How many of these iconic roads have you ridden?
03-19-18, 12:00 PM
#26
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North Cascades Highway west to east fully loaded twice. The first time in the snow.
03-20-18, 11:22 AM
#27
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Here's my favorite Blue Ridge Parkway ride. 62 miles and 7000 feet. It includes the highest point on the Parkway, Richland Balsam at elevation 6050 feet. It mostly runs along the crests of the mountains, so there's alternating great views on either side, and lots of overlooks to make brief stops. At the turnaround, get water refills and carryout lunch at the Pisgah Inn, or snacks at the camping store. The restaurant also has a good, inexpensive breakfast, and the dining room has view way across the valley below.
Pinnacle Ridge to Pisgah Inn route
Zoom in and check out the terrain!
Sept 2009 photo album.
The ridewithgps route doesn't know about the tunnels, so it shows the route going over the tunnel ridges with short, steep climbs. See mile 17 and mile 29 tunnels. The max grade is mostly under 8%, often 6% or less, perhaps with a few short sections that reach 9% or so. Downhills rarely need braking, with wide, sweeping turns.
Or start at Richland Balsam for a 45 mile, 5200 foot ride, or one of the many overlooks near the beginning of the ride. But you miss the final downhill at the end.
Still too much? Start at the Pisgah Inn and ride to the Caney Fork overlook. Out and back is 39 miles, 4300 feet, and a big downhill on the return. (no water is available, bring two bottles.)
Pisgah Inn to Caney Fork overlook
Your non-rider wife can spend the day in Asheville, there's lots to do there.
Pinnacle Ridge to Pisgah Inn route
Zoom in and check out the terrain!
Sept 2009 photo album.
The ridewithgps route doesn't know about the tunnels, so it shows the route going over the tunnel ridges with short, steep climbs. See mile 17 and mile 29 tunnels. The max grade is mostly under 8%, often 6% or less, perhaps with a few short sections that reach 9% or so. Downhills rarely need braking, with wide, sweeping turns.
Or start at Richland Balsam for a 45 mile, 5200 foot ride, or one of the many overlooks near the beginning of the ride. But you miss the final downhill at the end.
Still too much? Start at the Pisgah Inn and ride to the Caney Fork overlook. Out and back is 39 miles, 4300 feet, and a big downhill on the return. (no water is available, bring two bottles.)
Pisgah Inn to Caney Fork overlook
Your non-rider wife can spend the day in Asheville, there's lots to do there.
john
03-20-18, 11:41 AM
#28
don't try this at home.
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Ha, that's photo is the turnaround point for another ride I liked: Craggy Gardens visitor center to Mt Mitchell, then to the Mt Mitchell overlook. The view of Mt Mitchell from the overlook is improved by knowing you were just up there!
It features an 8 mile, 2300 foot downhill from the top of Mt Mitchell. The ride is 39 miles, 5000 feet of elevation. route link This is my second favorite route after the Pisgah Inn route.
Or keep going almost to the Route 80 intersection, 9 more miles and 1400 more feet. That's the road that the Assault on Mt Mitchell uses to reach the Parkway. Refill two bottles at Mt Mitchell, that should be just enough for the rest of the ride. route link.
( sorry, this is turning into a Blue Ridge Parkway derail. Post some more epic rides! )
Last edited by rm -rf; 03-20-18 at 11:46 AM.
03-22-18, 08:20 AM
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Sometimes iconic can just be a moment.
Marcel Hug practicing for the Boston Marathon in April 2016:
He went on to win a couple of days later, and then three-peated in April 2017:
-mr. bill
Marcel Hug practicing for the Boston Marathon in April 2016:
He went on to win a couple of days later, and then three-peated in April 2017:
-mr. bill
03-26-18, 09:52 PM
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Boy, I love some of the great photos here! I've done Vail Pass both ways a few times, and while it's a good climb, it's nowhere near my favorite in Colorado. I might be a bit biased against it, as I first did it at the end of the Copper Triangle loop, and I was suffering pretty badly by then ... For big climbs in the Rockies, I really like the above treeline, top-of-the-world feeling of Trail Ridge road in Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park. There are a lot more rides in Colorado that I can't really comment on, as I haven't done them yet :-) And we're doing a tandem tour that will be on Going to the Sun road this summer! Really looking forward to that. I'd love to do the Blue Ridge Parkway. The other roads on that list are a bit far afield for me.
03-27-18, 09:02 AM
#32
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It's a short list but:
1. leaving out coastal California from San Francisco to Los Angeles area is an omission of unforgivable proportions.
2. And NOTHING in Italy, well the OP is just not a traditional cyclist.
At least it wasn't click-bait. And the choices look great.
My favourite century of all time was Port Angeles, WA to Neah Bay along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Like @indyfabz, the route across The American Alps, with summits at Rainy Pass and Washington Pass and the descent toward Winthrop is a blast. Pic is in late July.
Twice from Santa Cruz/Monterey to Santa Barbara, CA = unforgettable.
Haven't ridden Vail Pass, but many routes from Grand Junction, CO. To the top of the Grand Mesa, the Colorado Nat'l Monument and south to Telluride.
1. leaving out coastal California from San Francisco to Los Angeles area is an omission of unforgivable proportions.
2. And NOTHING in Italy, well the OP is just not a traditional cyclist.
At least it wasn't click-bait. And the choices look great.
My favourite century of all time was Port Angeles, WA to Neah Bay along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Like @indyfabz, the route across The American Alps, with summits at Rainy Pass and Washington Pass and the descent toward Winthrop is a blast. Pic is in late July.
