Hills. I hate them. What Would Dirt Do?

[acc]

Week #2- Ain’t Dead Yet.
I received helpful ideas and suggestions about how to deal with the hills I loathe on my commute. I mulled them over. I reread posts on the Bike Forum and pondered. What should I do?

First, I named them. Naming the hills helped me focus my anger, I blame the hill and not myself. The first bit of evil I named Northface. I have to stare at him from the bottom while I wait for the light at University Drive to turn green. I hate that hill more than I hate okra. The second hill is a tricky bastard, he isn’t hard, just a long slog right up until the very end (not unlike first husbands) so I named him Killawomanjaro. The third hill is actually a combination of two hills with a very small separation in between. The second one is more rounded and shaped than the first so I call it, My Best Friend’s Boob Job.

Then I sat and thought. And as I thought I began to formulate the one question that would help me the most. What Would Dirt Do?
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By God, he’d put on his Forever Lazy Suit and stand up to climb.

And that’s exactly what I did.
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Note: I found a way to deal with the rain ruining my hair.

Topic

[elcee]

@vvill 23116 wrote:

I tried this out on the way home today. I didn’t expect any traffic but first a car in front of me stopped dead in the road before the sharp right turn and people started getting out. It is a VERY narrow road so I don’t blame them (and they were probably wondering what a cyclist was doing there, assuming they live there or know someone who does). After I’d gotten around them (I passed on their left), a big white Verizon truck came down the turn! So definitely 0 momentum going up. It was steep indeed but very short. I think N Pollard or N Lincoln (both sort of parallel) are tougher climbs.

Yes … many dastardly climbs in that neighborhood. 😡

[TwoWheelsDC]

This weekend I discovered the Rose Hill area…not sure if that’s Huntington or Franconia or what, since I’m basically clueless regarding areas south of Arlington/Falls Church. Anyway, some great hills back there, but the neighborhood is very quiet and it just seemed less stressful to ride through than North Arlington. It’s also a great area to link with climbing around Lake Barcroft, which has some nasty hills.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I just did 55 miles on the Eastern Shore with probably less than 1000 feet of climbing. It was a fast ride, but freaking mind-numbing. Gives me a new appreciation for hills!

[JimF22003]

@TwoWheelsDC 24042 wrote:

I just did 55 miles on the Eastern Shore with probably less than 1000 feet of climbing. It was a fast ride, but freaking mind-numbing. Gives me a new appreciation for hills!

I did a century on the Eastern Shore (the 6 Pillars ride I think) where the Garmin ended up showing 199 feet of elevation change for the whole ride. It wasn’t my mind that was numb, it was my rear end…

[pfunkallstar]

@JimF22003 24050 wrote:

I did a century on the Eastern Shore (the 6 Pillars ride I think) where the Garmin ended up showing 199 feet of elevation change for the whole ride. It wasn’t my mind that was numb, it was my rear end…

I remember doing the Surry Century back in 2003 and basically having repetition-induced posterior amnesia from the underwhelming flatness. On the upside, the last 50 miles were straight into the wind.

[jopamora]

@creadinger 14300 wrote:

Another warm-up hill people may want to try is Forsythe Ave between Bethesda and Silver Spring. If you’re riding up Jones Mill Road, it’s the last right turn before you go under the beltway. It’s not long, but it’s steep and the worst part is near the top.

Um, I did this on the way home. I sure wish I had remembered your post about the top being the worst. Thought I was doing fine until then.

[DismalScientist]

@americancyclo 13923 wrote:

Tim has 3 lungs.

I find that if you want to increase your recorded speed all you need to do is remove your GPS device from your bike and just chuck it over the S-curve at the top.:rolleyes:

[Author]

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