Minuteman Road Club

It was a great ride last week with 6 of us. 5:40 AM start at Guisseppe's on Solomon Pond Rd. Hills, sprint, coffee by 7:00.

I saw Carl out on Tuesday doing super-secret hill training. It's on, like Donkey Kong.

What kind of pace and miles do you ride? Where is Solomon Pond Rd?

I'd like to be in but I'm not sure I could hang, I can generally hold 18 solo for 20 or so on a regular paced ride.

Start is at 35 Solomon Pond Road, Northboro. Distance is about 22-23 miles in about 1:20...but there's lots of hills, so that's a pretty quick pace.

FYI brownie28, this is the hilliest ride I've ever done on a per mile basis. Hmmm... a new TLA: HPM = hills per mile. I've done more hills in a single ride, but it was a lot longer than 1:20. Doug has managed to find the hilliest 10 square miles in the Northboro/Berlin area.

Fair enough, I know when I'm not wanted.

Just kidding. I guess I'll sit this ride out for the time being, maybe link up in the Fall when the legs are ready for the torture.

That's crap.
Don't be afraid of getting dropped. Show up with a plan that you will hang on as long as possible and bring a map just in case. That's how you get stronger.
BTW I'll be at home feeding the baby and having breakfast.

brownie28, my post was not meant to deter, only to inform. I almost got dropped on the very first hill last week, but that didn't keep me from finishing, nor will it keep me from showing up again. IMHO, the best way to get stronger is to show up for rides that sound like they're beyond your comfort level.

I'm planning on being there, so if brownie wants company wheezing over all those hills, he'll have it.

I'm in. I didn't nearly throw up several times last night in Stow for nothing.

But I will skip the egg panini post ride this time. That thing sat in my stomach all day like 3 week old bacon.

To make things interesting, if we have an even number of riders, we should consider a new twist - pair up and have a morning long KOM competition, team style. Winning team gets coffee and muffins from the losers. Points 1 thru 6, 1 thru 8, whatever we have. Lowest total wins. That way being first to the top (and dropping your teammate) on every hill may not be the best tactic teamwise. Maybe too much thinking for this early in the am...

ahamilton wrote:Hmmm... a new TLA: HPM = hills per mile.

Some friends and I came up with a parameter we call "hill factor". Simply divide the total ascent (in feet) by number of miles. For most loops around here, the number comes out around 50. An example would be 1000 feet of climbing on a 20 mile ride. A hill factor of 20 or 30 would be considered "flat" by New England standards, and a hill factor of 100 would be considered "hilly".

So out of curiosity, can someone post a map or route of the FMR?

By the way, I'm going to try to make it tomorrow, albeit with dead legs from racing tonight....

---Chris

pace21 wrote:

ahamilton wrote:Hmmm... a new TLA: HPM = hills per mile.

Some friends and I came up with a parameter we call "hill factor". Simply divide the total ascent (in feet) by number of miles. For most loops around here, the number comes out around 50. An example would be 1000 feet of climbing on a 20 mile ride. A hill factor of 20 or 30 would be considered "flat" by New England standards, and a hill factor of 100 would be considered "hilly".

---Chris

I guess the trick is getting a reasonably accurate measure of hill height, I don't trust the effect barometric pressure has on my cyclocomputer's readings - are Garmins pretty accurate as far as that goes?

biker99 wrote:I think I can go what time dose it start

Read the first post in this thread.

The Garmin is OK for vertical height, not great, but the easiest way is to go to http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com and map out the loop, then look at the summary. The elevation is listed to whatever accuracy Googlemaps has, which is probably better than you could get with a cyclocomputer.

So does anyone have a loop map for the FMR that they can share?

Chris

pace21 wrote:The Garmin is OK for vertical height, not great, but the easiest way is to go to http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com and map out the loop, then look at the summary. The elevation is listed to whatever accuracy Googlemaps has, which is probably better than you could get with a cyclocomputer.

So does anyone have a loop map for the FMR that they can share?

Chris

That's a great site, I've been using mapmyride and it's not nearly as user-friendly as bikeroutetoaster.

Out of curiousity I took the original route that Doug posted and mapped it (I think I got it all right, it has it as 21.55 miles):

http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=74279

The climbs, according to this elevation map, are as follows:

Sawyerhill Road: 200'
Coburn Road: 180'
Barnes Hill Road: 340' (ouch)
Ball Street: 190'

Just curious, brownie: how are you pulling the climb data for each hill?

rusto wrote:Just curious, brownie: how are you pulling the climb data for each hill?

Guesstimate. If you click on the 'Summary' tab at the top it gives you total ascent, descent, distance etc. It also has the elevation profile on the right, which I eye-balled to give me each climb distance. It's far from scientific but I don't have the time to chart each hill individually. Regardless, I'm probably off by no more than 15' on any of the climbs.

(that is, as long as the map I laid out is accurate, and as long as Google Earth is providing accurate elevation data)

That's a fun loop! I have garmin data for it at home to compare w/ google.

Brownie didn't get the route exactly right, but close. Sorry for the delay, I know this is long overdue, but here's the route:

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course. ... urse=74426

1124 feet of climbing in 22 miles. I guess this is considered "normal new england riding" by pace21's standards.

BTW: First time on bikeroutetoaster, but IMO it's way better than mapmyride.

See you guys at 5:40.

I am in for the ride tomorrow... Will see you in the am. Hope the pace isn't too fast.

Steve

Going to try the ride and hopefully hang on...

And for you Garmin-ites, you can save Courses direct to a .tcx file. Great for exploring new terrain and not getting lost...

Just got back from Beverly crit 4/5 race. Hands down the hardest crit I've ever raced. Super technical course and CRAZY accelerations out of every corner. I can hardly walk down stairs -- should be a fun morning tomorrow

---Chris

In like Flynn (assuming the baby doesn't have other plans)

Also, Gary mentioned D2R2 which I had never heard of. Google pointed me at http://www.franklinlandtrust.org/randonee.htm.

111.7 miles, 70% on dirtroads, with 15,670 feet of climbing

!! That's quiet a ride. Luckily I don't have a bike suitable for 70% offroad so I have an easy out. Yet another reason to get a cross rig. Check out this link here and look at the map in terrain view: http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ma/de ... 1686057455

Crap! Can't make it tomorrow. Have fun.

Today was a great great.... I think this will be a regular ride for me...

missed the coffee club today-just back from the Spa. anybody puke? seeya next Fri.