Kabuki12

Eroica California! Epic ride up the coast of Central California with my good friend Rich. Looking forward to next year. Joe joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress

That's me in the yellow jersey, Rich in the Brooklyn riding his very nice Ron Cooper

MikeEckhaus

I had two that I would count as favorites. One was up Mt. Baldy to watch the Tour of California. It's a ride I've done several times, but going with a large group of friends, seeing both the pro men and the women fly up the mountain, and really great weather (little chilly at the top) made for a fantastic day. The second was the Jensie Gran Fondo, which was moved to Half Moon Bay this year. This was my first time riding through the redwood forests outside of San Fran, and they didn't disappoint. Just stunning scenery, a lot of the time either climbing or descending on twisty roads that are maybe a lane and a half wide between trees that are crazy old, crazy tall, and spectacular to look at. I did not like the miles of 25 mph headwind to finish the ride (straight north on PCH), but that was a reasonable price to pay for the other 85% of the ride. Bonus feature was chatting with Jens for a bit on one of the climbs.

woodcraft

Well it's been a pretty dull year on the bike- only a couple hit 100, only one 10k, & no interesting travel.

I guess the most notable was opening day of the bike path across a bridge in the SF area.

Long awaited & contested, hundreds to thousands turned out to ride from both directions.

We continued on to cross another bridge for ~ 50 miles and an historic day.

zacster

Which bridge is that? I intend to return to SF to do a ride sometime and do Mt Tam.

atwl77

2019 has been a roller coaster for me. Training for Paris-Brest-Paris 2019, riding the qualifying brevets plus extra, then going to France and ending PBP with a very early DNF, then coming back and started training a lot more seriously and seeing significant improvements especially once I began Zwift racing... among all those rides, the one ride that really stood out was a very hilly 600k audax in June. Two major climbs, didn't make any overnight stops due to lack of time, no sleep other than brief 5-10 min catnaps, and barely made the cut-off by less than 5 minutes. The final 60km was a semi time trial-like effort with me and another rider taking turns to pull each other and meet the cut-off time.




Edit: I managed to find my old ride report here: https://www.bikeforums.net/20994081-post205.html

kcblair

Did this one twice. Seven mile climb , lots down hill on way back. KB

Robert A

Certainly the most difficult ride of the year, and perhaps the most scenic. I learned a lot about my climbing abilities and what 9,400 feet is like.

firebird854

I had a couple of epic rides this year, super hard to decide on "Fave" because they all have their own interesting qualities.

1. Horribly Hilly Hundreds 200k 2019
121.34 miles, 6:59:30 moving time, 10,898ft of climbing.
There was a lottery to get into this one, it was a very well stocked ride on the roads in the driftless area of Wisconsin. The only traffic was occasional support vehicles and I thought it was funny that nearly every rest stop was atop some 500ish foot 20% grade climb. They even managed to save the best for last by putting basically the hardest climb in Wisconsin at the very end, 837 ft up the Blue Mounts in 3.45 miles with grades as high as 18%. The basically unlimited beer, food, and live music at the top was quite a relief...


2. Ride Across Wisconsin RAW
228.33 miles 10:18:07 Moving time 3,875ft of climbing
On barely any sleep (had to get family to drive me 3 hours out to the start, which setoff at 5:30am...) I managed to stick with the fast group for most of the ride averaging 20mph including time at rest stops and even taking a KOM (surprised me later!). This ride redefined "Epic" to me with the sheer distance traveled and all of the different experiences, including almost hitting a cow. The Mug I received at the end is now a fixture at my work desk, I'm so proud of it!


