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]
Thanx Deakus!
Sorry, but it’s the only most fucked* up video that I know of.
@mouse
Chapeau!
@Ken Ho fair enough, if you have a look at the two I’ve posted on the Adelaide Cogal page they’re taken from mounted on the K-Edge bar mount.
Hey, my buddy Alex just rode the Koppenberg Cross!
And he’s got the killer mustache…
Three days from border to border, sur velo of course. 230km on the first, , 180-minus-supportcar-duties on the second, 190km and first rider up both climbs on the last day against stiff headwinds. Three days were nothing except the bike mattered.
But that was last week. Right now, it’s 11pm, it’s thundering and raining buckets outside, but I caress my freshly-shaved guns ahead of tomorrow’s 180km expedition. It’s finally Rule #9 time – Winter Is Coming, at last!
@mouse
Brilliant. V-locus.
My lad this afternoon.
@Chris
Awesome. My dude just figured out how to pedal out of the saddle. He is tearing it up, so as long as we are posting pix of our wee lads reminding us of why bikes are fucking awesome:
Rule #9? Yes please. Stringing out a peloton:
I believe that I was pretty rule-compliant, as well. Arm-warmers, base-layer and rain shell, Belgian booties and a cap. Just the right mix between warm enough to survive the early rain and cold, and light enough to pack into the pockets later on. 175km total.
@Nate Watching the velominippers ride takes you back and reminds you of the pure joy and freedom of when you were young. Makes you realise there’s so much more to it than all the bullshit that gets attached to the sport. We realy are custodians.
That was taken yesterday at our local MTV hill on the 4X track. Slightly worrying when he takes the harder lines, he face planted off a kicker that’s designed to launch you over the triple. Caught the lip and nosed in. His little brother is less adept and doesn’t get out of the saddle enough but was stoked when he got off the ground. Had to drag them away as it got dark.
I’m on my way to Kolkata on a work trip, he rang me this evening and asked me if we could go and ride it in the dark with torches one night when I get back!
@brett
Movember compliant as well…
@Chris
@Nate
Awesome fellas! I love watching my kids ride and race. I’m pretty excited living where I do now. I have two (!!!) velodromes within a 10 min drive from my house. Kids had their first velodrome session on Sunday. Was an interesting experience. Lots of kids there able to use the 25-30 or so bikes that the club has available for use. They get lots of time to get used to riding fixed gear, then get 3 or four handicap races depending on how they go in the heats. It’s cool watching them race in a no-pressure environment. They have loads of fun.
Honestly, watching my kids master the velodrome left me fit to burst.
@sthilzy
More like Vajanuary.
@mouse @Chris @Nate parenting, you’re doing it right. Definitely one thing I’m itching for is teaching ‘the peanut’ to ride. Although I do think it’s only fair to let it learn how to hold its own head up first…
@mouse I didn’t know that anyone made track bikes so small!
And good call on the gloves. I bought some tiny Giro gloves for my son and daughter. They like wearing them and it has already helped them avoid many scraped palms.
@tessar
Aaargh those socks that YJA – hope you left those two schmucks behind you for dead
@Mikael Liddy
Aah but you can hold the head up once you get the peanut on the turbo?….in fact you can probably turn the early days Moses basket in to a recumbent…..only temporarily mind you!
While we’re doing the pics of kids, here’s one I found on the interwebs this evening for the cross fans out there
@Deakus probably best to err on the side of safety & avoid the cumbent no matter what…
@the Engine
Maybe the two guys with all the excess sock material could share with the lady in back, who seems to have no socks.
@Mikael Liddy
What’s this, the Belgian U8 national cross team?
@tessar
Saying you’re rule-compliant is just a challenge – you know that don’t you.
Which is why I refer the honourable gentleman to his tyres – one celeste, one black if I’m not mistaken.
And are you riding a Bianchi, because the badge doesn’t look like a Bianchi ? In fact I’d say it was Trek, which is an aggravating factor.
That’s a Rule #8 violation right there buddy. Book him Danno…
You may get time off for the grin though.
Thanks to Nate’s heads-up last night I was able to register for Battenkill Open Cat 4 division race in April. Should be a blast and some winter training motivation.
http://www.tourofthebattenkill.com/race-information/
@Buck Rogers Hummmm. Doesn’t look like my post actually posted?
Never before attempted on any ride — ever! Rolling tomorrow with an iPod under jersey — Led Zeppelin, Rush, Primus, Van Halen, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine — and many more!
@tessar
No comments into the politics of the matter, but I hope you and your friends/family on either side are all safe and OK right now with everything that is going on.
@mxlmax
Uh, that’s a “race radio”.
Be careful not to bend your bars when Bombtrack rolls around.
@itburns
I’ll Testify to that! Haarrgh! Ha!
Am I hexing myself up for a good ol’ iPod crash by ear budding up In My Time of Dying ?
@Buck Rogers
It’s there. We expect you will kick ass and take names.
@Nate Ha! We’ll see. But the ultimate irony was that I had to see a Sports Doc today for my on-going pinky numbness (turns out it is officially diagnosed as Handlebar Palsy) and the now worseing “taint” (perineum) numbness–(Bicycle Seat Neuropathy–yah, I know, too much info) and I have been banned from the bike for two weeks minimum and maybe up to 6 weeks!!! So painful! I even made myself go for a, gasp, 30 minute run today to try to keep my fitness up.
At least I have the new fizik saddle to use when I get back on the bike! Definitely going to get a pro bike fit at a good bike shop as well as soon as I get to ride again.
