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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@ChrisO
Uhhhgg. It was so hard exercising outside when I was in Iraq.
I swear going out in those conditions was so harsh on your lungs that I questioned if it was worth it.
We ended up posting warnings within our unit on certain days about going out secondary to the dust and the effects on the health.
I don’t know if this is the place for it, but would anyone in Seattle be interested in joining me this Saturday morning on a 100km(ish) ride. I’ll probably take in the Issaquah Alps or go toward North Bend but I’m open to suggestions.
@James
I’m interested! I’m in Ballard. Email boss@topfunky.com
Beware the Velominatus who invites you on a weekend ride.
First time to meet James and he picks a 100km route with 1,700m of climbing. And snow. And 20% grades.
Somehow I ended the ride fully covered in mud but he was squeaky clean.
On the other hand, now Frank has two grimpeurs to follow up the climbs of Seattle. Yes!
Awesome ride, thanks G’rilla. Hills, snow, mud, what more could one want?
@James, @G’rilla
I missed this! On the other hand, I did 200km in freezing rain. Solo. And lost the use of my left hand due to freezing after descending Cougar Mountain. But on the bright side, I got to big ring it home 60km due to an inability to shift on the front. We’ll call it “strength training”.
Look forward to joining you guys on this ride next time. Let me know – G’rilla knows how to reach me.
Yikes, 200 km in freezing rain? That doesn’t sound easy. What happened to your shifter? And did you wear a jacket? A vest? I’m always torn on long rides in the rain – must carefully balance staying dry from the inside/outside. Then again, 200km in rain likely means you were wet as for most of it, if not all…
I spent two hours in the rain last week. One of those rides where I spent an hour wondering if I was going to get full use of my hands back. And one where I wondered if pulling off my wet gloves might be better than leaving them on.
And 200km solo. How long did that take you? In the rain that must have been a long, long day.
@frank
+1, sounds like a top day out!
Just got back from my first sportive of the year. The Hell of Ashdown, 107km, 1684m of lumpiness (which is a lot for me, its properly flat in Cambridgeshire). Got in just under the target of 4:15 set by my sensei/coach.
Popped a spoke at about 60kph, I was alerted by a clattering against the fork, wasn’t sure what it was but kind of guessed. Tricky balance between stopping as fast a possible so that it wouldn’t get the chance to stop the wheel and stopping gently not knowing how many had gone and not wanting to collapse the wheel. Almost did a little poo.
Had a massage at the end. I totally get why the pros spend their time lying around being rubbed now. I’ll send my CV over to a couple of teams tomorrow.
I’m now going to have a curry and spend an hour in the bath with Fignon’s book and a rather nice looking bottle of shiraz. Does life get any better than that?
@Chris
Well done! Looks like a nice course.
@Chris
Nice one, that’s seriously lumpy. Reminds me of a ride a mate and I did this past summer in Dorset — barely any flats and all those short sharp climbs take a serious toll.
@Frank
Sounds good, looking forward to riding with some more Velominati.
@Ron
The trick is not minding that it hurts. Don’t think about it. That hour you spent wondering about your hands did nothing to warm them up and did nothing to give the feeling back later.
You don’t stay dry, so forget about it. If you keep the rain off, you’ll sweat. It makes no difference in the end. Just ride hard enough to stay warm. That said, I wore a long sleeve jersey, knee warmers, neoprene overshoes, a gilet and a wool base layer. I did get cold, though, and if I’d known before leaving it would be that wet I’d have taken my rain cape, but it doesn’t matter in the end.
Nothing happened to my shifter – my hand was frozen and I couldn’t press the go button or push the lever. My fingers still feel numbish today. It took me about 8 hours. – with about 2500m climbing.
@Chris
Awesome!!
@frank
Love that reference but not only “not minding that it hurts” but revel in the pain and the hurt! You cannot be a true racer/rider unless you are a severe masochist and a sadist: Gauging how much pain you have and trying to hurt everyone around you even more. What a beautiful sport, no?
@Frank
Exactly the same thing happened to me the week before my foray with G’rilla. Shifting down to the small ring was easy, but back up for the flats and downhill sections was near impossible, and I even used both hands at one point to drag the shifter over! Thankfully my hands recovered pretty quickly, but my feet turned a scary scarlet to deep purple shade upon entering the shower. For a moment I thought I had frostbite but luckily things got back to normal within minutes. Lessons learned: wear silk liners, wool socks and booties to reduce the cold, but also, it takes more than four hours riding in 40 degree rain to do any permanent damage to your feet!
