June 11, 2006
King of the Mountain
Life is good in California. With no rain expected until October (long after I am back in Cleveland for my final semester), I have been taking advantage of the bicycle-friendly roads in California. Yesterday, I finally made it to the top of the mountain ridge just off the ocean. The main climb was 4 miles long and went up 1500 feet. This was after the 6 mile approach from my house, which had a 500 ft elevation change. I can't believe I made it up a 2000 ft climb! For comparison's sake, Case is around an elevation of 670 ft. The hills around North Royalton are at about 1200 ft, only a 500+ foot elevation change! I am really psyched I was able to make it up after only about a week or so of serious bike rides. Still, I have a long way to go. My body took a beating going up that far with little training behind me. I guess that just means I have to do the ride until it feels comfortable. Every time I do it, I'll think about the 10 minute downhill, which is a definite adventure, as the winding road makes it feel more like a roller-coaster than a road. It is definitely a white-knuckle affair!
As an aside, Google Earth is the coolest program for determining bicycle routes. I love being able to get a bird's eye view of the routes before I head out for a ride. There is nothing more discouraging than hitting a long climb with no warning.
Anyway, enough rambling. Time to abuse my body again by riding to the top. Perhaps this time I'll explore more of Skyline Blvd. Who knows, perhaps I'll get a good glimpse of the ocean...
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Comments
Greg,
Have you considered trying out Windows Live Local (http://local.live.com)? They have the Aerial view that Google Maps has, but also a "Bird's Eye View" which is an ultra-focused side view that really gives you a good insight into what the terrain and slope look like.
Just a suggestion. :-)
Robert
I'll give credit to Windows Live Local for the bird's eye view. Very cool. However, none of the web-based apps can compete with Google Earth. The ability to adjust tilt and to rotate the view to any degree you want is invaluable when trying to map out terrain. Even though the images are two-dimensional, you still get an accurate portrayal of the terrain.