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
@Fronk
I think this is the very essence of it - that said, sometimes the crown just told you to get the fuck off and don't come back until you are worthy - biggest challenge was trying to get back up onto it once you had come off, as in the gutter, the handlebars seemed to become suddeny independant of the front forks
ps. what happened to the preview function.....?
And there was me thinking that Boonen was riding the crown because he'd heard there was a lanky flag waving Dutch American with previous for knocking down and injuring pro riders.
The crown generally hurt more but the gutter was much sketchier - the closest I came to coming off was hitting a deep patch of sand on Mons-en-Pévèle.
@Dr C
It's auto-previewing in the box for me.
@Gianni
Thanks all, truly a mythical experience for me. I have ALWAYS dreamed of the pave' and one day riding them. Just surpassed everything i could possibly imagine. The last sector, after 7.5 straight hours in the saddle was just pure pain cave. Nothing i have ever done in my sporting life compares, not ultras, not high altitude mountaineering, nothing.
Yes Gianni, same William. The guy is fucking insane and soooo awesome. Just the best dude ever.
Also Brett, William specifically said that you did not like the crest! Of course if I was racing for time, I would have been a gutter bitch the whole way, which most people did. There were sections where you could ride the gutter and it was smooth and easy but I was not there for that. I was not riding for time, I was riding to try to be in the shoes of RDV, Merckx, Kelly, Lemond, Museeuw, and, of course Boonen. I found their spirits purely on the crest, not hiding from the cobbles in the ditch. I have no doubt that I could have taken 30 plus minutes off my time in the ditch and soooo much pain away, but I was there FOR the pain and the pave'. I really wanted to ride every meter of the pave but broke down for a bit on Pevele. But, I had spectators cheering for me in Arenburg when EVERYONE was riding the gutter and shouting "courage" and "bravo" as i rode that fucking crest with a pure face of pain.
As for the next time, fuck that! It will take me at least a year to recover from this experience!
And JiPM, you are a poet and much too kind. I really look forward to riding with you at least one more time before I leave the great state of Texas. It was the fulfillment of a lot of training and dreaming for sure.
Still feel like shit all over, 48 hours later. Currently worshipping at the alter of vitamin I, aka ibuprofin!
Dr C, your ride sounds killer, esp with all that climbing! Hope you've climbed every hill in England at least twice or man, it will be a killer!!!
@frank
Sorry, just saw this. 73%? Fuck that, more like 93%!!!
I think of the crown vs. gutter as a grinta vs. finesse thing. The crown is more painful and requires straight up more power to ride at speed but is less risky. The gutter is smoother but requires a lot of concentration and subtle bike handling to keep from going in the 5 meter deep ditches, huge holes, or mud on the sides. The crown is more predictable/consistent. Just when I'd had enough of the crown I'd hit the gutter and just when I'd had enough of the gutter I'd hit the crown. Such a beautiful contrast. I preferred the crown - riding nice crown like that of the Carrefour or Mons A Pavele secteurs is great fun but man did I ever appreciate the ditch in Hem - Hem is fucked. And there's no hiding in the trouee - that's just batshit nuts anywhere you ride it.
@Buck Rogers - what shape is your steed in?
@Buck Rogers
Beautifully put, particularly the bit about riding in the shows of RDV and co. When it's going well, it's easy to picture yourself thundering over the pavé surrounded by the greats rather than your fellow journeymen.
There's got to be a next time, though, I don't think any of us mortals could have really envisaged what it would take and trained accordingly. I know I've got to go back and do it more faster.
@marko
I never hated anything as much as I hated Hem. Why? That secteur was just so incredibly brutal. It almost seemed like it was supposed to be an easy secteur but it fucked with my head. And it was long. And Bretto and I were off the front and trying to drill it.
@Chris
Yes, it should be auto-previewing. All should work as usual with quotes and replies, except the comment box shows the content, not the raw HTML.
If something seems wonky: clear the browser cache as sometimes your browsers can be awfully stubborn about not downloading the latest copies.
If you've done that and it still doesn't work right, let me know what's happening and I'll (try to) sort it out.
As usual, change hurts, but the goal is to make it easier on everyone, not harder.
@Buck Rogers
There's this section of cobbles in Westouter (the town near where we stayed) which we hit on a casual ride out around to loosen up. Those cobbles, 24 hours after our second Roubaix ride, hurt more than Roubaix, despite being very mellow stones. Your body is do banged up.
On the other hand, now you'll know how you can really hurt yourself, and you'll crave the cobbles again. Its impossible to hurt yourself like this on tarmac. Provided you stay upright.