@Ron
For these type of rides I really like a light base layer, especially silk, under my Assos airblock winter jacket. Yes, it does get soaked through after an hour or so of continuous rain, but as Frank said, provided you’re riding voraciously enough you stay warm. By the way, I recall the earlier discussion of winter jackets not looking pro and don’t care!
As one who was brought up Catholic I sometimes feel the need to confess my sins and seek absolution, so… Merckx forgive for I have sinned and ridden in the Abu Dhabi Triathlon today.
Only the cycle leg as part of a team, but as all Catholics know, just thinking about something can be a sin.
I am trying to think of it as a 25 (1.02 for the first 40km BTW) with another 60km thrown in to get home.
On the positive side I can offer a new definition of cruelty, or maybe crueltri… putting a tight U-turn in the first 50 meters of the bike leg.
The inspired bit was that it straddled two lanes so there were some raised lane markers to negotiate mid-turn. I saw two riders go down and that was just among the people I could see as I went through. Anyone who just stood there with a camera all day would have a You Tube hit on their hands this evening.
Yeah! back on the bike after a month off recovering from pneumonia. Got 10 hours in over the weekend!
A shot from Columbia River Gorge:
@scaler911
10 hours, good work.
Rule #62 contravention or race radio?
@scaler911
Nice! Great job!
I was out for 9 straight days and had my first ride back on Saturday myself! Man, the flu kicked my butt this year. I rode Sat and Sun but only a total of around 4 hours. Hoping to get 3 in today, though!
@Chris
I don’t pay attention to Rule #62. ROCK ON!
@scaler911
Nice! I feel ya here…had my first ride in 6 weeks since surgery on Saturday. It was only 30 minutes and on the trainer but damn it felt good!
Wow, all of a sudden I’m not feeling like the only guy who has had riding challenges — most of the posters here blow me away with their hours so far!
Yesterday I actually got out for 45 minutes. Now for most of you that’s not a big deal, but I’ve been dealing with a bulging cervical disc since September, and spent almost 5 months with pain and numbness from mid-back to shoulder all the way down through my hand. Even worse, it was on the left side so couldn’t even look back to see traffic coming up (US traffic) and tilting my head up to look beyond my front wheel trigger things too.
After PT, massage, accupuncture and a few other things finally got a steroid injection into the foramenal space to settle down the impinged nerve and that is making a difference. Hopefully things will continue to improve so that over time I can take out the additional 15mm of spacers I added (was installing a new fork this winter so had the luxury of at least running my stem at -6 vs flipping it up but 30mm of spacers looks, well…. :(
@scaler911
Nice! I had pneumonia in November of ’10 and it completely eliminated my form. Then crashed in January of 11, another setback. It’s so good to get fit again after setbacks like that.
@scaler911
Nice shot! Man, Friday sure was nice…
Here is Sunday for me:
Wanted to get the legs loose after weight lifting on Saturday. It’s amazing how good cycling makes sore quads feel. After about 7 kms my legs were feeling great. Of course, as soon as returned home two hours later they tightened up again. I’m going to have to switch the weight lifting from Saturday mornings to mid-week soon, so I don’t keep ruining my freshness every weekend. Or you know, I could actually HTFU and get stronger so my legs aren’t as sore. Either way.
@Buck Rogers
Well, that didn’t work out like I had planned. Just was hit by a HUGE Black Armada while riding my bike during lunch. We were stbtoh stopped at a four way light and she was turning left and I had right-of-way and was going straight. The light turned and I started and then I saw her start to turn right into me and thought, “Holy cow, she’s going to hit me!” I tried to go forward as quickly as possible and she just caught my rear wheel and spun me around. Fortuantely, I was not hurt at all but my rear wheel has seen better days.
At first she drove off but then about 3 minutes later she came back from the other direction and was apologizing profusely. She ended up giving me a ride back to work. I’m torn b/c she could have easily just driven off and left me and no one would have been the wiser. It is interesting b/c she said that she never even saw me and just heard the “thump” and looked in her mirror and said to herself, “I just ran over a biker.” Pretty scary.
I ended up getting her insurance info and calling it in while I was sitting in her car. Got to run to the bike shop now and see if the rear wheel just needs a truing or if it is worse. The frame looks totally fine. Damn, hope the wheel is fine as it is my new HED C2 with the Chris King R45 on it!
@Buck Rogers
Dude… That sucks. A lot. Sorry, man.
@Buck Rogers
damn! hope the bike ends up being ok. you also.
@Buck Rogers
Yep, that sucks. But at least you’re able to type about it and work on getting a new wheel.
@Buck Rogers
Wow scary! Thank goodness you are OK and that she came back!
