| Ride Stats |
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Distance:
45.86 miles
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Altitude Gain:
4,908 ft
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Avg Speed:
11.44 mph
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Route:
Wytheville Mule Hell Gravel
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Avg Grade: 0 %
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Max Grade: 0 %
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Max HR: 152 bpm
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Avg HR: 125 bpm
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Terrain: Road: Steep
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Bike: Look Blade RS 795 Iconic Ltd Road
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Club: Schuyler County Cycling Club |
| Weather Conditions: Sunny 76 F SE wind @ 5 mph |
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Missed yesterday with bad numbers and didn't want to push the body too much harder this week as have a mountain metric on Saturday. Numbers this morning looked good again and weather was due to get warm at noon. Selected a route today that I could ride from my motel that had a mountain climb in it. My route search program listed the course as 100% paved but since it had the word gravel in the title, I assumed some gravel would be involved but hoped for little to none. My bike tires are really too narrow for gravel, but I have my mountain wheels on that are beadless and only inflated to seventy PSI better suited to gravel than my ninety PSI fast wheels. Not sure h0w many climbs there were, but it was definitely a climbing course. Started out on pavement, climbing out of Wytheville, VA. First couple of climbs were quite easy but soon started hitting a couple of ten percenters. Found the climbs were different than the past days in the foothills as these hills were milder at the bottoms and steepest over the top. Hit a mile long climb hitting fifteen percent early and then getting steeper. Hit a nineteen percent grade as I had to take the inside lane on a switchback as the outside lane had loose gravel and sand on it despite being paved. Started hitting the gravel after ten miles with my first gravel climb topping out at seventeen percent. Used my granny gear on most of the remaining gravel climbs as had to stay seated and apply a light steady pressure to maintain traction. Probably could have gone faster but thought that falling off the bike on the sharp looking rocks would do some serious damage to my old body. Abandoned any hopes of making good time and tried to enjoy the adventure. Saw lots of animals as I was deep in the woods sometimes going miles between houses or farms. Saw dozens of deer, a goat and some turkeys. It appears most of the course that wasn't woods was cow fields. Turns out that most of the remaining climbs and descents were gravel - some very ridable and some in pretty poor shape. Was a bit concerned about getting a flat as I was riding miles on sharp rocks but appear not to have punctured. My biggest fear was dog encounters as really can't do much to avoid them. Saw several mean looking dogs but only was challenged by two that I ended up shouting down. My other fear was horse flies. Not sure if they have them here but thought they would eat me live on the climbs. Eventually got to the mountain climb that was four miles long and gained one thousand feet. I was greatly relieved when I found the climb was paved. Climb averaged six percent and did well on the first two miles until the pavement ended. The last two miles were tough as legs had felt great for most of the day but were wearing down as I kept heading upward focusing on maintaining traction. Took me over thirty minutes to finish the four-mile climb. The descent down the back side of the mountain was slow as it was on all my gravel descents. I descended faster than I climbed but not by much. Last couple of miles of the descent was paved and was able to finally gather some speed. Saw my only other cyclist this week climbing out of Wytheville as I was going down. Legs felt much better once I returned to pavement for the final couple of miles. Ride was a pleasant adventure and only saw a handful of cars once I was outside the city. Can't say I fell in love with gravel and am going out and by a new gravel bike. Too much chance of crashing for my taste.
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