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Tour das Hugel - Austin - November 14th (Read 770 times)
AustinSkater






Posts: 465
Tour das Hugel - Austin - November 14th
Oct 1st, 2009, 9:13am
 
There might be only a few riders interested in this (or perhaps I should say crazy enough for this).  http://www.tourdashugel.com/
 
105 miles, 14,000+ feet of climbing.  Hills with 25%+ grades.  The best rest stops money can't buy (part of the ride organizers evil plan is to make you not want to continue).    The route has multiple returns to the starting point, making it easy to come to your senses and get off the bike.  The attrition rate is about 50%.
 
This is a free ride, donations are accepted for the Austin Yellow Bike project.
 
I've done this ride twice on my Merckx, when I was living in Austin and riding most of the hills, it is a bear of a ride.  Shellene did it last year (on her DF).  While I can't speak for the first two years, I know that no recumbent has even started this ride, let alone finished it in the last three.
 
Anyone feel like joining me as I try to "Do the demo" in Austin?
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Bryan
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Shellene's is yellow, mine is too.
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aikigreg
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recumbent ninja

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Re: Tour das Hugel - Austin - November 14th
Reply #1 - Oct 1st, 2009, 9:53am
 
I could be talked into it.  I'll likely be walking anything over 20 percent though we'll see.
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I'm in it to Schwinn it.
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AustinSkater






Posts: 465
Re: Tour das Hugel - Austin - November 14th
Reply #2 - Oct 1st, 2009, 11:11am
 
Don't worry about walking some of the hills, a lot of the DF riders do (including me in the past).  It really is a fun ride, if you are into pain.
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Bryan
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Shellene's is yellow, mine is too.
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AustinSkater






Posts: 465
Re: Tour das Hugel - Austin - November 14th
Reply #3 - Oct 18th, 2009, 4:48pm
 
Besides riding the Hugel on the 14th, Shellene and I are planning to ride the Veloway in Austin on the 15th.  The Veloway is a 3.1 mile, 20' wide loop open only to cyclists and skaters.  We figure it would be a good 'bent handling exercise, since there are three hairpins on the course.
 
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Bryan
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Shellene's is yellow, mine is too.
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goatstick




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Re: Tour das Hugel - Austin - November 14th
Reply #4 - Oct 18th, 2009, 6:43pm
 
How tight are the hairpins? We've had a private oval test track available once a year for a few years. It's 1.1 miles long near the infield with about 10' wide straights and I'm guessing about 200' wide infield. The surface is a bit rough which makes cornering at speed a little interesting when trying to dodge the dips, wheel-swallowing cracks and grass clumps everywhere but it's still pretty fun.
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Spherical Cows, Dude! Ranch Racing
RailGun performance seats
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AustinSkater






Posts: 465
Re: Tour das Hugel - Austin - November 14th
Reply #5 - Oct 19th, 2009, 8:30am
 
Quote from goatstick on Oct 18th, 2009, 6:43pm:
How tight are the hairpins?

 
The two right hand turns are pretty tight, the second one being the tighter of the two.  The left hand one that connects them isn't tight at all.  It's really hard for me to judge how a bicycle would handle them, since 99% of the time I was at the Veloway I was on my skates.  I do know that most cyclists slow down on the second right turn.
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Bryan
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Shellene's is yellow, mine is too.
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