The Gorge
For work I am currently stationed away from my normal branch. This is a recent roster change that I am not too happy about due to a number of reasons that I won't go into here. The good thing is that it gives me different roads to ride on when commuting. Nothing like a bit of variety to break things up.
One particular bit of terrain that I now get to cover is known as the Gorge. It is exactly as the name suggests. The road that takes you into the Gorge is simple. One side is a very wide bend, that could almost be thought of as a straight road. The other side involves a couple of reasonable bends, which wouldn't normally be an issue, but can be when hitting speeds of 60km/hr on the descent. I want to make it clear that the Gorge is far from the toughest of climbs, while quite steep on both sides it is relatively short.
So what is it about the Gorge. For me it has provided a good bench mark for my cycling fitness. Back when I first started on the bike it took all my effort to climb up. Now it is simply just a short and sharp climb. It also seems to be an unofficial border between the northern and northeast suburbs. Most cyclists from the area know exactly what you are talking about when mention the Gorge.
So now most of my rides to and from work will head through this landmark. While not really a big challenge compared to plenty of other climbs around, I certainly notice the difference when my pack is full of food, equipment and clothes for work.
One particular bit of terrain that I now get to cover is known as the Gorge. It is exactly as the name suggests. The road that takes you into the Gorge is simple. One side is a very wide bend, that could almost be thought of as a straight road. The other side involves a couple of reasonable bends, which wouldn't normally be an issue, but can be when hitting speeds of 60km/hr on the descent. I want to make it clear that the Gorge is far from the toughest of climbs, while quite steep on both sides it is relatively short.
So what is it about the Gorge. For me it has provided a good bench mark for my cycling fitness. Back when I first started on the bike it took all my effort to climb up. Now it is simply just a short and sharp climb. It also seems to be an unofficial border between the northern and northeast suburbs. Most cyclists from the area know exactly what you are talking about when mention the Gorge.
So now most of my rides to and from work will head through this landmark. While not really a big challenge compared to plenty of other climbs around, I certainly notice the difference when my pack is full of food, equipment and clothes for work.
It is wonderful when you notice that which used to be a challenge has suddenly become easy, time to find another big juicy hill ;-)
ReplyDeleteI find having "natural" benchmarks makes a great change from the Stop-watch, Garmin, computer etc sometimes it's just about how you feel.
ReplyDeleteSo, a bit steeper, but not quite as long as the Tourmalet?
ReplyDeleteWell done on the 123k the other day - you certainly get to see 'a bit' when cycling long distances.