BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

It's always the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Thanks!

i've read plenty of the hills, mileage etc, what is the total ascent of the ride?

Is this correct?

http://www.mapmyride.com/s/routes/view/bike-ride-map/pennsylvania/pittsburgh/18026178

I think that map is slightly off/sloppy, but that's the gist of it. The list of climbs is here: http://www.dannychew.com/dd.html#anchor003 but there's no elevation and distance listed.

ETA - there is a great 30 minute feature on the DD here, which goes over the climbs: http://www.wqed.org/tv/watch/series/its-pittsburgh/2011-01-26/

Also, if anyone is doing any DD practice/scouting rides, please let me know!

@abracadabra: I'll likely do a few scouting rides starting late September/early October. Will post on the ride board here when plans finalize. (The eternal late-season tight-schedule conundrum: ride to Altoona, or ride up Logan? Hmmm...)

This is what 4x up each hill looks like.

You wanna post about your 100 mile mtb race too?

@reddan - great, I will look out for your posts. I think I might be able to finish it in the shape I'm in but I'm not confident...

THE FILTHY CHEW

Bike jocks.

you athletes are discouraging me from riding my bike for pleasure and transportation.

Hey, people live up those roads too.

All you naysayers and athletic-pursuit-haters are perpetuating the myth of "I live on top of a mile-long 20% hill, so I can't bike-commute."

For shame, says I. For Shame!

Back in my day we used to ride our bikes to school up hills...both ways...

Hey, I ride my bike for pleasure, transportation, and athletic pursuits (sometimes all three at once)!

all you non-sarcastic people are also ruining my good time!

Going down a mile long 20% hill would be a kick ass way to start a commute.

Yeah, you could skip shaving, as the air friction would likely burn off extraneous hairs by the time you reach bottom.

^ ha!

Ok after reading up on the dirty dozen ride I have a better Idea of the difficulty of the ride. What I want to know is do you all do a special workout to prepare for this or do you just ride your bike all over Pittsburgh. It's a ride I would aspire to do one day..... maybe.

Here's a piece that Ted wrote back in 2008 for Urban Velo on the Dirty Dozen.

http://www.urbanvelo.org/issue5/urbanvelo5_p28-29.html

I want to do some training rides. I don't think I have done even one of these hills. I think I may start with Rialto street, since it is blocked off to traffic.

^ let us know how the ride up Rialto goes.

So here's a discussion starter: what's the best hill for first timers to try?

My votes:

* High/Seavey (Steep bit is too long)

* Welsh (Short, almost no traffic)

* Berryhill (Again, short-ish)

Others?

Concur with Brian. Also, Sycamore is considered fairly easy. It's primarily how fast you take it that makes it hard.

Ima gonna go ride up Flowers/Tesla one of these days... I swear.

I'm going to say Rialto

It's kind of steep, but short, closed off to traffic so moderately safer?

If people have a lot of trouble with Rialto I think they'll know they might need to do more training (IMHO of only doing 7 of the 12 hills)

@Mayhew: Yeah, forgot about Sycamore. That's probably the best introduction to the longer hills.

I think Center is the easiest, if you're not racing. It's never really that steep, and you can take a break on the bricks before heading up Guyasuta.

Racing, Center is hard because it's one of the longest. I think the hill winner usually does it in a bit over 4 minutes, where Rialto is like 35 seconds.

That's a good call on Center. It's only steep till the bricks, really.

It's also hard in the race because people go unsustainably hard at the bottom since it's the very first one.

How long does the whole event take?

Is there a cut-off time? A time where a person would not count as finishing even it they did all the hills?

there's not necessarily a cutoff, but if you're slow enough, the race may move on without you. there are pretty long breaks at the top of high/seavey, suffolk/hazelton/burgess, and of course canton.

i have to say that high/seavey is the easiest of the bunch. the really steep bit is only for like half a block, and just about anyone can do the rest of it if they take it easy. i also prefer it over parker and friday as a means of getting from etna to millvale.

that it's the easiest doesn't mean it's the first one you should try, though. rialto was the first one i tried, and i think it worked ok. welsh is about the same hill, though you have to ride back down it, which i never really enjoy.

