Categories: Routes

The Seattle Tre Cime

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

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Rob says:

Jul 2 2010 at 7:49 am

Steampunk :@Marko
And I once caught a fist "this" big!

I was really thinking this site has changed in the short time I've been here...
Steampunk says:

Jul 2 2010 at 8:13 am

Sigt...
frank says:

Jul 2 2010 at 8:17 am

@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?
frank says:

Jul 2 2010 at 8:19 am

@Steampunk

Sigt...

The mark of a genius is evident in the subtlety of that comment.
Steampunk says:

Jul 2 2010 at 9:04 am

@frank
What? Where? Oh fuck!
Joshua says:

Jul 2 2010 at 9:20 am

@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...
Joshua says:

Jul 2 2010 at 9:29 am

@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.
Marko says:

Jul 2 2010 at 10:05 am

@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.
Steampunk says:

Jul 2 2010 at 10:31 am

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.
Cyclops says:

Jul 2 2010 at 10:51 am

Steampunk : wtine

Chapeau