3. Phil's 🍪 Fondo "Double Fudge"
110.51 miles 6:36:41 Moving time 10,331ft of climbing
My latest adventure, I always considered myself a climber so I thought I should experience some actual mountains. I flew out to CA with my best friend, managed to rent a bike box, disassemble and reassemble the bike myself, get it through Delta without any additional fees (kudos to Bike Forums for informing me that Delta dropped their outrageous fees). This was a truly out-there experience, having rarely left Wisconsin, and this being my first time in CA, and my first time biking up mountains, I enjoyed every second of it! Except for the descents, suffice to say I would have melted anything less than disc brakes. Oh and Phil Giamon is pretty cool IRL.

wipekitty

It was a bit of a slow year for me, with fewer epic rides for reasons both in and out of my control.

I think my favorite was the last longer (50+ mile) ride I did before leaving Wisconsin. Good company, good roads, good adventure time (road closed? lets find out why!), and a stop at a rural bar with employees and patrons that did not seem amused (though we were!) It was not my fastest or longest ride of the year, but sure was fun.

69 miles, 3,038'.








Nice work on RAW! I was training for RAW and had totally committed to doing it, but then found out I had to move to North Carolina in early August, and I also got hit by a car in July which meant taking it easy for a few weeks. Sometimes the stars don't align. You probably rode with some of the La Crosse guys whom I know (they're a bit faster than me, though!)

travelerman

Gorilla Century in Pittsburg, KS... one week prior to riding BikeMS Ozarks. Great mostly-flat ride, with a solid showing from clubs and individuals from the region.



https://www.strava.com/activities/2668291303

travelerman

firebird854

I'm sorry to hear that! Drivers seriously have to be more cautious, it was a great experience and I did meet all sorts of interesting cyclists. You could always come on out next year!

robbyville

For me it’s a toss up between Tour de Big Bear where I didn’t ride particularly well but enjoyed the camaraderie of a weekend away with many of the people I ride with regularly and enjoy coffee with but rarely socialize outside of riding.

But I think really my favorite ride this year was the Mexicali to San Felipe ride I did last month. Drive from Palm Desert to Mexicali only 2 hours away. The event had fewer than 400 ppl and only cost about $30.

i used to try and ride 4 centuries a year but have not ridden a single one since moving to the desert 4 years ago. This ride was 122 miles and I only stopped once briefly for a nature stop. We were a group of 4 and rode with a great faster group for the first 55 miles. I had a couple of mental breakdowns and lost the group but kept cranking. Ended up doing about 60 miles on my own or trading off with one other person every now and again for pacing. Great wind from behind or slightly across on a pretty cool day by our standards led to a 5:33 time and an average speed of 21.7mph was an incredible day.

Amazing law enforcement presence and great people including police ******* through the streets of San Felipe really pumped me up (and I’m sure everyone else)!

rivers

My best ride of the year had to be Chase the Sun, a 205 mile coast to coast challenge on the summer solstice. It started at 4:41am in the Isle of Sheppey, with the goal of making it to Burnham on Sea before sunset. And we made it. It went through some lovely villages and country side, skirted through Central London, which was a bit frightening, down Cheddar Gorge. I hurt in places I didn't know was possible, but it was a great ride. Can't wait to ride it again this year.

rivers

Go to the Highlands. Riding up there is lovely. Gospel Pass is great, I'm riding up the other direction this year, not as long, but steeper. What bit of the UK are you in? Might be able to recommend some routes

TheDudeIsHere

A ride back in August. A nice 32 miler. Nothing exciting. Just that it was the first time I got my wife back on the bike 3 months after her son died (38 years old, kidney and heart failure over 20 years).

Jim from Boston

Fave ride of the year?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooga-booga

it’s that time again...what was your favorite ride of 2019? epic? quirky? after recovering from injury? while on vacation? whatever the reason(s), feel free to post it here…

2019 was not a great cycling year, mostly sporadic commuting, but one ride stands out:

Nachoman

My favorite rides are Gibraltar and Kitchen Creek, which I try and pedal once a year. This photo is Kitchen Creek.

diphthong

some inspiring rides here...

bargo68 

Mine was a trip up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais and across the 'Seven Sisters' and back down into Mill Valley and home to Fairfax. It's about a 40 mile ride with appx. 3800 ft of climbing, but the stats have nothing to do with it.

