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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@Marko
It’s Tianmen Mountain, Hunan Province China http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianmen_Mountain
You’re all very welcome…
@the Engine Well done.
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Yeah Baby!
@piwakawaka San Luis?
Aussie road title on today! I’m tipping Haas for the win.
@Mikael Liddy vuelta a espana stages 14/15/16 550km including this to finish : The peloton will have to complete three 1st category climbs, including San Lorenzo, La Cobertoria and Pajares, before facing the final 2.8 kilometres of the Cuitu Nigru. Inclinations of 24% will determine who will fill the podium in Madrid.
@sthilzy Hayden Roulston, George Bennett and Julian Dean took the honours in NZ.
USA Cyclocross national championships are happening right now! Live stream:
http://www.cxmagazine.com/live-stream-2013-usa-national-cyclocross-championships
The Elite Women’s race was full of Rule #5: a broken shifter replaced by the pit crew in one lap, flats, frozen bikes, crashes, and a rookie on the podium.
Men’s race in 20.
Velobeats is trying to hedge on Rule #14 & 15
http://www.velobeats.braynardwebdev.com/?p=415
I think I’ll be hitting the rollers today.
Marko, is that Babbitt, MN?
@Sauterelle
If I tell you, promise not to stalk me. Yes, indeed. Do you know it?
@Marko
So cold that the temperature is lower than the low – even statistics is staying indoors.
@Marko
You betcha…
@Marko
I had friends in Eveleth years ago. Are you stalk-worthy?
@Sauterelle
Ahh, home of the US Hockey Hall of fame.
Jodie Foster thinks so…
@Marko
You’re female?? (trying really hard not to use a laughing emoticon)
@Sauterelle
You’re female?? (trying really hard not to use a laughing emoticon)
only according to the people he rides with…
@Sauterelle more of a Taxi Driver/Jiohn Hinckley reference. I am sensitive though.
@gaswepass good one.
@Marko
thx. Almost started defending the dig and redefining it as meaning being tougher but slower, then decided let the flame war begin… Especially right now I’m watching my 4yr old daughter run the pump track on her skuut. Pretty rad stuff. She’s pretty fearless on that thing.
@gaswepass Mine’s not quite two yet and still a little timid around hers. Sometimes she’ll let me push her around the house but usually she politely declines. Man, I wish we would have learned to ride on balance bikes instead of trikes. To be fair though to my mom, she never let me have training wheels.
The slower but tougher idea is brilliant, btw.
@Marko
Marko, How I wish. My girls, yes two of them, have used the same runner. The older, 6, is ready for daddee to upgrade her to the 18 incher, adn the 4 year old is thinking, “Daddee, I need pedals.”
Oh, we have a velodrome within 30 minutes of driving….ride like a girl.
Next weekend this race is on again. I’m hoping to check it out this year.
@RedRanger
If you haven’t got 24 hours, try about 4’20” at Cerro Abajo – downhill racing in ValparaÃso, Chile’s bohemian harbor city on February 24 2013
Here’s a run from a couple of years ago….
VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.
A new year, a new challenge: So I figured I’m hitting a plateau, fitness-wise and motivation-wise. I trained my ass off during the first semester at Uni, stuffing Physics, Biology and training into never-ending days. I’ve competed in my first half-Ironman and won my age-group, and placed 11th overall, 5th-fastest bike split. I felt exhausted. I sort-of plateaued, reaching a point where any further gains would be minimal if I were to keep training alone.
Standing by the finishline was the manager of my coach’s team. He was grinning (I’ve just beaten an ex-trainee of his) as he offered me a deal: “Get a car, find the time. We’ll worry about everything else.”
Two weeks passed, and I’ve found my new challenge. I’ve never been so brutally out-sprinted at a summit, never gone so deep to keep up with the surges. When they call it a hammerfest, they mean it. Last week I was on fumes trying to hold on, today I was unceremoniously dropped on the second climb. Next time, I’ll try harder. No better stimulus than trying to hold on to two national and one European Age Group (Frankfurt) IM champions pushing 300 Watts without sweating. Oh, and last year’s runner-up in the ITT Nationals leading the whole thing.
@tessar
A universal truth.
There is ALWAYS someone faster/stronger/harder/more pretty than you.
@mouse
once you accept that, the next step is working out how to bridge up to the one in front…
Any UK Velomnati riding the Hell of Ashdown on Sunday? Could be a bit on the chilly side of Rule #9.
Velominati……………..riding sportives…………………..noooooooooooooo…………………………………..
@rule5racing
Formerly known as the Catford CC Reliability Test. Reliability Test/Trials have been a mainstay of the British cycling clalender for a lot longer than people have been riding sportives. Not that I have a problem riding sportives, they have their place.
Where abouts are you in the UK?
It was properly chilly at the Hell of Ashdown yesterday, certainly by my standards, 1-3 degrees with some decent winds on the higher ground and snow of the small hard white hail stone type that stung a bit of the faster descents and riding into the wind. Some of the lesser used lanes had some icy patches, generally on the steeper bits. At one point my lips stuck to my bidon which was a first for me.
Getting the bikes ready, I thought I’d made the wrong call going for a short sleeved top and bibs complemented with wool base layer, arm and leg warmers (Defeet merino arm and leg warmers, woolie boolie socks and merino gloves, Rapha merino base) instead of bib tights and long sleeved V-Jersey and LS wool base layer but once we were going I was nice and toasty and spent the ride in two minds about whether I needed my Castello Sottile jacket.
