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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View Comments
I am sitting here procrastinating on today's workout... first Tempo Ride of the season. Welcome to the pain cave, come on in and stay awhile. Arrgggh. All I keep telling myself is to suffer well now so I can win well later in the year. We shall see.
Today's coach prescribed workout (he is a task master!) was 4 ten minute tempo intervals at 270 watts with a five minute break between each interval. I did this work on a local climb called Elk Mountain Scenic Highway... long, relatively steep, but with a predominantly consistent road surface and grade. After the second interval, on the way back down the mountain, I started in with all reasons why I should call it day. You know, need to get back to work, tired from the previous days ride, etc. etc. Needless to say I got to the bottom, turned the bike back up the hill, put it in the bing ring and said "fuck it, let's go suffer some more." I don't specifically recall riding the last two intervals, but the data from my Garmin says that I went considerably faster than the first two. Cycling Nirvana! Can't wait to ride tomorrow.
@Anjin-san
Awesome. I love it when that happens. I quite often find the second 20 minute interval of my 2 x 20 session to feel better and produce better numbers than the first. Unfortunately, with it being on the rollers, I tend to remember every last second.
Did the Sufferfest Downward Spiral the other night and despite being in bits during the warm down at the end I found myself wondering whether I could do the session twice without dropping the pace or effort too much to survive? Bizarrely, the answer that came out was yes. Doubling the figures, 60km at an average of 32kph, would suggest not but it's a challenge and it'll be interesting to see how much the figures do drop.
@Anjin-san
Awesome ride! Man, sounds like you brought the "V" with you on that ride!
@Chris
Having purchased my first USA Cycling racing license yesterday since 1993, I need to hit some of these intervals. I always do a few unstructured intervals on my rides, esp on the rollers, but since I have to start with the Cat 5 ranking and their race length is usually less than 40 miles, I need to work the intervals more. My usually training is long miles with some intensity thrown in but now I will have to gear up for shorter, more intense efforts.
@Buck Rogers
I've got two interval sessions that I do, the Sufferfest Downward Spiral noted above and the 2 x 20 sessions my sensei got me doing.
I use the Sufferfest Hell Hath no Fury as the basis for the 2 x 20, it gives you something to watch, ladies racing, to take your mind off the pain and also gives you the timings both on the screen and as an audio alert so you don't have to worry about keeping an eye on the clock. I generally ignore all the build up bits leading up to the first 20 minute interval and just ride that as my warm up and the same with the time trial segment at the end, that forms part of the warm down. I also ignore all the prompts to speed up or slow down during the two intervals.
The plan is pick a gear that you can turn at 100rpm or more for the 20 minute interval (go too big and it'll come back at you towards the end and you'll shift down or diet. too little and there's no point) keep the cadence constant or if you've got, ahem, power keep that constant throughout. You shouldn't give any consideration to the second interval in the choice of gear for the first, worry about that during the second - I usually find the second one easier anyway.
Then after five minutes or so recovery (I find the footage during the recovery is incredibly relaxing and always take my mind off what is about to come), pick exactly the same gear for the second interval and do it again.
You only need to do that once a week but you'll see a difference quite quickly. don't do it the night after anything serious though. it's best on rested legs. The descending intervals can be done on tired legs.
@Chris
Good stuff! I will try it next week! Thanks man.
@Buck Rogers
The 2 x 20's can take a couple of attempts to get into because of the balance between picking a big enough gear to make it worthwhile and being able to turn that gear consistently for the 20 minute interval. I find that it will feel easy to start with, by 10 minutes you might be questioning your choice (both of the gear your in and cycling as a way of life) but hang on and by 15 minutes you should be thinking I can do this.
@Chris
Good stuff. I put myself on that exact 2 X 20 regimen since jan. 1.
Plus a once weekly hour-long ride at "tempo" (which seems to mean different things to different people. I use 90% or so of LTHR, until I get a better feel of what the equivalent gearing, pace and effort are on rollers). The final 15 min. of which I am counting imaginary mile posts trying to hold on until the end. Staying upright during the cool-down is the final challenge.
@xyxax
Before I started doing them in September I could ride 32km at 32kph (20 miles at 20mph) any longer got slower fairly rapidly. At Christmas I rode a flat 113km at a shade over that pace. Granted, I had some wind assistance and they're not the only training sessions I've been doing but they play a key part. Did a shade under 80km on Sunday at 31kph on a hillier route, half of it was two up with my sensei who was pushing me hard. The 2 x 20's are great for endurance.