And that seems like a lot to me too. I have another bike that I have ridden more than 7,000 miles but it has been a while since I started a previously unridden thousand. Obviously about 8,000 miles I guess.
I own a bike with 8,000 miles, a bike with 7,000 miles and a bike with 6,000 miles. I have bikes that I have ridden more miles than a circumnavigation of the globe. It seems like a lot of miles.
8,000 is significant for more than the miles. When I bought the Trek which started me down this path I set a goal that I should ride it a number of miles equal to a multiple of the dollars the bike cost. I did that and moved on to another bike. I have reached that multiple for every bike I have owned save one (my vacation bike, which is being judged by different criteria). Today I reached that multiple for this bike.
Does this look steep? Because it is steep. This is Ramsey Hill, a real hill by any measurement. It is also a fairly busy street so I don't ride it very often. The Saint Paul Bike Classic on the second weekend of September each year closes the street so the riders can climb the hill unmolested and then awards buttons at the top to any bicyclist who comes up the hill.
Very, very few actually ride the hill, almost all end up walking. But they give a button to every person who makes it to the top. This somewhat dilutes the significance of the button, I suppose, but human powered is human powered and I don't personally mind that everyone gets a button. I get a button every year by riding to the top of the hill.Today I visited the hill. I am far from prepared to ride it. Pretty much my entire schedule between now and September has an at least secondary purpose of preparing me to come up this hill. I never avoid any hill on any of my rides. I am not fast, but I can be strong, if I work at it. I work at it.
It was a warm day, 81 at ride time. The wind came up again, strong out of the south, 18 mph, gusting to 25. Riding in the wind is very hard work but it was such a nice, warm day, that it ended up being a nice ride.
2 comments:
It looks steep. I envy you your warm weather. Riding in that much wind is indeed very hard work.
The circumference of the earth at the equator is 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 kilometers). That's a lot of miles, my young friend. Good going.
I have walked up Ramsey Hill and it's almost too steep to walk.
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