My only hit by a car was the same thing, basically. Back wheel clipped by a car, spun me to the side but I managed to stay upright. In my case though, the person didn’t even stop, and when I caught back up to them down the street she TOOK OFF, probably going 50+kph in a residential area to get away from me. She have hers coming someday though, that I don’t doubt.
But yeah back to you (hehe), since the lady seemed nice, I’d be nice in return. Get a quote from the shop to replace or fix the wheel (I’d probably opt for replacement), and let her know how much it’ll be. Let her take care of it outside of insurance if she’s good for it. If she starts to get wishy-washy, then take it to her insurance company. They’ll probably pay it no problem, as the cost of a wheel is small peanuts compared to the multi-car crashes they deal with every day.
Good luck!
@mcsqueak
Sounds like a nice lesson in Rule #10.
@Buck Rogers
Wow, scary. Glad you are in one piece.
@Buck Rogers
Glad you are ok. I can picture the conversation in the car –
Motorist: I’m sorry I hit you.
Buck: Yeah, the last time I felt that much adrenaline was with Special Ops going door-to-door killing people. Now, what was your insurance info again?
@itburns
That made me laugh! Actually, I’m such a dork that I was apologizing as well for causing her trouble! But, she called her insurance at the same time as I did and she told them that I had right of way and that she never even saw me. She also told my insurance that. She seems like a really nice person but was just clued out for a moment. Thank the Lord I was not two feel further back than I was!
@Buck Rogers
Glad you’re ok BR, what I’m wondering is, what was she looking at?
@ Buck, Glad you’re OK dude! Could have been a lot worse. As to the woman;
Many moons ago, I was bombing down out of the West Hills in PDX on the main drag (Burnside for you locals) into town. It was a rainy afternoon in the fall, a couple teammates in tow. Near the bottom, with me at maximum velocity, an on coming car turns left in front of me (the ol’ left hook). I t-bone the front quarter panel and fly over the hood. Uninjured, but fucking pissed (I’d been t-boned on my bike earlier that summer, getting a ride on a backboard, and a cut Achilles tendon), I jumped up and Miller-coptered my bent bike at the car. I’m cussing and carrying on as my friends pull up. Then the driver gets out; smoking hot, 5’2″ brunette in yoga shorts and a half shirt (her just coming from the gym). My buddies said the change in my attitude was so immediate that it was like changing the channel on the TV.
I got lunch and everything that was bent replaced (or straightened).
Be glad your gal came back.
@Buck Rogers
Gald you’re okay Buck – I’m not really a believer in “fate” but I reckon we’re all due a bump at some time and it’s nice that you and your bike survived yours in (almost) one piece. Make sure your bike shop examine the frame closely in-case there’s any damage you hadn’t seen. You don’t want to settle the claim the day before the previously hairline crack opens up mid-ride!
@Buck Rogers
Glad to hear you’re alright. Sounds like a close shave. Seems like the driver is doing the decent thing too, which is probably better than you can expect from most people.
@Chris
Exactly. In a weird way, it reaffirmed my belief that most people are really, truly good people and will do the right thing if faced with the option of doing the right thing or not. Bike is in the shop and will have an estimate by tomorrow night on damages.
@Buck Rogers
So sorry about that new wheel, Buck. Glad there was no rending of flesh or faith.
Huh, not seeing an eye surgeon?
It’s like…like…10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife.
@Buck Rogers
I hate to hear you had a close call, but better a close call than doing your best imitation of a Nissan Armada hood ornament. Good to know we’ll have the chance to ride together again.
The reign of the Anti-flat is over — since June 2011. Speared my Conti Sprinter in a training race with a “finishing” nail — ironic.
@Buck Rogers
I might be coming to the same conclusion. A year ago, I had a narrowly avoided an SUV that barged into the street – I swerved just in time to graze his bumper with my boot. I carried on, not even thinking about it, but apparently he was so pissed he actually caught up with me several blocks down the road, knocked me off, beat me up and drove off. No witness had his number.
Ever since, I respond to every incident with aggression – and it’s been pretty unjustified so far. It often takes me a while to realize the person isn’t going to hurt me any further – and even then, I’d rather keep going. When a driver knocked me down with a left hook in the summer, my first response was to grab my bike and take cover between parked cars. When I realized he was more in a shock than I was, I thought I’d take advantage of that, clipped in and was about escape home – and it took me a few seconds to realize he’s offering help, and that I was dripping blood all over and needed medical attention.
Raced for the first time on Saturday,what a hoot. 1.1km laps on a service road round an outdoor music venue, 45 minutes + 5 laps. Cat 4s only so I was a bit nervous about the potential for a massive pile up but apart from someone running into my backside it was pretty cool.