Twice from Santa Cruz/Monterey to Santa Barbara, CA = unforgettable.
Haven't ridden Vail Pass, but many routes from Grand Junction, CO. To the top of the Grand Mesa, the Colorado Nat'l Monument and south to Telluride.
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Vintage, modern, e-road. It is a big cycling universe.
Vintage, modern, e-road. It is a big cycling universe.
Last edited by Wildwood; 03-27-18 at 09:19 AM.
03-27-18, 09:11 AM
#33
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Like @indyfabz, the route across The American Alps, with summits at Rainy Pass and Washington Pass and the descent toward Winthrop is a blast.
The following year I did it the conditions were better. (Both times I started from Colonial Creek Campground.) Beginning of June, so the tourist season hadn't started. I got to the summit of Washington. Still lots of snow plowed along the sides of the road. Sat down on the ground to put on warm clothing for the descent. An older, Asian couple drove up from the Winthrop side and got out of their car. Don't think they spoke much English, but they started at me like I was from Mars, seeming to say "How the hell did he get up here on a bike." I thought "Wait until they drive down the west slope and realize how long of a climb it is."
The guy running the Winthrop KOA at the time sold $0.69 beers. He told me that as long as he could buy a beer for $0.68 he would sell one for $0.69. Made for a nice treat after a long, hard ride.
03-27-18, 09:41 AM
#34
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03-27-18, 11:31 AM
#35
Banned
Ghent Wevelgem 2018 just finished,... back in 1991, I rode with a friend I made, who lived in Ypres, out to see that Iconic cobbled hill near Kimmel, Belgium..
the race route in its latter miles , loops around to do twice..
at that time other users in motor cars going over that hill, had made the cobbles rotate to be even rougher,
as I saw in race pictures, since , there are people whose job it was to reset all the stone cobbles back down to their original though still not smooth, surface....
..
the race route in its latter miles , loops around to do twice..
at that time other users in motor cars going over that hill, had made the cobbles rotate to be even rougher,
as I saw in race pictures, since , there are people whose job it was to reset all the stone cobbles back down to their original though still not smooth, surface....
..
Last edited by fietsbob; 03-27-18 at 11:35 AM.
03-27-18, 08:27 PM
#36
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Getting banned contributes to making this an iconic albeit short climb:
Many times have I climbed the steep half-mile winding road that is the entrance to the Torrey Pines State Reserve to the visitor center on the way to La Jolla from Del Mar.
This nice little challenge overlooking the Pacific begins at Torrey Pines State Beach and is a surviving remnant of the old Highway 101. The Park ends at the Torrey Pines Golf Course.
I never thought to ride down it; and, now you can't... although you're still able to go up. Going north, you must go down via the Torrey Pines Grade and not through the park. Fearing major injury would occur sooner or later, cyclists were banned from riding down it in 2013.
Many times have I climbed the steep half-mile winding road that is the entrance to the Torrey Pines State Reserve to the visitor center on the way to La Jolla from Del Mar.
This nice little challenge overlooking the Pacific begins at Torrey Pines State Beach and is a surviving remnant of the old Highway 101. The Park ends at the Torrey Pines Golf Course.
I never thought to ride down it; and, now you can't... although you're still able to go up. Going north, you must go down via the Torrey Pines Grade and not through the park. Fearing major injury would occur sooner or later, cyclists were banned from riding down it in 2013.
03-28-18, 04:06 AM
#37
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we stopped in Boone NC last year and found an area where lance armstrong trained for a few years. we rode but not those hills.
03-30-18, 10:41 PM
#38
Senior Member
There are a few rides I've done that will remain in my memory, the Valley of Fire in Nevada is one of them.
Valley of Fire_1
Valley of Fire_2
South Mountain in Phoenix is another ...
[/url]
And it's easy to overlook some of our local rides since they're so familiar, but equally beautiful in their own right.
Mount Kobau, BC
Lakeshore Road, Kelowna
Anarchist Mountain, Osoyoos BC
Other rides definitely worthy to mention Glendora Mountain Ridge & Mt. Diablo, both great memories.
Valley of Fire_1
Valley of Fire_2
South Mountain in Phoenix is another ...
[/url]And it's easy to overlook some of our local rides since they're so familiar, but equally beautiful in their own right.
Mount Kobau, BC
Lakeshore Road, Kelowna
Anarchist Mountain, Osoyoos BC
Other rides definitely worthy to mention Glendora Mountain Ridge & Mt. Diablo, both great memories.
Last edited by h2oxtc; 03-30-18 at 10:48 PM.
04-02-18, 11:30 AM
#39
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john
05-13-18, 02:49 PM
#40
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Riding in Italy, almost anywhere in Italy, is an experience.
On Friday, May 11th, the 7th stage of the 2018 Giro passed along this coastline, from Pizzo to Paia de Mare.
On Friday, May 11th, the 7th stage of the 2018 Giro passed along this coastline, from Pizzo to Paia de Mare.
Last edited by Barrettscv; 05-13-18 at 03:22 PM.
05-14-18, 01:12 PM
#42
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I’ve only done ironic rides, ridden in a tongue in cheek fashion. I did the Vail Pass in a previous life, lots of fun going down, not so much going up.
05-17-18, 02:58 PM
#43
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Bucket list ride for me, since I have the classic made-in-Vienna bike (actually two) for the task: the 230-mile Danube River bike path across Austria.
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Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
Last edited by John E; 05-17-18 at 03:03 PM.
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