Hypno Toad

Hanging out on the Lake Superior's North Shore, I was doing one of those dumb things I do when traveling ... drinking a beer and looking at Strava segments near me. So, I found that there is a Cat 3 climb right across from our resort and the resort has complimentary comfort bikes. I'm somebody that can ride 240 miles of gravel roads in one day ... but I get excited to find a Cat 3 . So I get out early while Lisa's still sipping coffee, check out a bike with twist grip shifters & a cushy tractor seat and point it up my first Cat 3. BTW - that Trek tank didn't do too bad, this Toad got up in 25th position (Strava segment - Sawbill Trail Climb ) Anybody in Florida know what I'm talking about

The descent was funny, gearing was spinning out at a little over 20 mph. The upright position and slow tires, I couldn't get it to go faster than 25 mph. When I left the resort, I adjusted loose brake cables thinking the descent would be fast - no need to worry about slowing this bike down, it designed to be slow even falling off a cliff.

Skipjacks

You were going faster than you think.

It looks like the light wasn't able to catch up to your camera.



Time flies when you're exceeding the spacetime speed limit.

Wilfred Laurier

Picture not loading. Sad as I was hoping to see the familiar North Shore landscape before I make the trek back home next month.

Hypno Toad

Odd image issue ... hmmm

Second attempt

Fahrenheit531 

Funny story. Thanks!

Note: Both attempts at pic are visible here. The error is not on OP's end.

Hypno Toad

Thanks & thanks!

Hypno Toad

BTW - I should've pointed out, I don't think I can find a Cat 2 climb in Minnesota or neighboring states. If you live in the area and know a Cat 2, please share.

Edit/update/correction: I believe Minnesota has one Cat 2 climb. Lake to Camp 20 High Point is very close to the Canadian border and part of the Le Grand du Nord gravel grinder route. I just added this to my 2020 calendar Strava has not marked it a Cat 2 - but at 10.5 miles (16,900 m) & 2% it's enough to qualify for Cat 2.

TimothyH

There's just so much wrong with that bike.

Hypno Toad

You're telling me! For starters, 30-minute ride on that tractor seat left my butt more sore than 20 hours riding across Minnesota

Seriously, people take these resort bikes for a ride and get the impression that all bikes are this awful ... and that's why they never ride.

DrIsotope

My brain is stuck on the fact that there exists but a single Cat2 climb in Minnesota. I guess I never considered it to be flat.

The climb up the street to the end of a nearby subdivision is 800ft in 2.2 miles-- and the last 400ft comes in the last 0.8 miles. Cat3/4 without leaving my neighborhood. I would not try it on a Trek hybrid.

Hypno Toad

HA!


I have to ride 25 miles over to St Paul to find a Cat 4 - Ohio Street. OTOH, we have a lot of short punchy hills. My typically rides are 20 miles with 1,000 to 1,500 ft of climbing (not epic, but not totally flat). Also, I love doing the gravel rides in the Driftless Region of Southern Minnesota - lots of rolling hills. The Royal last month was 167 miles with 11,000 ft of climbing.

In general, the last glacial sheets scrubbed the region fairly flat. We have Eagle Mountain - the highest natural point in Minnesota at 2,301 feet. It is in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Superior National Forest, northwest of Grand Marais (right in the area we were hiking, biking, kayaking over the weekend). Eagle Mountain is only about 15 miles from Minnesota's lowest elevation, Lake Superior, at 600 feet.

no motor?

I started using a mapping program to experiment with different routes after I moved and I was surprised to find there is an elevation change on my trips.

Gresp15C

Now just finish off the ride with a dip in Lake Superior.

wipekitty

Now for extra fun, try taking the resort rental Trek on one of those rides. I think the bikeshare bikes might actually be better for speed than the bike you posted; if you can figure out how to get aero, those things are SO heavy that you can really let 'em rip!

Hypno Toad

I did dip my fingers in that lake ... with a kayak paddle. It was part of my unplanned North Shore Triathlon:

resort rental bike up Sawbill Trail (6.7 miles & 590 ft climb)
hike Oberg Mountain (2.2 miles & 475 ft climb)
sea kayaking on Lake Superior (2.4 miles & 0 ft climb ) - our guide (college kid) did an Eskimo roll for us, I let him know I didn't need to dunk my face in that icy* water



* for those that don't know Lake Superior - it is never warm water, this time of year it's typically 40F.