Las Colinas
Date: Oct 21 Sun
Mileage: 53 (Bleriot)
October mileage: 343
Year to date: 1944
Temps: 50-70 a.m. sunny
Finally I broke the 2-hour mark and did a longish ride. It seems that, with commuting, I'm so often stuck in a short frame-of-mind. I got up extra early today so I could accomplish my task before afternoon soccer and such, but found that the sun didn't rise until almost 8. Strange that I'm at work by 7 most days, but that's on the LHT with the SON light and blinkies. I waited and left when I felt comfy. From Louisville you have 3 or 4 options for general riding areas: Oldham Co., Spencer Co., Southern IN, and finally southern Jefferson/Bullitt Co. Most club rides take advantage of the first 2 areas, and don't often ride in the last listed b/c it's the farthest from the middle and upper-middle class folks who make up cyclists in the area. Most of my family lives in the "South End" or Valley Station, so I've often done rides in that general area. Yes, it means more pick-up trucks and dogs, but also much less traffic and fewer soccer moms ready to run your ass over.
I stopped by Breadworks to pick up a muffin for a mid-ride breakfast. The Carradice came in handy on such a ride In it I had: muffin, camera, cell phone, pump, sunglasses, extra tube. I used the side pockets for tools. As the temps rose I used it for storing my jacket and gloves. My route took me out Eastern Pkwy, Strawberry Lane and New Cut to get to the emptier rural roads. I only took this route b/c it was an early Sunday morning. I also have an ADD thing about repeating roads on rides sometimes. I know people who bike or jog the exact same roads every time. Not me, I need variety. Once in the Fairdale area I chose to attack the more country roads via Jefferson Hill. On this road I first came to what's know as the Jefferson Co. Memorial Forest.
Jefferson Hill Road cuts across the Siltstone Trail, as seen here on the marker. Jefferson Co. Memorial Forest is one of the largest of its types in the country. It has numerous hiking trails, and today's bike ride crossed the longest trail 3 different times. No bike trails though.
I could never quite capture the essence of the forest on film today. It was a little dark and early, so low light means questionable results. One thing to note is the leaf change that can be seen here. It's really a delightful area of the county. I'm afraid it's mostly used by rednecks to dump trash and to grow pot.
Jefferson Hill is a classic short but tough climb that includes 2 classic switchbacks as well. It's pretty too. The local club, and its excellent webmaster Duc, maintain a site of the local hills, "100 Steep Ones". Most local climbs in this area of KY are short- less than a mile- but also steep, running up and down the knobs. I also heart my triple when riding climbs such as Jefferson. That portion of the ride took me to Knob Creek, which is a pleasant rode that cuts down through the valley towards the Fort Knox area and into Bullitt Co. Although many people commute from Bullitt to Louisville, you could be a world apart into rural KY. Next I chose to take on Barrallton. This is an infamous climb in the area, said to be one of the toughest. I'd never climbed it before, so I was excited to take it on. It's listed as somewhat comparable to Jefferson, but I found out that it's MUCH more difficult.
The first portion rises up quite steeply, and then levels off a bit. After that, it kicks up very severely. It wasn't so much the inability to find a gear, but rather that I had problems keeping the front wheel down. I got off the bike. Yes, I tried to do it, but I sucked it up and walked a bit, really from a lack of bike skills as much as fitness and whatev. This pic is at the top of the steep pitch looking down. I know pics don't convey steepness very well, but my was it bad. Barrallton has a similar average gradient as that of Jefferson, but I think JH is steeper over a longer period. This is something like .2 miles at 17-20%. I don't know. After that I made the circle of Bearcamp/Pendleton/Medora/Blevins Gap, which is a classic loop for many cyclists, and certainly for me. I stopped at the train tracks at Medora and Blevins Gap and had my muffin.
Shiny Bleriot at breakfast stop. It really rode well today.
Ferrocarril, por supuesto!
At that point I was feeling the legs a bit. I cut across Scott Gap to Bearcamp and began working my way home. My route home took me on Manslick and into Iroquois Pk. At this point I stopped to call home, b/c I was about to be late for soccer. From Iroquois I knew it to be a minimum 40min ride, so I put my head down and pedaled. Really, I was tired and had no climbing legs, but the route was mostly flat except for a couple small hills. I was quite proud to finish with some strength, and in time for the game. And they WON finally!! It was fun to see some enthusiastic boys out there. And on top of that, their coach didn't show (nobody knows why), and he wasn't there to see their first win in a long time.
First ride this year over 50 and the first since last summer some time. Lots of fun, great weather and color, and the legs felt great. Now for another week of commuter miles.
