Brentani’s Cycling Blog

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I had intended to drive out to Western Connecticut while spending the weekend in Manchester and hit a few hills I had heard about in the Northwestern corner. However, I had a mild cold, my toddler had a mild cold and was having some erratic sleep and my wife was having a full on “man cold,” so I found sitting on the couch and eating Pho to be much more attractive options. While I was on the couch I did manage to find some more hills in the area, which got me even more excited about going out this weekend. There had been some discussion of the “meanest mile” in Connecticut on Doug’s recent post about the meanest in MA. The most emphatic post from fredzilla said that Dibble Hill was the meanest. Based on my calculations I was skeptical. Valley Falls/Hatch Hill, though not quite a mile averages a significantly steeper grade and scores 383 vs. Dibble Hill’s 351. Swaller Hill in the same area averages 11.6% (equal to Hatch Hill) for exactly a mile (BRENTACOL: 405) and Great Hill Road, which averages 9.7% nets a BRENTACOL of 416. This means that Swaller Hill is the steepest mile in CT, but as we all know, steepest does not equal hardest. And Great Hill would be the “hardest” according to BRENTACOL rating, but one never knows if the rating/gradient map is accurate until you see the hill in person.

Last weekend, another family discussion found me two more hills to try, which then led me to find a couple more, including Swaller and Great Hill. My brother-in-law is a little obsessed with haunted places and was discussing an abandoned (and off-limits) ghost town in CT named Dudleytown. Some suggest the town’s demise was hastened by pig demons and that the residents went mad, died, etc. Wikipedia is much more sober, but I was intrigued nonetheless. Ghosts or not, abandoned towns and roads are always a draw for me. Looking at the map, the road that gets you closest to the settlement is the sinister sounding Dark Entry Road, and what do you know? It’s a hill, and a pretty decent one it seems. Google maps also showed a road going up Bald Mountain, which looked suspiciously like it might be dirt, as did the Eastern approach, Dudleytown Road. Given that the weather forecast was good for this weekend, and Western CT gets considerably more snow than the rest of the state, I figured this weekend was my last chance until the spring thaw.

Unfortunately, the forecast turned to rain Saturday, which then became snow. Shit. Hoping it would thaw quickly (the roads were already clear in Manchester by 9:00) I decided to head out there anyway. Roads were decent most of the way and I thought I might just sneak in a decent ride. But as I neared Cornwall, the road conditions got much worse. I passed Dibble Hill, and it looked pretty snowy, so I thought I’d check it out in the car and then ride it if it wasn’t too horrible. It was quickly apparent I wasn’t riding Dibble Hill today. When I was almost near the top, I saw a wall I was not expecting, and wasn’t even sure the car would make it up with the snow so I turned around before the steep stuff started. The 25% on the gradient map is for real. The case for Dibble Hill as hardest in CT was improving.

My route was supposed to start just up the road at route 7. I drove up Route 7 to Swaller Hill. The conditions were better on that hill, but still pretty messy. That road seems easier than Dibble Hill Road, but it’s of course impossible to tell. Thinking my day was over, I figured I should at least drive down to Dark Entry and see if I could find some pig demons. By the time I hit Cornwall Bridge, the roads were pretty good, and when I drove by Dark Entry, I was surprised to find it was clear, at least at the bottom. I parked, and rode up it. That’s a nasty little climb. According to BRENTACOL it is slightly harder than Blue Hill and slightly shorter. I agree. It’s gradient is very inconsistent and there are some small sections of really steep (probably 20% or so) that really hurt. I wanted to shift into the 24, but I couldn’t get the chain to drop down, so I was mashing in 36-26.

From there I rode up Warren Hill Road, which is the biggest hill in terms of elevation gain in the area (894 feet). Nice hill, with some steep sections. On the way back down, I turned up Bald hill and was pleasantly surprised to find it was paved all the way to the top. And that one is real kicker as well. Combining Bald Hill (which is 1/2 mile long) with the first section of Warren Hill and it might be in the conversation for meanest mile in CT. I was happy to call it a day and drive to check out the other hills.