It was a beautiful weekday in October with crystalline blue skies and a gentle warm breeze and I had the road pretty much to myself all the way out of Fairfax and up the mountain. I was about two thirds of the way up, between Alpine Lake and the start of Ridgecrest, winding through redwood stands and the trees were singing in the breeze and I saw a family of deer saunter across the road in front of me, unconcerned, I also saw a few hawks and maybe an eagle, maybe a turkey buzzard. I felt so grateful to be in that place and in that moment that I just started crying and laughing with joy at the same time! I hope I have more of those moments, whether on a bike or not does not matter.

When I told my partner later that evening about my ride she said: "why don't you ever do that when I'M around??"

I told her we should ride together more often, but she's not big into cycling.

Oh well....

zacster

Mt. Tam is on my list. I wish I had started earlier the day I had a bike in SF and I would have tried. I wasn't expecting to have a nice road bike when I was there and was just planning on riding one the hybrids over the bridge to Tiberon and taking the ferry back, but I could easily have done it with the bike I got instead. I didn't know which is the best way to go either, but I'll do more research next time instead of relying on the map in the brochure, which wasn't really useful. I'll download something from RidewithGPS and bring my Elemnt Bolt next time.

bargo68 

You'll love it! The times I've done the ride I've often met and talked to other riders and it seems to be as special for them as it is for me. One time I chatted with another local fellow who does the ride once a week and claimed that it's what has kept him not only healthier but saner as well!
I'm very lucky that I can just throw a leg over and after a right turn about 3/4 of a mile from my house, I'm starting up Fairfax-Bolinas Rd. I would recommend this route not only because it's convenient for me , but the descent into Mill Valley is amazing! Smooth tarmac with banked turns and a view that can't be beat!

zacster

OK. I'm going to keep doing my Sufferfest and Zwift climbing to get into shape. I'll try in the spring. I only wish SF was cheaper to stay in but it is damn expensive, worse than NYC,

Zuzus pedals

I can't really choose a single favorite for 2019, but there are a few I really liked.

This one around Cayuga Lake (plus an unrecorded 8.8 miles of getting to the start and back) was my longest ride of the year, and it was at that perfect sweet spot speed that felt oh-so-good:

www.strava.com/activities/2616919182/

This out-and-back TT course (18.79 miles long, +/- 50.2 feet/mile elevation change, lots of mini-rollers and false flats, no aero equipment) was my favorite ride of the year at a strong, steady pace:

www.strava.com/activities/2563442643#64383645047

And this was close to being the shortest recorded bit of the year, but it was the first time I've ever gone 25 mph on this stretch of road (the "Oakcrest to Terpening Corners" segment) and it might have been my best hard effort of 2019:

www.strava.com/activities/2895569315#71894090883

Best climb segments of the year:

I felt some good mojo on this Category 4 segment "Downtown to EHP" (double digit grades in a couple of spots) and kept feeling more psyched up and stronger as I got farther and farther ahead of PR pace at all of the intermediate checkpoints at the cross streets:

www.strava.com/activities/2895569315/segments/71894090883

This had a Category 2 climb (again with double digits in a few sections) that I got a PR on by 1:47 and I felt surprisingly strong on all the hard bits that I normally struggle on:

www.strava.com/activities/2644970542#66255405686

HarborBandS

I'm seriously considering doing the RAW in 2020 or 2021. But I'm uncertain if I want to do the sleep over in Plover, WI, or just continue through for a one day ride. I've only completed one Century ride in the past, so this is a significant step up in distance for me.

It looks like the last 40% of the ride is considerably easier than the first 60% or so, with the majority being downhill. Did you find this to be true? Were any of the climbs particularly draining? They all look pretty short, though the two near mile 50 look like they might sting a little.