Better you should stand on the pedals, my son. Anne's right about the gradients. Anything with a Cal Trans Hwy number was built for motor vehicle traffic. Not only do they have to be able to get up the hill, heavy trucks have to be able to descend safely (the cafe on Foothill at the bottom of Angeles Crest is exhibit A; gets wiped out every couple of decades). So anything steeper than 6% won't go for too long. Over 10% grades will be older highways (eastern US) or roads built just for access to some point such as the logging access roads, the radio towers on Saddleback or Poly Canyon (SLO) or Dante's View in Death Valley.
The Zen approach is a good idea. I play a little game of "how long to the top?" estimating time to summit based on current speed & distance. A while back I did a climb where at 5 miles from the top I was doing 5 MPH, so another hour. The next time I played, I was down to 4 miles per hour with 4 miles to go. You can follow the progression, but I did eventually get there (whew!). dougP On Monday, May 27, 2013 6:24:04 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote: > > I stand in awe... > > Cheers, > David > > > > On Mon, May 27, 2013 at 6:08 PM, Anne Paulson > <[email protected]<javascript:> > > wrote: > >> Last summer I did Mt Laguna, Onyx Summit, the climb to Crestline and the >> climb to Angeles Crest (Lone Pine) with full touring gear (not on the same >> day, of course). I don't think any of them are 15%, or not for long anyway. >> If you're not a fast climber, on a long climb you just have to get in Zen >> mind and not worry about the top, because you know you won't be there for a >> while. >> >> >> On Mon, May 27, 2013 at 4:05 PM, cyclotourist >> <[email protected]<javascript:> >> > wrote: >> >>> Yes, point taken. I mean long climbs that aren't 15% that I can actually >>> do!!! :-) >>> >>> Cheers, >>> David >>> >>> >>> >>> On Mon, May 27, 2013 at 11:43 AM, dougP <[email protected] >>> <javascript:>>wrote: >>> >>>> Palomar, Glendora Mtn Rd, Acton to Mt Gleason, plenty of climbing >>>> around here. 3 of us did Julian down to Alpine (?) & back up Mt Laguna a >>>> couple of years ago. Tougher on the bike than on the computer. Oh, >>>> Montezuma Grade, Borrego Springs to Julian. Gotta get David out of his >>>> ZIP >>>> code more often. >>>> >>>> dougP >>>> >>>> >>>> On Monday, May 27, 2013 11:14:39 AM UTC-7, Mike Schiller wrote: >>>>> >>>>> no long climbs down here David...have your tried the ride up to Big >>>>> Bear or Angeles Crest or Baldy. Even down here at Mt Laguna? Plenty >>>>> long, >>>>> even with low gears. >>>>> >>>>> ~mike >>>>> >>>>> On Sunday, May 26, 2013 10:40:58 PM UTC-7, [email protected] wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> I nice ride you put together. Looks like a little bit of everything >>>>>> in it. I've come to enjoy climbing, although there are no really long >>>>>> ones >>>>>> out here. Just slow down, gear down and spin. >>>>>> >>>>>> Cheers, >>>>>> David >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Sun, May 26, 2013 at 1:58 PM, Mike <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Woke up early this morning and headed out with Rocky Point Rd on my >>>>>>> mind. After a stop for coffee in St Johns I headed across the bridge >>>>>>> and >>>>>>> onto Hwy 30 for some miles (10? 15?) to the bottom of Rocky Point Rd. >>>>>>> Traffic on 30 wasn't bad. There was the usual collection of debris on >>>>>>> the >>>>>>> shoulder and a long stretch of rough pavement which is getting prepared >>>>>>> for >>>>>>> resurfacing but wasn't really an issue given my 35mm Schwalbe Supremes. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I started heading up Rocky Point Rd and thinking about the first >>>>>>> time I rode it, maybe 6 and a half years ago. I was on my Lemond with a >>>>>>> low >>>>>>> gear of 39/25 and was wearing bibs and on SPDs. I had no idea what to >>>>>>> expect from the climb and wasn't looking forward to it at all. Today I >>>>>>> was >>>>>>> wearing some shorts, wool t-shirt and platform pedals. My low gear on >>>>>>> my >>>>>>> Hilsen is 26/28. I rode the first third of the climb in 36/28 which was >>>>>>> fine but there's a spot where the road cranks up and I dropped into my >>>>>>> granny, slowed down and just took in the scenery which is a mixture of >>>>>>> clearcut and dense forest. The road gets very little traffic so it's >>>>>>> quite >>>>>>> a pleasant climb. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I've really grown to love climbing. When I lived in SF and would >>>>>>> head out with friends to ride Bolinas Ridge I was always somewhat >>>>>>> anxious >>>>>>> as I struggle on the climbs, yo-yoing off the back hoping I wouldn't >>>>>>> get >>>>>>> dropped to hard. I moved up here, started doing a lot of riding by >>>>>>> myself, >>>>>>> got turned onto Rivendell and learned to appreciate low gearing and a >>>>>>> leisurely pace. I actually wish the Rocky Point Climb was longer. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> In an effort to enjoy the climb a little more I pulled onto one of >>>>>>> the logging roads and explored a couple of arteries. Nothing seemed to >>>>>>> offer an alternative route back to Rocky Point Rd but I did discover >>>>>>> some >>>>>>> nice singletrack which I'll explore sometime soon in the future. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I made my way back to Rocky Point Rd and continued the climb up to >>>>>>> the top where it connects with Skyline Blvd, a nice quiet stretch of >>>>>>> rolling road. If I had had more time I would have ventured over to >>>>>>> Dixie >>>>>>> Mtn for some gravel rambling but I needed to be home so I headed back >>>>>>> to >>>>>>> Portland, dropping off of Skyline at Logie Trail which offers a fast >>>>>>> steep >>>>>>> twisty descent. Logie Trail is quite narrow and the pavement is in bad >>>>>>> shape. Making the descent even more treacherous was a fair amount of >>>>>>> gravel >>>>>>> spread across the road, I guess in an attempt to patch potholes. I made >>>>>>> it >>>>>>> down without incident and headed back to Portland, stopping at a 7-11 >>>>>>> for >>>>>>> some V8 and snacks as I was feeling a bonk coming on. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I'm really glad I got out for this ride and did a little exploring. >>>>>>> Here's some pictures: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/**41335973@N00/sets/** >>>>>>> 72157633719837295/<http://www.flickr.com/photos/41335973@N00/sets/72157633719837295/> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> --mike >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>> send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@**googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/** >>>>>>> group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-**US<http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US> >>>>>>> . >>>>>>> For more options, visit >>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/**groups/opt_out<https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out> >>>>>>> . >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >>>> To post to this group, send email to >>>> [email protected]<javascript:> >>>> . >>>> Visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >>> To post to this group, send email to >>> [email protected]<javascript:> >>> . >>> Visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> -- Anne Paulson >> >> My hovercraft is full of eels >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >> To post to this group, send email to >> [email protected]<javascript:> >> . >> Visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> >> > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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