• Dudleytown Road: Over on the other side, I drove up Dudleytown Road. This one seems like a really nasty hill, and approaches the abandoned Dudleytown from the east. Very pretty and narrow, but paved. The pavement ends at or near the top, which is where I turned around. It didn’t look like there was much more up left at that point. Veloroutes data is horribly inaccurate so don’t pay attention to the gradients or the BRENTACOL rating, but you can take a look at the map, if you like here.
• Great Hill Road: Not as hard as BRENTACOL says, because that section of 23% and 19% is pretty definitely bogus. Still nothing to scoff at.

I’ll be back in the spring.

After two attempts I finally managed to do Harmony Hill. I had high hopes for this one, which were eventually completely dashed. According to the “similar hills” function on brentacol, Harmony Hill should be just slightly harder than Waterman (see comparison), which is a fairly difficult hill. According to Google Maps, Harmony Hill Road runs between Douglas Hook and Absoloma Hill Road. On Monday I rode down Douglas Hook before I finally realized that I had passed Harmony Hill a long ways back, and that it was an unmarked dirt road. Great, I thought. Maybe this is finally the difficult dirt road hill I’ve been looking for. So I came back today, turned onto the road. It is not really appropriate for a road bike. Lots of soft dirt and ruts. I ended up walking quite a bit and turned back after maybe a mile. (It would be pretty nice on a cyclocross bike.) From there, I went back to Absoloma Hill Road and figured I’d just start from that end, which is the top of the climb. At that end, it turns out Harmony Hill Road is actually just an entryway into Harmony Hill School. It might be possible to find the dirt road on the other side of the school, but I wasn’t in the mood to find out. So I turned around and went back up the “hill.” I know a hill in a city center will always seem steeper than a comparable one in the country, but I’d say there’s no way that Harmony Hill Road is as difficult as Waterman, and the 20% shown at the beginning is definitely wrong. And of course, the climb is paved, so you don’t even get that added challenge. Oh well.

I’m starting to think about a new “cross” bike from Circle A. About a month ago I missed a chance to get a wicked awesome Gazelle 531 frame in mint condition. Could have been awesome. But anyway, it got me thinking, and I think a cyclo-cross bike is not exactly what I’m looking for. What I really want is a bike I can take up dirt climbs (like the Oracle side of Mount Lemmon, D2R2 maybe), take on the dirt roads in Maine. In addition, I’d like this bike to be a good option for hillclimbing on certain types of paved climbs.

So here is my wishlist:

• Geometry and fit that is as close to my road bike as possible.
• stainless steel chain stays (to protect the paint against flying gravel)
• BB30 w/ Hollowgram cranks (using either compact or mountain (double) spider.) So front gearing options of 50-34 or 42-26 or something like that.
• Sram XX for the rear derailleur. that would give me the opportunity to go as low as 36 in the back! Which means I could keep the compact in the front and still get 1:1 gearing. and if I wanted, say if I were to do Scanuppia some day, I could go as low as 26-36.
• Couplers? Maybe. It would be nice to be able to easily pack up the bike and take it on an airplane. Especially if I took it to europe. but then I’d need to do that several times before it would pay back the price difference. and since it adds weight, etc. might not be the best option.

A word to the wise: don’t ask Doug Jansen for advice about selecting the best route for doing a climb, at least if you don’t want to be in a world of hurt. I actually don’t mind so much, so I’m glad I did ask him for advice on my trip up Mount Lemmon. Apparently, most Tucson riders who do Mount Lemmon turn around in Summerhaven (…Khalid? you?). That would be about 28 miles from the base, and I would have been perfectly happy had I done so. The climb had become difficult, but primarily because of its length and a little because of the altitude. At that point I had been climbing for close to 2 3/4 hours. I had kept up a decent clip, but nothing too strenuous. Above 7000 feet, the elevation started to become a major factor, so my average speed had dipped from around 11, to just under 10 and I was riding mostly in the little ring (with which thankfully my rental bike came equipped.) As I finally reached Summerhaven, I was feeling pretty well cooked. If I had turned around and gone back down, however, I would have recovered fine and the whole ordeal would have seemed like no big deal. Instead, I turned onto Ski Run Road and followed that road up to the summit. The average gradient on that section is 6.8% as compared to 4.2% for the whole climb. However, there’s also a lot of steeper road in that section…some over 10% and even a little section of 19%. Factor in elevation, and fatigue from the previous 28 miles and the last 3.4 miles (which gain an additional 1281 feet) is as hard as anything else I’ve ever done, including Lincoln Gap and Ascutney. As Doug had predicted in an email to me, I was “sucking wind” and had to stop a few times to recover. I thought about telling myself “most people don’t bother with this part of the climb” and turning around. Thankfully I persevered and was rewarded with a great view of Tucson.