@Buck Rogers
Oh dear. Don’t tell me it’s the new saddle? [emoticon].
@Nate
No man! I am pretty sure it started with Paris-Roubaix followed by the 200-on-100 17 days later followed by riding the trainer a bunch and then moving to a new area with all the hills which I had not been doing in years. All of that and an old saddle sent me into some pain. It started a few months ago. I have only used your old saddle about 10 times and it feels better with your saddle, just not well enough and with the pinkies, they told me no riding for at least two weeks. Hopefully it’ll be better by then. If not, then a few more weeks off the bike. Hopefully it’ll snow here soon as they have an awesome golf course on West Point that they groom for XC skiing anyways. Until then it is the dreaded running.
@Buck Rogers
Alright Buck, gonna give you shit again and say that you’ve got a fit issue- either something moved around on your bike, your body changed (unlikely, although 2 -6 weeks will add a nice marshmellow like padding), or your fit was impaired to begin with. Having done the 200 on 100 and left w/ swollen gimpy knee, now w paresthesias (2 sites your telling us), smacks of compensating for an awkward fit. Just saying. Now if you have spent the 200$ with the fitting pro and their retul or whatever, then I’m not looking forward to getting older.
@gaswepass Oh yeah, I know it must be a bit of a fit issue. I raised the saddle and “slammed the stem” on my own earlier in the spring and also had an old saddle that was worn out– all contrary to my prior professional fit. And Paris Roubaix destroyed my arse and hands (I had BRBPR following the ride for a day and my hands were not right for weeks). Then I rode almost 13 hours, 215 fuckin’ miles, in the 200-on-100 two weeks later. That’s was when I realized that my body had taken a hell of a beating. I kept riding and things have been getting worse ever since then. Now I have a new saddle and will get a professional bike fit again to fix my position. Slamming the stem might look great but it sure as hell is not good for you unless you are fitted to it correctly, which I was not.
The rains have come. First proper Rule #9 ride of the season scheduled for tomorrow.
@mxlmax
Against the Rules bro.
@Buck Rogers
Well good! I mean that there is a reason that is modifiable. Was gettin concerned about what else I had to look forward to with aging… I’ll take the consequences of ignoring nagging irritation as a cost of doing business. Simple body part failure is much harder to cope with.
Heal quickly! I have found that those irritations go away super fast with fit correction. (too low seat being my paradigm)
@Buck Rogers
missed the last line of your earlier post acknowedging the need for fitting. damn.
@Buck Rogers Oh, man. Hope you get back on the bike soon, Buck.
Slam the stem – slam the fucking author of that bullshit catchphrase, more like. I don’t know how many people I’ve had to help over the years because their body has been tortured by trying to adapt to such ignorant dogma.
Yeah, if you REALLY want that no-spacer look, step 1 is getting fitted, and step 2 is finding a frame with the right size headtube for you. Which is generally not the raciest frame. My stem happens to be slammed and flipped – for a mere 6cm of saddle to bar drop. On a modern compact race frame, I’d be looking at over double that number by flipping and slamming, which even my twenty-something back and neck can’t take.
@DerHoggz
I didn’t do it. Too much trouble to have an iPod under the jersey that can’t be controlled or shut off.
Quick mobile upmost after Stage 1 of the Tour of Sharjah.
Straightforward stage today – flat with lots of roundabouts. Lots of attacks and lots of crazy riding.
Our team had two in the top 20 and another not far behind so were 8th overall. There are two Algerian Continental pro teams here plus national teams from Iraq (Arab champions), Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Kuwait and UAE.
I was just glad to get through the first daywithout crashing or being spat out after 20km.
Tomorrow will be hard. 150 km and some Cat 2 climbing. But after today I am reasonably confident I can hold my own against at least a third of the field. I’m the oldest guy here – half of them are in their 20s. Wish me luck.
So today didn’t work out quite as planned.
I got caught in a crash after about 8 km and had to chase by myself for about 5 km then I had a real crash after 70km. My fault – overlapping wheels and being distracted by a car nearby.
Struggled on with help from teammates but I’m very sore – could be DNS tmrw but will meditate on Rule #5 while applying ice.
@ChrisO
Keep at it mate….pain is temporary….quitting lasts forever. This in no way casts a shadow over your commitment to the V simply a reminder keep calm and carry on….good luck!
Bad luck, Chris. Hope you recover okay, dude.
@ChrisO sounds like a tough day. I hope you get enough rest and recovery in to be able to start tomorrow.
Better to start and find you can’t do it than to wonder whether you could have done it.
@ChrisO Bad Luck man. Sorry to hear it. It’s amazing what a night’s rest will do for you, so sleep on it and try again in the morning. Good Luck!
@ChrisO
Oh shit.
Late to this party. I read your earlier post how the old man was holding his own, feeling happy. Then I got to the crashy one. Great job chasing back on after your crashes. Hope you recover well enough.
Keep us updated.
@Buck Rogers
Maybe try a Selle SMP? Can’t have perineum probs if it doesn’t make contact with the seat. Every year I used to get numbness in my prong for a few days following this 24 hour ride i would do – and experience discomfort every now and again after long rides. Completely disappeared once I attached myself to an SMP.
They feel different for maybe the first 10 minutes of the first few rides – and then they feel great. I have been using them for about 4-5 years and cannot see myself using anything else.
Just like the first time you try Speedplays, you never look back.
Had to share this photo from Jared Gruber about the Passo dello Stelvio.
Exquisite
More here on Cycling Tips Blog.