On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 20:57:46 -0800, Terry Morse <
[email protected]> wrote:
> Bill Baka wrote:
>
>> I have to ask, since I am not in Europe, about the big climbs.
>> Just how high an elevation do the highest climbs get to?
>
> The highest ones top out around 3000 meters. Most of the famous big
> ones seem to fall between 2000-2500 m.
>
>> I find myself feeling good at 12,000 feet (4Km?) in the states.
>> That was running around Mount Adams on the US continental divide.
>> Sorry, didn't have a bike with me. I have been thinking about
>> dragging myself and a bike to climb Pikes' Peak, and that is
>> 14,000 feet and change.
>
> Skip Pikes Peak and do Mt. Evans instead:
>
> http://www.bicyclerace.com/
>
> Extra credit for doing it on a Huffy.
>
> You may be feeling good at 12k, but your aerobic performance is
> limited. My power output at 12k feet is reduced by about 20% from
> sea level.
> --
> terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/
I have been on Mt. Evans but never Pikes Peak and that was only on foot,
after parking my van. The Huffy is all but worn out so it is now a
Mongoose you get to pick on. So you are saying that the extra 2,000 feet
is a big deal? I can say that my wife and stepdaughter who are both
smokers, sat in the van and could barely breath just sitting there.
I was running around with my daughter who was about 4 at the time.
The only hard part came when she got winded at the bottom of a hill
and I had to give her an uphill piggyback ride, from about 11,850'
back up to the van at the 12,000' marker. I got to the point of some
healthy breathing but not that bad, no light headedness or anything.
I do have a plan for this summer to ride up past Grass Valley and
Nevada City at 2,500' and go up highway 20 to meet interstate 80
at about 6,000 feet. The return is downhill but it will be about a
century and a half if my math is correct. Sutter Buttes are getting
boring. For those who don't know the area, the buttes are the worlds
smallest volcanic mountain range, or so they say around here. I ride
the annual bike around the buttes and it is more of a social event
than a race. I did it one year on an old 3 speed with wire baskets
in the rear and a basket in the front, total Fred mode, my own
rolling refreshment stand. I have to do things different, you know.
Maybe I will see some of you on the next one around April. There is
a century loop to ride also if a mere 40 miles around the hills is
not enough. Maybe I should use the Huffy and see how many pick me out.
Consider this an ad for my local bike community. It is a charity ride
for good cause.
Night time, bed time for me, so see ya.
--
Bill (?) Ba__ka