Here’s a gradient map for the last 3.4 miles:

The descent down the summit road was nasty. lots of bumps and I was riding the brakes most of the way, though the rims never got red-hot like they do on Ascutney or Okemo. Adding to the difficulty, my rental bike was a bit too big and my arms were extended pretty far to ride on the brakes, and it was pretty cold up there as well. My arms and hands weren’t feeling so good when I got back to Summerhaven. The rest of the descent from Summerhaven was pretty easy…smooth pavement, nicely banked curves. Unfortunately, I’m still a bit of a skittish descender, so I didn’t go all that fast.

And for the BRENTACOL rating, I’d like to start factoring in elevation. I’m thinking something like: add x percentage points per 1000 feet of elevation (over a certain threshold, like maybe 5000)…suggestions welcome. In any case, Mount Lemmon scores 1982 from the bottom to the summit. That makes it the highest rated hill I’ve done (but frighteningly, still 500 points easier than Mount Washington). I’d say that’s right. Although if I factor in elevation it might bring it close to Washington.

A few days ago, a reader of the blog alerted me to a new hill, southwest of Providence. He said it was 12% average gradient for a whole mile. that turned out not to be true (if it had been true, that would make it harder than Blue Hill by a lot, so I was skeptical from the beginning), but it is a very respectable hill, and maybe even the hardest in Rhode Island. Here it is:

as you can see, there’s a lot of extended 10%+ in there and it’s a consistent climb (none of this up/down/ramping shit). That in itself is a rare occurrence in the Providence area for hills of this length. (The only other hills I can think of that are consistent and a mile long are Tourtellot and Chopmist, both of which are under 5% average grade.) So, this hill wins the “meanest mile” competition for RI hands down. But is it the hardest hill? According to BRENTACOL, the only hill that beats it is Woonsocket Hill Road. However, I’m inclined to think that the long flat/downhill section that interrupts the two steep parts of that climb makes it much easier than it would be if those two sections happened consecutively. I will probably be amending the formula to subtract points for hills that have long interruptions. And then there’s Bowen, which I think is still the hardest hill in RI. But that is hardest on an entirely different scale: is there a strong possibility that you won’t make it up, or will fall over sideways attempting? Bowen, yes. Every other hill in the area, no.

And like any good ride in a new area to find a new hill, I found a couple others along the way. First up, Sand Hill, which starts steeply, but doesn’t last too long:

Next, Flat River Road, aka 117, is long but very gradual:

and last, I came down the hill on Harkney Hill Road (118), which is a very fast descent.

And one last tidbit…last weekend I rode in Connecticut and did my usual route in reverse. Since I didn’t need to go up Mile Hill Road, or Fish and Game – two of my usual hills – I took a different route back to Tunnel Road. As a result I came down Hatch Hill Road. OMFG. That hill is for real. Especially if you come up from Valley Falls Road (the dip in the middle is a quick left on Bolton Road, followed by a right onto Hatch HIll). 11.6% AVERAGE.

ok, I’m ready to go live with my new site. I’ll still be tweaking it, so don’t be surprised if things change or things stop working inexplicably for a few minutes. Here it is:

http://brentacol.com/

Basically, it’s just a searchable database of all the hills I’ve been making gradient maps for. Only now, I can keep the pictures organized, re-generate and tweak the resolution and all that. And the biggest feature is the addition of a rating scheme, which I’m calling “brentacol.” It’s based on the Belgian COTACOL system. You can read about how the system works on the about page.

