Adding variations to the commuting routes
I've wanted a few more miles during the week so I decided to expand my commute routes to include a little more distance. In-bound, I added the big hill that approaches the Centers for Disease Control along Clifton Road from the west. It's a bigger hill than I remember. I think I've only climbed it once or twice before. It rises 175 feet over half a mile for a 7% grade. It's nice and steady though so other than the length, it wasn't too bad. Working hard early in the ride did mess me up for the rest of the ride. Hill profile shown here:
On the way back, I swung south to Grant Park home of the Zoo and Cyclorama. I had never taken the Cherokee Road crossing of I-20, and wanted to see it's attraction to other cyclists. It's not a bad route for those coming from Grant Park up to downtown and midtown.
Breathed in another insect on the way home in about the same spot as before. This one got swallowed, but only after scratching around my throat for a few miles. I'd been wanting to add a little variety to my diet.
Commute Summary
Round Trip Distance: 20.5
Number of Cyclists seen: 27 (new record)
In-bound Route: Emory/PATH
Out-bound Route: Grant Park
Weather: Sunny warmth seems to bring the people out.
Labels: bike-commuting, counting-cyclists, hills
posted by Jett @ 8:56 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
That looks like a fun hill ... we have a lot of hills around here. Contrary to popular belief, not all of Indiana is flat -- the southern portion is quite hilly. I don't have any big hills along my commute route, though.
I've had a few problems with insects lately, too; I haven't swallowed any yet, but I am getting pretty good at spitting them out quickly.
What did you use to plot that?
Apertome, I'm interested to know 1) how to pronounce 'apertome' and 2) where the name came from.
Fun could be used to describe that hill in about 50% of the directions you would be travelling. This particular hill is intentionally not on many people's route. The traffic isn't good there at rush hour anyway. I'll need to profile a training hill that our group does like. It's about a mile long but not as steep and has a flatter spot in the middle where you can get your momentum back up.
If only I could spit out the bugs that make it half-way down my windpipe. I kept my mouth shut when I rode past there today ;-).
Evan, I'm using a 1998 copy of "Topo". The hills haven't worn down too much the past 9 years, but the roads have certainly changed. The company that published the software (topo.com) had been bought out by National Geographic, but now I can no longer find references to the software. It is possible that better versions exist, but I haven't been looking since I have this old copy.
Post a Comment
<< Home