The course dropped away from the start line flattened out for a couple of hundred metres before climbing back to the start. The hill wasn’t a problem if you had someone’s wheel or were buried in the bunch but energy sapping if you tried it alone at pace.
The excitement of the occasion had my heart rate soaring, 180bpm at the top of the hill on lap two but then settled down. Had my back wheel skip out a couple of time on the corner at the start of the climb and spent the next couple of laps concentrating more on my line than staying out of the wind which stuffed me up a bit – Friday’s ride with my sensei was also lingering in my legs. Fell off the back of the group on about lap 12, eased off and got back on a few laps later when they cam back through. Worked hard at staying in the bunch but got dropped again a couple of laps from the end.
Although I got dropped a couple of times I reckon it was down to inexperience as much as fitness. A month of concentrating on hill reps an other intervals should do the trick.
Laps four and 19 of 29 were the fastest but there were about another 12 that were within four of five seconds of those. Fairly relentless.
I’m definitely hooked, not sure if I can get to next weeks race (my wife is flying back from a week in South America that morning) but there’s an evening series starting up soon so I’ll try to do a fair few of them although they’ll be a bit trickier because the Cat 3 and 4s race together with the Elites, 1, 2 and 3s on the track at the same time.
Riding at a shade under 60kph in the middle of a bunch is fucking unbelievable!
@Chris
Much better than my organized ride metric century today. Some observations from the saddle:
– What makes a bike sound like a variable rhythmic shaking of a spray paint can with a ball in it? Bearing failure? Demonic anti-V possession? The crazy thing was the rider didn’t notice. Rule #65 dictated an attempt at dropping the entire group coddling this malcontent since he wasn’t falling on his own sword. Adroit readers have guessed where my “attempt” lead – failure. The V Gods were in a good mood, though, because shortly after that group rejoined the Krylon man pulled over to the road with some sort of issue.
– The chance of wearing a Michelob Ultra (flavored water posing as beer) jersey is exponential to the rider’s weight.
– I passed a woman with a pair of the most impressive guns I have ever seen. I assume she was a body builder that was out for some cardio because:
a) I was able to pass her
b) those were the most cut legs I’ve seen in person since I dated a body builder – picture ripped hamstrings that most civilians would be happy to call quads. Yes, Scaler, a female body builder.
@tessar
My Lord! What an awful story (the first one). There are some really crazy people out there, but like you are finding, most are pretty darn decent and do the right thing when given the chance. But good on you for still riding after an awful encounter like you had that first time!
@Chris
Congratulations! Welcome to a deeper understanding of the V. Keep it up. And sorry about the obsessive compulsive disorder that’s about to color your whole existence.
Gaaah, why did I get up this morning…
Had a puncture on Saturday and when replacing the tube thought the tyre felt a bit thin and it was time to replace it.
So new tyre duly fitted (Michelin Pro 3 Light) out I go at 0530 as usual.
Howling headwind, but that’s normal, just finished warming up and hisssssssss… bugger.
Change tube. Lots of mini-pumping and now have to cut ride a bit short.
Do another 20km, heading home, went over a small stone and hisssssssssss… same tyre.
No more tubes, no phone, 6km from home in cleats…
Fortunately managed to hitch a lift to somewhere I could get a taxi home.
Walked in, turned the kitchen light on and a bulb blew…
Just don’t come near me today if you know what’s good for you. I expect this site to crash any moment now.
And as for the Pro 3 Light I am assuming the Service Course designation means it should only be used on a dedicated bike track which has been kept covered at all times, swept, vacuumed and scrubbed before being finished with a chamois.
@itburns
@Buck Rogers
LOL, well you are ok, so that is good to hear. I’d echo the advice on getting the frame checked out, insurance, etc, etc, but you got that already.
Near automobile experiences get my adrenaline up these days – a bit like the whole exploding asphalt thingy. I try not to be that guy on a bike and use the boost for good rather than evil.
@ChrisO
What black cat crossed your path before walking under the ladder to break a few mirrors?
So.
I have Friday and the next week off work. Planned a little week long beast fest on the bike, and this is what I am given for my efforts….
[dmalbum: path=”/velominati.com/wp-content/uploads/readers/Dan_R/2012.03.23.00.24.34/”/]
Fucking Hell. We just got dumped on on Tueday night. We have been riding outside for over three friggin’ weeks…
Was out along Marine Drive today (12C , sunny and no wind after 5cm of snow on the ground yesterday), and could have swore I “nodded” a V-kit going east bound. Who was that dude?? @eightzero?