I welcome any and all feedback, especially subjective opinions about the validity of the ranking scheme. I was pleasantly surprised how well it matched my own feelings riding the hills, but I know everyone has different experiences while climbing. (For example, Woonsocket Hill Road, which I had pegged as #4 in RI, after Bowen, Blue Hill, and Jenckes. Because of their relative shortness, Jenckes and Bowen are downgraded slightly by the system (and I’m still working out a way to factor in the cobbles on Bowen), but Woonsocket Hill Road becomes the hardest in RI, just beating out Burlingame, but still easier than Blue Hill.

I spent the Labor Day weekend up in Maine with Carrie’s parents at their A-Frame on Small Point. The riding there is pretty much idyllic and the terrain, while not containing much in the way of big hills, is relentlessly rolling and makes for a great work-out. It requires constant shifting between big rings. Possibly a place where the compact crank isn’t such a good choice. With a 42 or 39 instead of the 34, you might be able to stay in the little ring most of the time. Anyway, as much as I love riding there, I’ve gotten a little tired of my usual route. To mix things up, I decided to start trying some of the dirt roads that are almost as plentiful as the paved roads. The first day, I did my normal loop of riding out to Fort Popham, up Parker Head Road. But instead of going all the way to Phippsburg, I took a left on Sam Day Hill, a road I knew would connect me back to the main road. Not much of a hill, but the dirt makes it a little more difficult. Nice road, anyway.

That night, I perused a topo map and noticed Morse Mountain Road. It was only about 3-4 miles from the A-Frame, so I asked my father-in-law. He said the road was dirt and in pretty good condition, with even some paved sections. I went there on Sunday, only to be turned back by a guy at the gate. They apparently don’t really let people take cars up during the summer, and wouldn’t let me take my bike. The initial section is a nice easy gradient on nice smooth packed dirt, with a few rocks. Since we were staying until today (the day after labor day), I figured I could come back this morning after the entire state of Maine had packed up and left for the winter. I was right. I rode up the initial section, which was mostly the hard packed dirt, with a few sections of broken up pavement. That part only lasts maybe 1/4 mile, and then you dive back down and cross the tidal marsh. Stinky. The “pavement” here is nasty. It’s all egg-sized rocks, that seem to be neatly arranged like cobblestones. It felt like riding on cobblestones, too, except that the “cobblestones” had a nasty habit of kicking up and hitting my shins and my frame. Needless to say, I rode that section nice and slowly. Once you cross the tidal marsh, the real hill starts. The surface constantly changes the rest of the way up between dirt, rocks and extremely broken pavement. The pavement sections were actually the hardest to navigate. The hill is too short to be too difficult, but there are some really steep sections, and dealing with the transitions between the different surfaces were challenging.

Then there was the descent. 1/2 way down, I flatted. It was at this point that I realized the whole area was completely infested with mosquitoes. I didn’t really want to change my flat under those conditions, so I walked back to the road (~3/4 mile). Back at the road, I had to change the flat, even though there were still mosquitoes everywhere. It was at this point that I also realized that lycra does nothing to stop mosquitoes. Or that’s not quite true. It does stop you from noticing that a mosquito has landed and lets them suck with impunity. I changed the flat as quickly as possible, and went back home. I counted 21 bites, some of which were probably clusters of 4-5 bites, since they were about 1 inch in diameter.

Mike and I went out and did a new loop this morning. Really hard loop. I vote it the hardest 50 miles in RI. I suppose you could jimmy a few extra hills into the loop, but this is really quite sufficient. It includes three of the hardest hills, excluding the East Side hills. The hills, in order of appearance are: 1. Smithfield/Ridge Road, 2. Iron Mine Hill, 3. Manville Hill, 4. West Wrenthem, 5. Tower Hill, 6. Mt. St. Charles, 7. Woonsocket HIll, 8. Burlingame, 9. Mountaindale, 10. Pine Hill. Mike got the better of everything except Tower Hill. For that one, I attacked in one of the downhill/flat sections and gapped Mike before the last uphill section. A little bit slimy, but I’ll take it.


