Tour das Hugel

[AntonioGG]

Who is doing this?  Either just the first loop or the whole thing?  I've done it partial several years but not the whole thing for one reason or another.  The last time in 2015 I rode it in my Tallboy for about 60 miles.

[CBaron]

I've done it 1.5x's and that was a good while ago (2007 & 2009).  I've been in roadie mode for a while lately but not sure I really plan to do this.  I have a friend who said they may show up late and do the 2nd half....they've done the 1st half for 2 yrs in row.  But make no mistake, The Hugel is a big f'n effort.

-CJB

[fontarin]

It's probably been 4-5 years since I've done it.  I had planned on doing the first loop this year but I have a back injury that gets aggravated when I stand up on the bike - so yeah, this ride is out. 🙂

[JRIDER]

Did it last year and did 2 partials over the last 3 weekends.  I won't be able to ride it this Saturday, but I'll give it a shot sometime after the Dragon Slayer ride.   Or maybe I'll do it next weekend if the Dragon Slayer rains out.  

The hill after hill after hill really sucks. 

 

[Tree Magnet]

I did it four year ago (I think) on my cross bike. I was close to DFL but I finished. Honestly, it’s a great way to see the roadie hot spots around town. They actively seek out the gnarliest hills and then climb up the steep side and ride down the mellow side. Bizarro world. I think we rode UP Beauford and UP Jester on the same ride!!

620 sucked but the rest felt relatively safe. Unless you are a real roadie, you’re going to feel humbled by the speed and power of those guys. They can’t hop a curb or ride a wheelie but they can haul ass.


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[TAF]

12 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

I think we rode UP Beauford and UP Jester on the same ride!!

And Smokey Valley.

[TheSarge]

4 hours ago, TAF said:

And Smokey Valley.

Yeah, the year I rode it I passed 3 broken chains as I was climbing Smokey Valley.  I used to think Beauford was steep.

 

[JRIDER]

Das Hugel is this weekend.  Get a good road ride in while the trails are too wet to ride.  Planning to ride it, just not sure how many miles though..

[AntonioGG]

Yep, I'm in again this year.  Now that I've completed it, I am going to try to go a bit faster than last year (9:27 moving time).  For many years I only did the first loop, which by itself, is a pretty hard 38-40 mile loop.  I recommend doing at least the first loop.  It's a pretty chill group of riders.

[TheX]

There are so many events that I've never heard of. I'm in for this next year.

[CBaron]

1 hour ago, TheX said:

There are so many events that I've never heard of. I'm in for this next year.

Quite often the EB is referred to as the Das Hugel for MTB'rs.  The Hugal has been around a good bit longer. (and I think its harder)

-CJB

[Tree Magnet]

I think the Hugel ride is a different kind of hard but it’s still a beast. The Hills and suffering just keep coming with the Hugel but there is no Thumper at mile 60. It’s a fun ride and you will see some amazingly fast riders just destroy some crazy hills. I think I was close to DFL a few years ago but it was still fun as hell.


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[AntonioGG]

I agree with @Tree Magnet, the EB is harder b/c of Thumper.  das Hugel is about pacing, worst case you walk Smokey Valley (rode it last year, but it was stupid...when a walker passes you, you know you made a wrong decision).  The EB, even if you walk the road climbs, you can't get around the technical stuff that requires punchy power and kills your legs...and yes, Thumper that late in the game.

[CBaron]

To each their own...I find Thumper fun and not problematic at all.  

Add in that I'm not a natural 'road climber' and I find the relentless hills of Hugel brutal.  Its a repetitive leg-shredder that never lets up.  That said, the 1.5x's I've done it, I was riding it very fast on the (near) pointy edge of the event.  It is a staple event of the ATX road community and I do look fwd to doing it again sometime.  

Later,

CJB

Edited November 9, 2019 by CBaron

[JRIDER]

Unsolicited ride report. 

 

Started about 40 minutes late and the bottom bracket started acting up around mile 30.  Decided start loop 2 hoping I could at least finish Courtyard and City Park before bailing.  But the BB got worse with each hill and I decided to bail at mile 62 instead of risking complete BB failure and needing a ride.

 

 I may give it another shot during Thanksgiving or Christmas break.  I

[AntonioGG]

I had a mechanical on Mt. Bonnell Rd's fast descent.  They have those water covers (the small ones) that they didn't raise with the road the last time they paved.  They're hard to see, and I nailed one hard, my chain fell off and got caught between my chain stay and little ring.  I couldn't force it out (don't know how it even got in there!).  Had to pop out a pin part way out, then re-use it (thankfully this chain has all solid pins).  Planned on getting power links at Nelo's.  Stopped, waited 10 minutes while he was making cappuccinos and nobody asked me what I needed, so I took off again.  Luckily it held for the remainder of the ride.

I was feeling great.  About 55 miles in I was on pace for an 8-8.5 hour ride.  I ended up riding Smokey Valley and PR'ed it.  The High Rd felt easy so I was pretty excited...but I wasn't drinking as much as I needed (all my nutrition is in liquid form) since it was cold.  In 6 hours I drank 3 bottles (840 calories).  The fun lasted for about 70 miles.  On Beauford my quads wanted to lock up.  From then on out, I had to walk a lot of the steep sections on climbs, except for a period of time after the Sun Tree Cove rest stop.  Two fistfuls of pickles, 3 quarters of a PB sandwich and a couple of glasses of coke and I was feeling again like a champ.  Got Bullick Hollow Rd and 620 climb from the low water crossing done...I still had 2 bottles (carried 2 for the first loop, then 3 for the 2nd loop) so I skipped the rest stop.  Walked all of Jester (walking really staved off the cramps, after walking, I could ride more hills), survived Beauford downhill and the hard climb on 360 from Pennybacker.

