[email protected] wrote:
>
>Gooserider wrote:
>> I live in Florida, so it's not super hilly. We do have hills, though, and
>> one of them is 7 miles into my commute. The hill is 200 yards long, then the
>> road heads downhill for 2 miles through a subdivision. I've hit 50 in the
>> subdivision, even passing cars. That gets a doubletake from the driver, for
>> sure. It's a nice subdivision, because it has tons of sidewalks for the
>> morning walkers, and car traffic is very light.
>
>I could almost believe you, until you try to claim a 2 mile long
>downhill run in Florida. With a high point of 345 ft and a low point
>of 0, if we connected those on a two mile ramp we would have a 3.4%
>grade, and I would call that a nominal hill. But I seriously doubt you
>are claiming that this 2 mile stretch goes from the top of Britton hill
>to the ocean, so .....
He doesn't say it's a 2 mile hill, but that the "road heads
downhill"... which could mean a lot of things short of a (substantial)
3.4% grade. Remember the OP is in Florida, where the definition of
"hill" is a little different... ;-)
>The second part that makes me skeptical is your claim in a followup
>message that you powered up to 50MPH. Even with a 53x11, it would
>require a cadence in the high 120's - not impossible buy improbable
>that a recreational rider could do that. Color me doubting .. and I am
>not from Missouri.
120-130 rpm is NOT all that difficult. I have seen "Mount" Dora in
Florida, and don't doubt for a minute that a serious rider with a
little wind (and there's always wind in Florida) could hit 50mph on
that hill. I've done well over 40mph on the flat along the ocean with
some of those famous Florida breezes... so I doubt 50mph is
unthinkable elsewhere in the state (assuming a tailwind and a fit
rider).
>BTW, I have done in the upper 50's (MPH), but that is on real hills (>
>6% grade - SF Bay area and the Sierra Nevada) with long, straight runs.
> With speeds that high you want good tires, good road surface, and
>nothing in front of you ... and especially no roads/driveways entering
>from the sides.
The fastest I ever went was on a skinny little Vermont country road,
twisting down a really STEEP hill. That was a white-knuckler for
sure.
Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame