parliamentary select committee of career politicians? Can you see a Kazakhstan select committee investigating Astana in the same way for instance? What about the various countries in Operation Puerto where it was all pretty much shut down (for fear of implicating other national heroes in Football, Tennis etc…..)? Not even considering altitude training in Colombia.
Rant mode off……..
The problem in my mind is with the UCI and TUEs in the first place seemingly being way too easy and by all accounts fairly commonplace. Do people really think this is confined to Sky? How about UCI publishing granted TUEs for each event? Though of course that may be seen as compromising individual rights to confidentiality of health records.
@Teocalli
Agree, agree, agree 100%.
Wouldn’t it be nice to just know the truth?
@RobSandy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdjf4lMmiiI
@Teocalli
That’s blocked at work but I’m going to guess it features Jack Nicholson?
@RobSandy
Nope. Indiana Jones.
@chuckp
What? A picture of you that doesn’t included socks and shoes? Unheard of!
@Teocalli
Ha! I think that just about nails it. Lots of British reports in that warehouse I think . . .
Speaking of doping, Froome’s hair is definitely on something not natural: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froome-firm-in-support-of-brailsford/
@wiscot
Hah, I know the one then. If you look deep enough in that warehouse you might find Frank…
It seems more and more unlikely, but I’m still hoping Froome is exonerated in some way.
Mind you Lance fans probably thought the same when everyone around him was getting busted.
@RobSandy
That was the point I was making a few posts ago. “Personal” doping offences with remose (e.g. David Millar, providing his account in Racing Through The Dark is the truth) I can forgive; systemic offences (e.g. USPS, although that was long before my interest in Cycling) not so much; lying about it over and over and over again? No fucking way!
@Teocalli
That gets to the heart of it really: I think the reason all parties involved are defending themselves to zealously that they didn’t break any rules. The rules should exist such that they were broken in this instance, but they don’t. It’s very much a letter-of-the-law-vs.-spirit-of-the-law kind of thing. For them, in their little bubble, getting a TUE for something and benefitting from its side-effects is a totally legitimate thing to do; for everyone on the outside (from disciples like us, to casual fans, to parliamentarians, to the general public), we’re looking at it and going “but it’s clearly cheating!”
The problem with the select committee in this instance is that they’re trying to ascertain a guilty/innocent verdict as if they’re a legal court, when (as mentioned above) no actual rules have been broken. I don’t have an inherent problem with a Select Committee hearing for this purpose per se, but it does seem odd that this isn’t something that, say, UKADA isn’t handling. Surely it’s in their remit, rather than Westminster’s, and therefore the taxpayers’?
We didn’t break any rules….
I never tested positive…..
The check is in the mail…
I did not have sex with that woman……
@Rick
You need disc brakes on your road bike ..
I hear this evening that David Lappartient has joined the bandwagon and asked for an enquiry into Sky. Surely the UCI are as complicit in not ascertaining why TUIs are being requested and what is being used and how. I’d have thought at the minimum he should be kicking off a review of how TUIs are granted and administered.
@Teocalli
Yeah, I’ve seen condemnations from the likes of Floyd Landis and Pat McQuaid. To the former, I say “fair enough, but, y’know, pot, kettle, black”, to the latter I say “THIS LITERALLY HAPPENED UNDER YOUR WATCH, YOU COCKWAFFLE!”
@wiscot
@mulebeatsdrums
Floyd Landis can go and fornicate himself with a metal stick. Completely unhelpful comments.
@RobSandy
I’m not sure what the UCI thinks it might find that the parliamentary committee hasn’t already found unless it does the unexpected and decides that unsubstantiated, anonymous allegations can’t be relied on.
Without those allegations it seems that at worse Sky and Wiggo can only be accused of ignoring the ethics and working the system. The UCI is a much to blame for having a TUE system that doesn’t work.
Landis is in la la land and just want’s attention and everyone tarred with the same brush as him.
@chris
This needs no more response from me than, “yup!”
Wow. You really know how to lower the bar, don’t you!
Gentlemen. There’s lot of unpleasantness flying around our sport these days particularly with regard to a certain team and certain riders. It’s enough to demoralize you greatly.
I’m going to leave this here and encourage you to watch it. For a young rider, it was his first pro win and done in a style that any seasoned pro would envy. He wore shorts, no cap, no sunglasses, and by the end, no arm warmers. He looked 40 years older at the finish. He rode a very smart race. He has tremendous style. It was a win for the ages.I give you Tiesj Benoot.
http://www.steephill.tv/players/youtube3/?title=Last+20+Km+of+Strade+Bianche+2018&dashboard=strade-bianche&id=zrQIM5kb8iE&yr=2018
@wiscot
I’m miffed I couldn’t get there due to the UK weather and it turned out pretty nice for the Sunday. I watched on Eurosport, brilliant race.
@chris
I’m not sure what the UCI thinks it might find that the parliamentary committee hasn’t already found unless it does the unexpected and decides that unsubstantiated, anonymous allegations can’t be relied on.
Without those allegations it seems that at worse Sky and Wiggo can only be accused of ignoring the ethics and working the system. The UCI is a much to blame for having a TUE system that doesn’t work.
Landis is in la la land and just want’s attention and everyone tarred with the same brush as him.
0
The puzzling part is surely the UCI only need to look up their records to see what TUEs were raised. Oh, what’s that? You meant to say the UCI did not record them……?
@Teocalli
It was indeed. To me it was one of the best classics in a long time. I really hope Benoot fulfills his potential. Maybe this win will do for him what Kelly’s 1983 Lombardia win did for him – give him the confidence to go for the big wins. One thing’s for sure. Benoot will be a marked man from here on out. He was what? almost 40 seconds behind Bardet and Van Aert with 20K to go, and finished almost a minute up by the finish? Incredible!
@wiscot
I can vouch that the climb he attacked on on sector 11 is a real bitch. Last year I didn’t know what was coming at the sharp turn off the main road and went into the red being in too high a gear on the first part on the tarmac so was pretty relieved when it appeared to be going downhill as it dipped onto the Strade – then you go round the corner and see that pitch……..I blew about half way up it and joined pretty much everyone else on foot.
@Teocalli
Yeah, the helicopter shot really showed how slow they were grinding. Being wet can’t have helped either . . .
@wiscot
Thanks for posting. It was one of those moments that shows exactly why I love pro cycling. I was watching the race and got a phone call before he attacked and missed his acceleration. It was good to get a second chance to see him pull away.
A tremendous effort by van Aert too. Kudos to him and I hope he races more on the road.
@Teocalli
Thanks!
@Teocalli
15th March knife date! See what happens in the next 6 to 8 weeks!
@sthilzy
Yikes! Good luck for the surgery and best wishes for a speedy recovery!