Mountains of Misery: I Wish I Had a 27 on My Back Wheel

I really wish I had used a 12-27 tooth cassette on my back wheel on Sunday instead of the 11-23 I used.

Bill Goodrum and I rode down to Blacksburg on Saturday When Bill had told me a few weeks ago that he was doing the ride, I asked if I could come along. I’ve always wanted to do Mountains of Misery but have conflicts in the past like Triple-T. I had already decided not to do Triple-T this year so my weekend was open and I wanted a challenge.

The Mountains of Misery Double Metric Century is 200 kilometers or 125 miles, with over 13,000′ of climbing including a finish with a 5 kilometer, Category 1 climb up Salt Pond Mountain to Mountain Lake Resort, with an average grade of 11.9%, and sections up to 16%!

Here’s the elevation profile:

I didn’t really pay attention to the gearing recommendations on the website so it was my own fault for not bringing an easier gear:

• If you are at all unsure of your ability to climb steep grades for long distances, use a triple. Compact doubles (34-50, etc.) are a good solution too.
• If you insist on using a standard double (39-53), put the biggest gear on the back that you can. Even fit, professional racers would use a 25t gear in the back. Flatlanders beware!
• The final climb to Mountain Lake Resort is a lot harder with over 100 miles on your legs already.

A final piece of advice that a veteran rider game me before the race was to pace myself. I ignored his advice, and rode at the front for the first big climb. By the third big climb, I was wondering if I was going to make it up the hill without stopping and walking. Thankfully, I spent most of the ride with two other riders so we were able to help keep each moving forward at a steady tempo.

At the final hill, my legs felt like bricks and I could not generate enough power to ride straight up the road so had to zig-zag back and forth in order to keep moving upward.

The ride was a good lesson in humility as I was dropped by my two friends on the third and final climbs. I believe that I will be much stronger in the hills going forward so this was a good training session both physically and menntally. Riding times are not up on the website yet, but I finished the 125.8 miles in around 7.5 hours, which put me near the front so I am happy with my time.

All and all, an excellent ride in all regards – registration, support, volunteers, logistics and challenge. I would definitely do the ride again.

More information about the ride: http://www.cyclingdoubleheader.com/mountains-of-misery

Live life richly and boldly!

David

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David B. Glover
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine

© 2009 David B. Glover