Mileage: 53 (Bleriot)
October mileage: 343
Year to date: 1944
Temps: 50-70 a.m. sunny
Finally I broke the 2-hour mark and did a longish ride. It seems that, with commuting, I'm so often stuck in a short frame-of-mind. I got up extra early today so I could accomplish my task before afternoon soccer and such, but found that the sun didn't rise until almost 8. Strange that I'm at work by 7 most days, but that's on the LHT with the SON light and blinkies. I waited and left when I felt comfy. From Louisville you have 3 or 4 options for general riding areas: Oldham Co., Spencer Co., Southern IN, and finally southern Jefferson/Bullitt Co. Most club rides take advantage of the first 2 areas, and don't often ride in the last listed b/c it's the farthest from the middle and upper-middle class folks who make up cyclists in the area. Most of my family lives in the "South End" or Valley Station, so I've often done rides in that general area. Yes, it means more pick-up trucks and dogs, but also much less traffic and fewer soccer moms ready to run your ass over.
I stopped by Breadworks to pick up a muffin for a mid-ride breakfast. The Carradice came in handy on such a ride In it I had: muffin, camera, cell phone, pump, sunglasses, extra tube. I used the side pockets for tools. As the temps rose I used it for storing my jacket and gloves. My route took me out Eastern Pkwy, Strawberry Lane and New Cut to get to the emptier rural roads. I only took this route b/c it was an early Sunday morning. I also have an ADD thing about repeating roads on rides sometimes. I know people who bike or jog the exact same roads every time. Not me, I need variety. Once in the Fairdale area I chose to attack the more country roads via Jefferson Hill. On this road I first came to what's know as the Jefferson Co. Memorial Forest.
Jefferson Hill Road cuts across the Siltstone Trail, as seen here on the marker. Jefferson Co. Memorial Forest is one of the largest of its types in the country. It has numerous hiking trails, and today's bike ride crossed the longest trail 3 different times. No bike trails though.
I could never quite capture the essence of the forest on film today. It was a little dark and early, so low light means questionable results. One thing to note is the leaf change that can be seen here. It's really a delightful area of the county. I'm afraid it's mostly used by rednecks to dump trash and to grow pot.Jefferson Hill is a classic short but tough climb that includes 2 classic switchbacks as well. It's pretty too. The local club, and its excellent webmaster Duc, maintain a site of the local hills, "100 Steep Ones". Most local climbs in this area of KY are short- less than a mile- but also steep, running up and down the knobs. I also heart my triple when riding climbs such as Jefferson. That portion of the ride took me to Knob Creek, which is a pleasant rode that cuts down through the valley towards the Fort Knox area and into Bullitt Co. Although many people commute from Bullitt to Louisville, you could be a world apart into rural KY. Next I chose to take on Barrallton. This is an infamous climb in the area, said to be one of the toughest. I'd never climbed it before, so I was excited to take it on. It's listed as somewhat comparable to Jefferson, but I found out that it's MUCH more difficult.
The first portion rises up quite steeply, and then levels off a bit. After that, it kicks up very severely. It wasn't so much the inability to find a gear, but rather that I had problems keeping the front wheel down. I got off the bike. Yes, I tried to do it, but I sucked it up and walked a bit, really from a lack of bike skills as much as fitness and whatev. This pic is at the top of the steep pitch looking down. I know pics don't convey steepness very well, but my was it bad. Barrallton has a similar average gradient as that of Jefferson, but I think JH is steeper over a longer period. This is something like .2 miles at 17-20%. I don't know. After that I made the circle of Bearcamp/Pendleton/Medora/Blevins Gap, which is a classic loop for many cyclists, and certainly for me. I stopped at the train tracks at Medora and Blevins Gap and had my muffin.
Shiny Bleriot at breakfast stop. It really rode well today.
Ferrocarril, por supuesto!At that point I was feeling the legs a bit. I cut across Scott Gap to Bearcamp and began working my way home. My route home took me on Manslick and into Iroquois Pk. At this point I stopped to call home, b/c I was about to be late for soccer. From Iroquois I knew it to be a minimum 40min ride, so I put my head down and pedaled. Really, I was tired and had no climbing legs, but the route was mostly flat except for a couple small hills. I was quite proud to finish with some strength, and in time for the game. And they WON finally!! It was fun to see some enthusiastic boys out there. And on top of that, their coach didn't show (nobody knows why), and he wasn't there to see their first win in a long time.
First ride this year over 50 and the first since last summer some time. Lots of fun, great weather and color, and the legs felt great. Now for another week of commuter miles.
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