14 The Highlander Cycle Tour

Distance : 105 miles (170km)
Total Vertical Climbing : 10,000 feet+ (3050 m)
Weather : 54 Deg F, Foggy With Rain (13 deg C)
Ride Time : 8 Hours


In between these days thinking about bicycle dynamics and other personal affairs, I managed to pull myself together and ride the one and only Highlander Century on September 12.

The organizers of the Tour call it the King of the East, desiring to put it close to strenuous rides in the U.S such as the Triple Bypass in Colorado (120 miles, 11,140 ft climbing) and California's Death Ride (129 miles, 15000 ft climbing).

Held in the stunning region of the Finger Lakes (NY's answer to the Napa Valley in CA), the riders who participate in this marquee event of the weekend visit 5 beautiful lakes and climb all the hills separating them. Featuring more than 10,000 feet of total climbing in 18 separate climbs, 40% of these climbs are 1-2 miles long with grades ranging between 9-23%. Fabled climbs such as "Le Grand Egypt", "Mont. Ste. Millers", the now legendary steeps (23% grade) of Le Alpe de Bopple and the Col de Gannett, are all Highlander staples.

The following is a 15 min Google Earth video essay of the 2009 Highlander route that I prepared for you, with relevant details of aid stations, climbs and regions visited. The music captures the drama and difficulty of this ride, yet it does look much easier from the sky. Note that you can view the same on Youtube, broken in two parts, and in slightly higher quality. See : Part 1 and Part 2.

The Highlander Century : A Google Earth Essay from Ron George on Vimeo.

The route for this year had lots of character in both paved and graveled roads. The weather imposed a necessity of fine bike handling skills while using the gravel paths. The cold was constant and the foggy, rain mist was periodic and made for reduced sight. Sweat saturated the helmet lining and emulsified with rain making it slightly more harder on sight. Multiple flats had us stopping many times to change tubes in wet weather. I mean, there really is no way to keep these variables at bay.

6 aid stations keep you loaded with well-needed food and liquid supplies. Its also a time for conversations about routes and cramps and hills gone and hills to come. The psychological factor can grab your head like a scorpion if you're a newcomer here. Sometimes, its better to stop listening to people's conversations.

The ride was a great test of fitness and challenge to me. Instead of talking about myself, I would like to say a few things to those who are willing to face challenging rides such as these :

1) Carry extra food that you are familiar with. You don't get too many electrolytes at the aid stations so have something of that nature with you. I gave up on crappy race gels long ago. For relentless periodic climbing, I take glucose tablets.

2) Find a friendly group beforehand to ride your tour with. Maintain a sense of humor through challenges. This is hard as it is already. And always lend a helping hand to someone stuck out on the road in the middle of nowhere with equipment issues.

3) Come prepared to ride by having lots of miles in the legs. If you don't have time to train, the least you can do is practice plenty of hill repeats. I rode 4 centuries in the summer for fun and did rake some serious mileage and climbing in the Green Mountains of Vermont earlier this year.

4) Pay close attention to your core strength and conditioning before attempting a ride such as this. In a ride that features 10,000+ feet of climbing, you'll quickly come to realize why you climb only partly with the legs. Most of your power comes from the torso, especially the lower back. Weak muscles in this region can seize up pretty quickly and your experience climbing relentless hills will be extremely painful. If something of this nature does pop up, get off the bike and stretch.

5) Never, ever attack hills if you don't know what you're doing. Give them the respect they desire, or they'll topple you upside down. Its like dealing with a black mamba. Breathe from the belly and stay relaxed on the bike. This isn't a race.

6) On steep roads of more than 20% grade such as Bopple, its more energy efficient, but slower to cut across the hill in a zigzag path. If you can't do that either, its better to walk but do that knowing its hard to gain momentum to climb back on the bike again.


Here are some few pictures I captured from aboard my Colnago C40. I hope you like them, although they don't do much justice to the understanding of this ride. Enjoy and do ask questions if you have any!

Come ride this beast and be a Highlander! Are you game?

Rollout from start at 8am

Gannett Hill

Gravelled road

Aid station 1

Aid station 2

Pinewood

Gullick to Mosher Hill

Egypt Valley

Bristol

Lake Canandaigua

Final climb up Bopple Hill

Jubilous Highlanders at the finish after dinner (me in the center in white)

ADDITIONAL READING :

Highlander Cycle Tour Official Website
Tour of The Highlands (more on Bopple & Mosher Hills)
Democrat&Chronicle : Highland Cycle Tour has been drawing cyclists to Ontario County hills for 10 years (Sept 10,2009)
Visit Finger Lakes NY

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