28 Miles of Hell

Rode the "28 miles of Hell" with Paul Salipante yesterday. It is the most climbing that you can do within a 30 mile loop of Hanover. Start up Trescott hill. Then right onto King Hill (17.5% grade). We made a brief stop at Drummond Custom Cycles, then onto Eastman, which exceeds 19%. Then right onto Methodist (also very steep). Needless to say, the lactic acid was flowing. Some of the pitches are so steep that one struggles to pedal when standing. This is coming from a single speed mtn rider too.

See the ride report email copied below:

Fellow cyclists-

Paul and I rolled out and found ourselves quickly confronted with Trescott hill. An agreement was made to take it easy, but it wasn't long before we were at King. As quickly as Paul could mention, "and it hits you hard right away," we were in the thick of it. If there was a winner today, it was Paul. He was very strong on the +17% grades and measured his pace perfectly. I was sprinting at every flat like it was the top, only to be decimated once again. I could make excuses all day, but let's face it: Paul is a mean machine with a heart of gold and hairy legs.

It was a fabulous ride.

~Ben

And a few more Prouty pics for good measure. I'll also throw in a few old pics of the copper mine superfund site above Norwich. It makes me so nostalgic for home to see the tires coated in red dirt. Its sort of funny that I need to go to the most polluted site in the area to feel at home. I also managed to earn a personal tour of the site by illegally blowing through a road closed barrier in front of the site manager a couple of weeks ago. Now that's some smooth talking.

I'm so antsy to ride the mtn bike. Its been far too long. And its certainly been far too long since I rode it without scary noises. The new fork is on its way from the UK...hopefully here by the end of the week. I may be an idiot, but it has a carbon steerer this time. Hey...the aluminum one broke before the carbon legs! I'm also excited because it will restore the original geometry of the Raliegh by dropping the front end 2cm. The difference didn't bother me at first, but it has become more apparent in our tight, fast New England singletrack. Wheel flop is not welcome here.