Today on the schedule was "find a hilly ride." Got it. No problemo. I live about 2 miles from the Escape from Alcatraz bike route and there's plenty of climbing to be had. I actually get there via my favorite run route, so these pics pick up from where I left off in this post. So in case you're curious about the race route, here you go. It's got to be one of the most beautiful rides in the country.
First, I'm going to gripe a little about the new MapMyRide.com. I love the new version in theory; they now assign categories to climbs. But they're giving these hills a Cat 5 and saying they're 3% grade... they're more like 10% - 15%, and almost 20% in a couple spots. So their new little tool is a bit useless, IMO. (BTW, this is the elevation for MY ride, which leaves out one more good climb at the beginning of the Alcatraz race):
Anyway, I start out in the Presidio and come to this amazing view of the ocean (this is where my 5 mile run route takes me):
Down a VERY steep but short road to Lincoln Blvd, which then takes you down even further to a lovely neighborhood called Seacliff. Here's the start of the hill headed down:
Down through Seacliff and then a decent climb along the water and a golf course with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance...
... and continuing up to the Legion of Honor (one of our lovely museums), down through the golf course, through another neighborhood heading west, until you hit the ocean again. This isn't the best shot... it's a vast panorama of sea and sky, but this shows the descent (and subsequent ascent.)
This one's taken once you get around the bend... here's Ocean Boulevard. I never get tired of this view.
As you can tell, there's still a bit of a descent, and then it's flat as a pancake along the ocean walkway for a few miles. Here's where you can come watch surfers, although there weren't any out today.
And then I'm reminded of why I rarely ride this route. There are sand dunes falling into the bike lane heading out, and sand and iceplant growing into (and literally cutting off, in some places) the bike lane on the return. And the cars are FLYING by. At times it can get really scary. So even though I had a great tailwind I played it safe and kept it slow. Turned around and headed home. Before I hit all the climbs on the way back, here's one more shot:
Yes, I'm on the wrong side of the street to go back up. That's intentional. See the white building? That's the Cliff House; if you're visiting SF, you'll need to make a stop here. Sit in the bar area, which has a wall of glass, and look out over the ocean. But I digress. See that cliff? That's what makes the return climb pretty dangerous; there's no bike lane or shoulder, it's going around a cliff, cars are flying up, and I feel far safer riding up the sidewalk on the wrong side of the street :-). Not that you'd have to worry about that if you do the race.
Anyway, I'm finally starting to feel like I'm growing some climbing legs. Trainer, weight training and stairs are finally making an impact. I'm still crawling pretty slowly up these hills but I felt a lot stronger and I didn't want to curl up and take a nap as soon as I got home! Progress... love it. Can't wait to do this ride again in a month or so (at maybe 6:30 in the morning before the traffic) and see if I can make it up these hills any faster.
*Failure is the path to success. It helps us to touch the sky, teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way.
Posted by: Coach Carryalls Bags | 02/19/2011 at 01:00 AM