Mick, your comment raises an interesing possibility - an alternate All Day DD, for people who just don't care and general underacheivers. Does such a thing already exist?

Or I suppose, ADDD, for people without the attention span to race.

I could be down for that.

the dd is an all day event, pretty much. 6-7 hours, maybe? it's about 55 miles, as i recall. there's plenty of room for slow people. like myself.

I would definitely take part in the All Day DD, as I have no idea how timely I would be on the hills. I'd really love to give it a shot this year, but I'm a bit intimidated.

It is getting dark by the time the DD finishes now, Maybe if you were really worried about being dropped, start a few hours early and let the race catch you as the day goes on.

does it count if you start, bonk, then walk your bike up the rest of each hill? I'd do it, but... I'm not sure enough gears exist. I get tired and wussy just thinking about Rialto.

Alright, never mind, being realistic, I'm never going to do this, in any way, shape, or time frame. It's very inspirational, people doing this, but it's going in my mental bucket list of "things never doing".

You know edmonds... I totally respect that in the hugest way. There's nothing wrong with choosing NOT to do something. It's your life, do what you want with it.

@ edmonds59 your right, you just hit me with a double dose of reality.

Oh, crap Mr. marv, I didn't want to pull anyone else down into my reality pool. I am at a point in my life where I have to achieve inner peace by quieting my unrealistic desires for things. I don't recommend that to anyone else. Desire is good for those for whom it is realistic.

I have as a very fuzzy personal goal to first ride each of the DD hills individually - you know, over the course of a summer, pick one off here and there. And then, if I can manage to ride relatively consistently into the fall one year, taking a shot at it.

It strikes me that the climbs are one thing, but that's still a 50+ mile ride. In November. Over the course of a full day. That's a lot.

But that's also what makes it appealing to me.

That seems like a very good idea, and do-able.

That is a good idea, I've already started climbing hills I often avoid, climbing hills as fast as I can and doing leg exercises. Maybe in a year I will be ready..... but I just realized I cant do this on a commuter I need a road bike.

Eh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. You have a pretty spiffy commuter with good gear ratios right?

What benefit does a road bike have besides a few less pounds?

^ I dont know the real benefit, but at the very least I'll leave my U lock at home if I ever could do the DD.

Its not the bike, it's the rider. A super light bike will make some marginal difference but it's not going to fundamentally affect your ability to get up the hills.

(Insert the Gospel of Mick here...)

I'm guessing the correct set of front gears is more relevant than frame (says the guy whose bike is so wrongly-geared for climbing...)

@Mr. Marv...You must remember too, that riding with a group or others especially in a setting like that, will probably bring out some results in you you didnt think possible. Coming from someone who hasn't ridden the ride that is. But you'll get pushed and try harder than you would riding alone,for sure. Why not give it a shot after tackling a few hills alone or with some others? Worst that can happen is you don't make it up..But you can always try again, or figure out what you need to work on.

@Mr Marv: Pick a bike that you are confident handling at low speed, and go with a decent set of low gears. (I have a 50-34 double paired with an 11-34 cassette; have also done DD hills with a 53-40-30 triple and an 11-32)

Weight doesn't matter that much, if you're riding just to complete the ride.

I appreciate all the good advice, I know I wont do it this year but I've already started working out for next years. Its a big goal maybe I can get Team Dropped to train for it also

The bike may make a difference to a certain point. I am going to practice on a hill or two with the single speed and probably fall over, then do the ride with my carbon fiber road bike with gears

sorry, i guess i need to amend that - using the absolute wrong bike will certainly make a difference.

It would be interesting to see how something like a Kona Ute would do on some of these hills, that wheelbase should crush it. Flip the handlebars down, put a 23 race tire on the front, drop the back tire pressure to about 45, voila, hill climbing machine.

Dirty Dozen scouting rides have been tentatively scheduled (see the WPW Calendar for the latest and greatest).

