shelbyfv

It's sometimes against BF policy to freely discuss other members. If you can't figure this situation out for yourself you can PM me or probably any of the other half dozen folks in this thread who seem to understand.

Jeff Neese

Like I said, I've read many of them already in the daily course of browsing new topics, and I did go back and look through more. There's really nothing that stands out, except a few people getting their feelings hurt and making a big deal out of it. Rule #5 might apply here.

Naturally you could just ignore him, yet here you are. It seems personal. Definitely not trolling though.

t2p

ditto

did a relatively flat (for western PA) metric century one time that was brutal - hot humid sunny day and a pace above my comfort level ... I was toast

at the time - I could not stand flat rides - but now for the most part that is what I do ...

I do have lower gearing now for the occasional climbing: 34/30 ... 31/34 on another bike ... and a bike with a 22/32 on a triple for those nasty short climbs

livedarklions

If that didn't stand out, think you need to recalibrate.

livedarklions

His math is absurd. No matter how you slice it, all he did was climb 800 feet. I ride in New England, I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a century route, metric or imperial that didn't have climbs of several times higher than that, sections of which will be at a relatively high grade (not 15%, but his math indicates there can't be much of that on his ride either since 1 mile at 15% would account for all of the 800 feet, and he's describing a 2 mile climb) . If he's really claiming that 800 feet of climb doesn't count because it's scattered over a 100 mile route, he's going to have to show some math here.

Jeff Neese

Originally Posted by grantelmwood
An 8 mile ride with 15% hills is harder than a 100 mile ride on a cute little bike path for kids and grannies

He may be right. It depends on how much of that 8 miles is at a 15% gradient. That's steeper than most of the "hellish" climbs in the TDF. 8 miles if it's all 15% would be almost superhuman. I know I couldn't do it (and you probably couldn't either), but we can probably both ride 100 miles on a cute little bike path made for kids and grannies.

BillyD

Some of you guys are an absolute riot. You're so worried about who's a sock or who's a troll it's comedic. Just because someone doesn't follow what you consider "proper" cycling behaviors drives you guys into a tizzy. You refuse to acknowledge the principle of "Different strokes for different folks", or rather, you might recognize it but you're going to do everything you can to drive him off these forums.

Kittens? Really? You're going to try to make a federal case out of a guy referring vaguely and indirectly to "kittens" when you don't hesitate to call people trolls . . . directly and to their face? Really? Some of you guys have lost it. Somewhere along the line there must have been a request for volunteer gatekeepers because that's exactly how you guys act . . . . everybody is a troll or a sock unless they march in lock step with you guys, the usual characters. The gatekeepers. Somehow I missed that memo.

Kittens . . . I can't get over that. We got a good laugh out of that one.

livedarklions

He definitely did not mean that the entire 8 miles was 15% grade as he only claimed 800 feet of climbing over the entire 8 miles. 15% of 8 miles is 6336 feet of climb. 800 feet in 8 miles is just under 2% grade average. The mere presence of a few feet of 15% grade (that he walked, BTW) in 8 miles is not enough to magically make the ride "harder" than a ride 12.5 times longer in distance. And if you can't recognize the "kids and grannies" bit as trolling, like I said, your calibration is busted.

Honestly, I think the OP is probably lying about the 15% anyway, but in any event, he's remarkably nonspecific about how much of it there is.

Jeff Neese

What part got your panties in a bunch, the "kids" or the "grannies"? It's a good thing he didn't mention "granddads" or I'd be equally as offended.

Eric F 

The math says that not much was 15% in his 8 mile ride...and he walked. If he's a real person, and actually rides bikes, he's new to riding, and that's okay. We all had to start somewhere, and sometimes that includes making ignorant assumptions about things we have never experienced.

What makes climbs "hellish" in the Tour is mostly the ridiculous pace they ride.

livedarklions

Neither, but if you can't recognize it as an attempt to piss people off (i.e., trolling), you're tone deaf. My panties remained unbunched, TYVM. I didn't say he was a good troll.

shelbyfv

I think folks (you guys?) are just trying to help. It's not like trolls and socks have never infested BF. Can we then assume you've had your IT sleuths investigate this OP's connection to the Che troll and there's nothing to it? Admittedly he didn't get confused and use both IDs in the same thread but there were some verbatim posts, IIRC. Just asking and thanks for all you do!

tomato coupe

Kittens are mean.

indyfabz

Easy as pie to map it out and post a link, although that can be faked. Easier still to tell people where it was and let them investigate for themselves is they choose.

grantelmwood

Huffy = GED
Schwinn = Associate's
Cannondale = Bachelor's
Trek = Master's
BMC = PhD

indyfabz

My cat is nice. I didn't know him when he was a kitten.

Eric F 

What about a Storck?

Eric F 

I have the scars to prove it.

indyfabz

LOL! Then I must have a post-Doc.

tomato coupe

ftfy

genejockey 

Also the length of the climbs and sometimes really steep pitches > 20%, after you've already climbed a couple thousand feet at a faster pace than most of us routinely manage on the flat.

grantelmwood

Folks that claim a 2 mile hill at 15% is "nothing" are either
a) full of crap keyboard warrior trolls
b) pro cyclists
c) have never ridden hills.

I then realized (c) may be a real demographic, so I asserted the arbitrary 100 mile flat comparison
to make a point to the muppies and kittens

genejockey 

2 miles of 15% is about 1600 feet, not the 800 over 8 miles you initially described. Also, you didn't say "8 miles at 15%", you said, "An 8 mile ride with 15% hills".

tomato coupe

People that claim an 8 mile ride with 800 ft. of climbing has 2 miles of 15% grade can't do basic math.

Eric F 

You need to make up your mind about what the hill was...
Your lack of knowledge about riders and riding is glaringly obvious.

EDIT: I don't recall anyone saying a 15% climb was "nothing", but 20 minutes of climbing is not more difficult (a bigger effort) than 5+ hours of flat riding. I have experience with both.