I was a bit apprehensive about doing the hilly route. It had been three weeks since I had been on my bike, I was still working on getting over a cold and I was worried over the hills. Recumbent bikes are supposed to be terrible hill climbers. You can't stand up to give it an extra boost, plus they generally weigh more then an upright. I knew ahead of time that I would need to use the front derailer granny gear, which would be the first time this year.
It turns out , I had nothing to worry about. I rode fairly quickly and ended up finishing in 3 hours and 8 minutes from the minute I started till I finished, I didn't stop at any of the sag stops. The hills were definitely a challenge. The three tall rolling hills had a 22%, 20% and 18% grades, but they were all short and sweet. The most difficult hill seemed to go on for a couple of miles with grades up to around 15%.
There were plenty of Sag stops, everyone was friendly and the weather was great. They also had a cookout with hamburgers and pork plus an added bonus I haven't seen at any other ride, they had a chiropractor and a masseuse on site ready to attend your needs after the ride.
I felt great after completing this ride. The Hope Ride had always been my favorite ride before, but it has been toppled by the Tree City Rolling Tour as my favorite sponsored ride.
I have now added the Hamburg road as one of my weekly rides. It's very challenging and I figure will help me become a better biker.
The complete ride videos are linked below in 34 minute sections:
Ride Intro
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Ride Details
Ride Summary with elevation map:
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