All rides start 10 AM at bike rental on the Jail Trail.

10/23: Center, Ravine, Berryhill, High.

10/30: Logan, Rialto, Suffolk-Hazelton-Burgess, Sycamore.

11/6: Sycamore, Canton, Boustead, Welsh.

11/13: Sycamore, Welsh, Barry-Holt-Eleanor, Flowers-Tesla.

11/20: Center, Ravine, Berryhill, High, Logan, Rialto, Suffolk-Hazelton-Burgess.

Sweet. I will try to work up to 4 hills before the end of october so that I can start these without dying.

Maybe this was asked already, but do people do this on recumbents?

Maybe this was asked already, but do people do this on recumbents?

It's been known to happen. No-one's yet beaten Canton on a 'bent (to my knowledge) though.

Dan, maybe you need to bolt an Xtracycle to your bent, extended swingarm action like a hill climb MX bike.

I'm not really joking. I'll loan you mine.

Eric, I am totally down with that...awesome idea.

The Free Radical adds what, an extra 8 pounds or so?

Maybe this was asked already, but do people do this on recumbents?

Yes, and their shenanigans on Canton are a sight to behold.

The next logical question is, has anyone ever done any of these hills on a unicycle?

Only next and logical since that's what I assume recumbents turn into.

Not sure about the weight, with a wheel 8 pounds sounds about right, unless you also want to borrow the stupid heavy and strong wheel I have on there now.

It isn't on a bike now, so you are welcome to try it out when ever you want.

You'll need another chain and tandem length derailer cable and a few hours to get it all dialed in.

@edmonds: recumbent unicycling is mostly restricted to Tesla, Boustead, and Canton...I've rarely popped a wheel up on the others. IME WRT Canton, it becomes uncontrollable about 1/3 of the way up, shortly after the concrete gives way to the broken bricks. As alluded to by bjanaszek, it ain't pretty thereafter. I think Chris Popovic has a few shots of me squirming like a toppled beetle from the 2008 DD.

@Eric: I'll bug ya towards the end of the month. Got at least a couple of long road rides before then, and I don't want to haul more than necessary up the various hills of Rte 31.

Hmm. I have no burning desire to try the DD. I tried one training ride a couple years ago, but could barely keep up with the group on the flats from town to Center, let alone climb anything.

I am game, however, to try some of the hills on a unicycle. It might take all day to climb SHB on the 18" but I'm pretty sure I'd make it. More likely I'd use the 24", but have no idea if it's even possible. The bigger the rim, the harder it is to pedal.

Back to two wheels again, while Suffolk alone is a bear, an alternative practice climb is to carry the bike up Rising Main Avenue's steps, pick up Hazleton at the top, and just climb H-B. That's generally as much masochism as I care to inflict on myself as part of a trip home.

Or ride up rising main. I didn't think that was impossible on a commuter

Now you have me thinking. I wonder if it's possible to do the DD on two unicycles: an 18" or 20" to climb, and a 28" or larger to do the flats. Ride one, carry one, the whole ride. With a unicycle, the other limiting factor on rim size is top speed. On my 24", I can lope along all day at about 10 mph, and sprint occasionally to about 15, but there's just no going faster than that without a larger wheel. To cover 55 miles or so on a 24" would be a slow, lonely ride, even if I could do the hills on it.

yikes. i just did the first 6 by myself. i need an inhaler for sure. that was my limiting factor. legs are fine. back is a bit sore. dehydrated with a headache. not enough water and food.

@ Stefb so would bringing your Camelback and a few gel packs with you next time be enough, and were you on your single speed?

Ha I think I can do one or two hills on a single speed but I don't think I will attempt any of them on that bike. I have 3 rings in the front on my geared commuter, and I am guessing that the bike is at least 30lbs. I had my camelbak and it wasn't enough water on a day like today.

I did the DD in 2007. I may give it a try this year.

As long as I do a few training rides and feel like I don't need to puke when I reach the top.

Also, I need to see if my bike is in good enough shape. All that mashing while climbing is hard on an old bike.