View Larger Map

And then, at the top of Woonsocket Hill, I finally remembered to look for the road up to the summit. Brentwood is a little subdivision that gets almost there (with a nasty bit of 20% gradient), but I had noticed that there was another unnamed road on google maps. The verdict is: not possible on a road bike. there’s a layer of soft dusty sand, covered with golfball sized gravel. Here I am giving it a try. I’ll try to get my cyclocross bike back in working order and try it again.

I haven’t checked in in a while, so there’ll be a lot of somewhat unrelated things in this post. First of all, I did Ascutney back on July 18, and posted a report here. The next day, I drove up and did a loop around Lincoln Gap and App Gap. For Ascutney, I (with help from Brian, of course) set up the Circle A as a single front chainring of 26. Matched that with a 13-29 in the back. The gears felt just about right. I spun out on the brief down-hill/flat section at mile 2.5, but otherwise was fine. I spent a lot of time in the 26/29, but never felt like I wanted to downshift, and was able to shift up and down pretty smoothly as the pitch changed. (Contrast that w/ okemo where I was firmly stuck in the 34/29 from bottom to top.) For Lincoln, I of course needed some bigger gears (for the flat and descents), but also needed the low gears. I used the Gazelle for that, which, if you don’t remember, has a compact triple (46-36-24, w/ a 13-26 in the back). The 46/13 is a little easier to spin out on flats than you might want, but otherwise the gearing was also pretty good.

Ascutney Setup

Lincoln Gap…starts out with a short steep section. Nothing to worry about. It levels off and gives you some extended false flats, which eventually become dirt. When the pavement returns, that’s when the fun starts. The transition from 36 to 24 is pretty hairy, so I stopped and shifted into the 24 right at that point, since I didn’t want to mess with it once the gradients really picked up. The next section is very steep, probably mid-teens. At a certain point, you turn a corner and see an immense section of over 20%. That part is going to hurt anyone, probably no matter what gears you bring. I did it in the 24/26. Once you get up that and turn the corner, it “eases up” to about 18%. It was at this point that I stopped for a breather. I couldn’t tell what would happen around the next corner, and the Gazelle doesn’t have a computer, so I didn’t know how far I had gone. Turns out if I had just perservered another little bit, I would have been at the top. Oh  well.

Next Item: Carrie went to a wedding a month or so back, and google maps inexplicably sent her on some back road on her way up to Burriville. Turns out it was a hill, and she asked if I had done it, which I had not. I went out on tuesday to give it a try. The road in question is Brayton, and is right near Burlingame. Nothing too difficult, but definitely worth knowing about. There’s another road (Rogler Farm) that also goes up to the same point. Here they are:

Or perhaps I should say “53:45, bitches.” That’s right, I beat my previous best time on the hill climbing circuit by almost two minutes. And I beat the time I posted back in April by a full 5 minutes. Factor in a fair amount of rain today, which had me braking most of the way down 123, and I could have cut that down by at least another 15 seconds. Overall, I didn’t really feel like I was pushing that hard, at least not until Wipple. I tried to moderate my pace as much as possible on Cullen Hill and Wilbur. That is, I tried to ride a high but steady tempo from top to bottom, and avoid going too hard too soon. It seemed to help. As usual, I didn’t look at my time until sometime in the last fast section approaching Wipple. When I saw 48 minutes and change, I was pretty sure I was going to set a new best time. No point in conserving energy for Wipple at that point. I rode as hard as possible before hitting the climb. And there, I pushed myself way into the red, but I knew it’d be over in a matter of a minute or two…hit the top of the climb and watched the clock roll over 53:45. I was thinking my previous best was 54-something, but turns out it was 55:34, so I’m feeling even better about my form.

Add to that, I went back to Mount Tom again over the weekend, and this time managed to ride it from top to bottom without stopping. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Now if only I could ride back down w/o stopping (for the brakes to cool off). 10 days left to Ascutney.