I rode mostly by myself except for a bit on 360 from Great Hills down to Lakewood when I hooked up with 2 other guys and rode a good paceline, then heading toward the end on 360, someone not on the Hugel said he'd pull me the rest of the way on 360.  He was fast.  I struggled staying on his wheel on the climbs, but it was nice to get through that faster.  I finished only slightly faster than last year as far as moving time 9:19, but about 30 minutes faster on overall time (I hate stopping for longer than I have to which is I rode alone).

How much of a ride is mental?  Up to mile 70 I felt like I could push hard, with my motivation being a fast finish. At some point I couldn't any more.  After the ride, without having seen my data, I felt like mile 70 was my breaking point.  After looking at the data, I was spot on.  Survive the climbs, take it easy everywhere else:

But you can see after Jester, I was able to attack a bit more, and to the finish I rode pretty fast.  It was fun day.  I'm going to take more food with me next year if it's cold again.

[AntonioGG]

It's time again for the TdH.  Same time and same place.

[mack_turtle]

I'm confused about these routes and busy highway type roads. I see people riding on 360 and 2222 sometimes and I have to think, are these people insane? I've done it before, once, and I won't again. I'd like to ride more of these routes but the busy highways sketch me out. what's more realistically risky: a busy road with drivers going 60+ mph but wide open visibility, or a narrower road with less visibility and lower speeds?

[Barry]

There are roads that bother me, but certainly not 360. I feel pretty good with a full lane for a shoulder. 

[JRIDER]

360 is actually pretty nice if you hit it early on the weekends before traffic picks up.  The worst part about 360 is crossing over the entrance\exit ramps.  I'll stop and wait for an opening if needed.   

I try to avoid two lane roads with no shoulders like Spicewood Springs .  That is my least favorite stretch of road on the EB route. 

 

 

[JRIDER]

On 11/9/2021 at 2:52 PM, AntonioGG said:

It's time again for the TdH.  Same time and same place.

I'm planning to be there!  

[AntonioGG]

Roads are different for me as far as comfort.  I've ridden on twisty mountain roads with no shoulder and no bailout and felt comfortable mostly because in those kind of roads drivers have to pay attention.  Compare to Old Spicewood Springs Rd where it's not as twisty and generally drivers can be pretty brainless and not go off the road...and half of them are Instagramers looking for St. Ed's looking down at their phone.  City Park Rd. on a MTB or gravel bike is a lot more comfortable b/c I know I can bailout to the dirt in most places, but on a road bike it's a bit more nerve wracking for me.  360 is fine for me but I ride to the right of the shoulder.  I see a lot of cyclists riding close to the line which I totally don't get.  100% agree 2222 and 2244 ramps are the sketchiest part of 360.

2222 I'll only ride to Jester.  2244 I have ridden it all the way to 620 (using the cutoff).

Edited November 11, 2021 by AntonioGG

[CBaron]

13 hours ago, JRIDER said:

360 is actually pretty nice if you hit it early on the weekends before traffic picks up.  The worst part about 360 is crossing over the entrance\exit ramps.  I'll stop and wait for an opening if needed.   

I try to avoid two lane roads with no shoulders like Spicewood Springs .  That is my least favorite stretch of road on the EB route. 

 

360 is much better now IMHO due to the road bumps they've installed along the white line.  That gives me a ton more personal comfort.  The idea of Spicewood makes me uncomfortable, but most every yr at the EB, I've found it not too bad.  I think that might be worse if I was actually riding it all the way to the end.  CP Rd is the one that is feeling worse for me.  There's just so many damn people living around those parts now!

Later,
CJB

[AntonioGG]

32 minutes ago, CBaron said:

  CP Rd is the one that is feeling worse for me.  There's just so many damn people living around those parts now!

They raised the speed limit too.  It used to be 35mph which I think is reasonable given the blind turns, and the fact that is shared.  I drive Old Spicewood Springs often and it's scary even in a car.  If you're doing the limit or 5 over you can still be surprised by someone parking, doing a u-turn, or skateboarding on the road as you come around a bend.  I think the limit should be 30mph and enforced tightly.  Driving and riding in Victoria, BC with low speed limits was a revelation.  Cars, bikes, scooters, skateboards are all going at relatively the same speed....and it doesn't feel like a gamble to try to find a slot to turn right onto or make a left turn if you're driving.  It just seems to flow smoother.

[CBaron]

14 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

They raised the speed limit too.  It used to be 35mph which I think is reasonable given the blind turns, and the fact that is shared.  I drive Old Spicewood Springs often and it's scary even in a car.  If you're doing the limit or 5 over you can still be surprised by someone parking, doing a u-turn, or skateboarding on the road as you come around a bend.  I think the limit should be 30mph and enforced tightly.  Driving and riding in Victoria, BC with low speed limits was a revelation.  Cars, bikes, scooters, skateboards are all going at relatively the same speed....and it doesn't feel like a gamble to try to find a slot to turn right onto or make a left turn if you're driving.  It just seems to flow smoother.

If there is ever a location to have 'pedestrian/bicycle/recreational' infrastructure poured into it, I think both Spicewood and CP Rd are it!  I wish there was a bikeway or shoulder or something along there.  I MUCH prefer that then the crazy bike lane furniture that we go on Duval (& other roads) that just pisses everyone off re:bicycles.

Cheers,
CJB