19%

In keeping with our number titles. That is the peak hill gradient I climbed on a group ride with 6 other Dartmouth Cycling team members. I decided that in order to do well in the Boston Beanpot races this weekend, I should probably do some riding. Maybe I should have started out a little easier... This ride is called the "28 Miles of Hell", for those of you familiar with the Dartmouth area a description from Cosmo Catalano '04 can be found here. This ride consists of 5 of the hardest climbs in the immediate vicinity. Hills are normally my specialty, but being out of bike shape, not eating lunch, and the shear number and size of these hills made this a VERY difficult ride. I could barely stand up to shower afterward. You know it is going to be a difficult climb when you see at the bottom a sign that says "Trucks use low gear: 19% grade". In addition to the steepness, some of the hills were still covered in sand so whenever your back tire would go over a sandy patch you would skid out, almost causing me to start rolling backwards...

In other news, I probably won't be able to walk tomorrow, I plan on using every available elevator.