Tuesday Moderate Ride – April 30th – 9:00 AM – Panera
I call this ride “The Hilly North Shore.” “Hilly North Shore?” you ask. Let me explain. One of the best ways to get in shape for cycling is by climbing hills, but hills are in rather short supply in our area. This route seeks out climbs on the North Shore. Some will be familiar to EBC riders; others are less familiar lake front access roads. No one should assume one ride with some climbs on it will get you in great shape. The point of this route is to supply some useful information for anyone who would like to pursue some hill training. The route consequently is set up differently than I usual do them. There are more rest stops than necessary to allow solo riders to pick and choose. There are no lunch stops on the route, but two just off the route are listed with directions in the cues. An individual rider could do the ride without lunch or choose their own lunch stop.
Here is a link to the route: Hilly North Shore · Ride with GPS. We will be stopping at Moraine Park in the morning. Our lunch stop will probably be Eggspresso in Bannockburn. If we have a much smaller group than usual, I might decide to have lunch at Maria’s in Highwood. If an afternoon rest stop is required, we will stop at CVS. Our total distance with a lunch stop will be more than 36 miles, but probably less than 40.
We will regroup after every hill, so no one has to worry about being left behind. In fact, the ride leader, on a recumbent, is likely to be among the last people up every hill. Between the climbs, I will ride at a moderate (13 – 15 mph) pace. With enough interest there will be a second slightly fast group led by Will.
In the interest of full transparency and truth in advertising, I will confess to having led variations of this route on Tuesdays in the past. It was not universally beloved. One year I thought it would be a good idea to do a monthly hill training ride, but I abandoned the plan after three months in response to popular demand. If you hate climbing hills or if you find the notion of deliberately seeking them out to be a bit perverse, this might not be the ride for you. I am attaching a document with directions about how to skip some of the climbs for those who would like to do the ride, but don’t wish to do all of the hills.
I will also suggest that this would be an ideal opportunity for someone more interested in taking pictures than in climbing hills, to take some photos for the scrapbook of EBC members actually riding their bikes, rather than eating or modeling yellow jackets. Just station yourself somewhere along the climb, maybe even near the top, and snap away as the riders come by.
Tuesday looks like a grand day for a bike ride. Sunny with a high temperature of 67 degrees and winds from the south at a relatively gentle 5 to 10 mph. If the actual weather should be vastly different from the forecast making it prudent to cancel the ride, I will post an announcement to the listserv by 7:30 AM.