A 12% grade sounds like a mountain to me, & makes me appreciate my "mountain bike" gearing. Also, I've noticed the negative aerodynamics of facial hair are offset by the insulating affect on cold days. Of course, in my case, I grow hair where it will grow & have to wear a cap to protect the top from freezing and sunburn.
dougP On Mar 17, 12:30 pm, Esteban <[email protected]> wrote: > Haha - I was in the small chainring on my Sugino triple up that 12% > climb! You make good sense, as usual, Doug. He didn't mention > anything about my "retro" beard (which certainly cost me seconds over > the course of the ride), but regarding that, I already know I'm in > good company. > > Esteban > San Diego, Calif. > > On Mar 17, 12:17 pm, doug peterson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Esteban: > > > That's an interesting write-up. Did you notice in the intro he > > mentions not finishing? Got 150 miles though; darn sight more than > > I'm ever planning for a single day. > > > Let's see, his problems were: 1) sore bottom; 2) struggling on the > > climbs; 3) pavement roughness. Can't really tell much about the bike > > from the photo but it looks like low spoke count wheels (he mentions > > something about the spokes orienting "just so") & a carbonic looking > > fork, so we can guess at the rest of the package. I wonder how he > > would have done on a more comfortable bike with wider range gearing? > > Gosh, a Brooks saddle, 25" or 30" low gear and big fat 28 mm tires may > > have made his day! > > > dougP > > > On Mar 17, 8:46 am, Esteban <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I thought you folks would get a kick out of this. A friend sent me > > > this ride report of the Death Valley Double, which I finished at a > > > rather leisurely 15:17. > > > I show up in the middle as Mr. Retro. > > > >http://veloasana.com/2010/03/10/unfinished-business-in-death-valley/ > > > "A rider catches me. He’s on an old steel-framed bike, complete with > > > fenders. He’s wearing a retro jersey. As he passes by, he exclaims, > > > “Some climb, huh?” .... Mr. Retro is descending faster than me. Within > > > a few minutes, he’s a mile ahead. But somehow, as the road levels off > > > near the bottom of the pass, I catch up. We round a corner and there > > > it is: the climb I forgot about. The other 12% grade – the backside of > > > Jubilee Pass. I brace for more climbing, but thankfully, this side of > > > the pass is fairly short. > > > > I reach the summit just behind Mr. Retro. > > > > “Well, that’s the last of the major climbing for the day,” he says." > > > > Little does he know my Romulus is vintage 2003! > > > Here I am, Mr. Retro:http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/25671...@n02/4435969706/ > > > Here I am, Mr. Retro:- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
