Kill Bill as prep for Savageman?

[Dickie]

@TwoWheelsDC 49295 wrote:

Aw, the course doesn’t include the 11th St. hill between Westover Park and Patrick Henry (http://app.strava.com/segments/3160057). That’s my least favorite hill in all of Arlington…not because it’s particularly hard, but because I have to ride up it at the end of every ride. It’s like one last kick in the teeth after a tough day. Anyway, if the route came up Longfellow instead of Ohio, I’d set up a feed station for everyone, but alas…

I deal with that little bugger most days of the week too, I can see why you would hate it at the end of every ride!

[Dirt]

@eminva 49319 wrote:

Hey Pete —

Is it okay if I pass this along to a friend? He is in the final stages of training for some crazy Bike Tour of Colorado thing in June and is hitting every hill he can find. Thanks in advance.

Liz

Yup! Please pass it along. I’d appreciate a donation to the cause, of course, but that isn’t mandatory.

I will do my best to keep the group moving together. I will need to balance those two things… keeping moving and keeping together. It may be a delicate balance. Being able to navigate on your own will make everything go smoothly. We’re not going to be going at any kind of blistering pace… but we will be trying to keep things moving steadily.

Cool?

Thanks.

Pete

[ShawnoftheDread]

I was ready for 100 miles and 10K feet of climbing, but now I see it’s 108 miles and 11.5K of climbing, so I’m out.

[Dirt]

@ShawnoftheDread 49331 wrote:

I was ready for 100 miles and 10K feet of climbing, but now I see it’s 108 miles and 11.5K of climbing, so I’m out.

I’ve tried a bunch of variations to get some of the hills off of Columbia Pike and Walter Reed into play… They bump up the altitude gain for sure, but they also bump out the mileage too. 108 is more than I’d like, but the additions for this year (up about 3 miles from last year) are good ones.

I’ve said a few times already that I’m going to start making a miniature version of this ride that centers in South Arlington and Alexandria. My goal for that is modest… 62 miles and 6200 feet of climbing. We’ll see how that goes.

[hozn]

This sounds fun; depending on the time (i.e. if I can be home before the day is too far gone), I am interested. Will PM to get the lowdown.

[PotomacCyclist]

Where are the hills in Alexandria? Must be in the West End since Old Town is mostly flat, except for a couple small but steep mini-climbs near the Wilson Bridge. Riding on the bridge itself is an enjoyable moderate climb (except for the expansion joints).

[TwoWheelsDC]

@PotomacCyclist 49408 wrote:

Where are the hills in Alexandria? Must be in the West End since Old Town is mostly flat, except for a couple small but steep mini-climbs near the Wilson Bridge. Riding on the bridge itself is an enjoyable moderate climb (except for the expansion joints).

Yeah, west of Old Town is decently hilly. No long climbs, but lots of short, steep stuff. I found this out the hard way riding my fully loaded commuter bike out to a financial advisor appt. last week in nearly 90 degree heat: http://app.strava.com/activities/48232618

[consularrider]

@PotomacCyclist 49408 wrote:

Where are the hills in Alexandria? Must be in the West End since Old Town is mostly flat, except for a couple small but steep mini-climbs near the Wilson Bridge. Riding on the bridge itself is an enjoyable moderate climb (except for the expansion joints).

Valley Dr, Braddock Rd, Belle View, etc …

[DaveK]

@PotomacCyclist 49408 wrote:

Where are the hills in Alexandria? Must be in the West End since Old Town is mostly flat, except for a couple small but steep mini-climbs near the Wilson Bridge. Riding on the bridge itself is an enjoyable moderate climb (except for the expansion joints).

Look for the spaghetti across 395 from Shirlington on this track…

http://app.strava.com/activities/40468554

[brendan]

@DaveK 49421 wrote:

Look for the spaghetti across 395 from Shirlington on this track…

http://app.strava.com/activities/40468554

Yay, Parkfairfax! The reason I couldn’t really get into biking as a kid had something to do with growing up on Mt. Eagle Pl.

Brendan

[kcb203]

@thucydides 48542 wrote:

Thanks, everyone. To some degree I’m not worried about Westernport. Westernport is mainly about pride. If I have to walk it, I have to walk it. My concern is more about the big picture, i.e., getting through a ride that features lots more difficult climbs after Westernport.

I had a great race at Savageman after training on the North Arlington hills. 41st Street was great until it was repaved a year or two ago. The consensus on tackling the wall is straight up on the right side. I got my brick.

As others have said, it’s the placement of hills within the ride that is tough. I’d do as many long, sustained climbs as you can. (Blue Ridge Mountain Rd., Skyline, Skymass, the course itself.) Also, do some hard hill repeats 40 miles into a ride. One way is to ride the W&OD out to Leesburg and go up Woodburn several times, then come back and do repeats on the best in Arlington (Quebec, Utah to Upton, Rock Spring).

[Author]

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