In the end I kept it on as it was a bit chilly on the descents and I couldn’t face stopping and getting cold while folded it up (I needed to spend more tile on the rollers learning to fold things up neatly or get a team car or domestique to take care of these things for me). By the end of the ride (95km + 1,750m climbing) I felt great but I was surprised to find the Castelli jacket was soaked from all the sweat wicking out – the wool kit was all wet too but I didn’t notice until it started cooling down as I took it off. Brilliant kit.
@Chris nice one, it certainly was a cold one yesterday. Was it busy? I imagine there were few that dropped out due to the weather.
I ride the PUNCHEUR sportive ( http://www.puncheur.co.uk/topline_details.htm ) in 2 weeks time that shares some of the same roads to the Hell of Ashdown route. Annoyingly, i’ve been battling with an IT Band flare up that has curtailed most of my planned distance / endurance training. I think i’ll probably end up limping round.
@motor city It wasn’t that busy but we had a fairly early start time (The car parking on site was full shortly after we got there though). There’s some mention on their face book page of only 900 of the 1500 entrants having enough V to get out of bed on the day. It was amazing to see how much kit some people were wearing.
The Puncheur ride looks good. Have fun and let us know how it goes.
A good day on the bike… won the Masters category and came sixth overall. I’m also pleased that I’m riding how I think I should be, given the training I’ve been doing, if that makes sense to anyone else. We’re heading to Cyprus in two weeks time for a three-day race so this is my last intense training weekend.
The best part of the day though wasn’t winning or feeling good sensations, it was when someone referred to the time I’d spent on the front as “Chris doing his Jens Voigt impression”. What more could one ask for ?
Congrats ChrisO – sounds like a great day on the bike and nice job with the cycling cap too !
Nice look at Uran riding for Froome at the mountain finish in Tirreno-Adratico, his acceleration is withering to his opponents.
http://www.steephill.tv/tirreno-adriatico/
@piwakawaka
Sky were all-out impressive in both races yesterday. Uran and Henao in Tirreno, and Cataldo did a lot of weork early on even dropping Rodriguez, but also Kiriyenka and Lopez in P-N.
Kiriyenka just sat on the front from 30km to go, chased down any attempts to breakaway, and stayed there until the sprint kicked off – awesome performance.
Not hard to see what their tactics will be this year – more better.
I’m also somewhat mystified that BMC apparently sent Cadel Evans to T-A on his own. If they haven’t realised that they need to go team v team as a preliminary to going mano a mano then they might as well write off the Tour now, and TVG should start looking for a new contract.
@piwakawaka Great name, I love fantails too, along with willy wagtails, blue wrens, flycatchers etc. but I love the Maori bird names even more, same with fish.
Pukeko has to be my fave, so much cooler than swamp hen.
And no I’m not a birdo, just a bit of a dork.
@Mikael Liddy
Bingo!
@ChrisO
Chapeau Jensy!
@ChrisO
Isn’t there some friction/competition between Cadelephant and Tejay, I read something earlier in the year when asked who was leading Tejay said something to effect “Whoever is performing the best” subsequently forcing Cadel to defend his position as outright team leader…I noticed in last years grand tours cadel was often left to fight on his own in the final kms of a stage whereas sky paced themselves ensuring their GC contenders still had back up even towards the final kms of each stage.
I sense BMC is going to struggle, there is an interesting article in this months Cyclist about BMC and their new factory and I think the presence of one millionaire funding everything potentially always leaves the management having to cowtow to the owner. (Think Chelsea FC)
You cannot win by just buying lots of expensive riders, they have to work as a unit, and I am not sure BMC have that at the moment…..
@ChrisO
Well bloody done Chris! And to think that I was going to brag about an hour long ride in sub-zero temps in my Flanderian Best? Damn, you gotta go out an win. WIN!
Awesome stuff dude.
@ChrisO
NIce work @ChrisO. Congrats on the win.
@ChrisO
Are you the guy that looks like Peter Jackson, middle front?
Kidding, of course! Following you on Strava I see all that damn training you do, wish I could be that committed.
@Chris
The PUNCHEUR sportif was good fun yesterday. It stayed dry but It was very cold, apparently the average temperature was 0.3C and with a nasty NE wind that has brought the snow in today.
Unfortunately, I managed to miss a turn and ended up doing an extra 10KM at Forest Row which skewed my overall time. Also by the time I hit Ditchling Beacon I had to crawl up following a long queue of cars that couldn’t get past riders ahead, it was almost standstill at one point. Apart from that I’m happy that I seem to have resolved whatever was wrong with my knee and got round in one piece without having done many long rides since Xmas.
I wasn’t overly popular for leaving my wife at home with our 2 under 5 kids on Mothers Day. I refrained from referring her to Rule #11.
　
@motor city
Holy shit, you just about gave me a panic attack. Here in the US it’s not until May, but for a second I was like “oh fuck”.
@Chris – nice work! I love the security detail to keep the throngs of podium girls away!
@mcsqueak
@mcsqueak – glad I wasn’t the only one looking at the calendar. Mothers Day sets the tone for how much I can get away with on Fathers Day!