Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

The Alps of Circle C

07.31.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

I’ve griped a time or two before about my slowness on hills, or even an inability to climb them without walking. I’ve kept telling myself this had to change. Recently, I’ve been riding routes that contain some decent hills, in an effort to build my thighs and not flinch from them as much as I have in the past. It’s helped — but I’m not going to win King of the Mountains anytime soon.

Today, that might have started to change. I went out on a friendly ride with a guy I haven’t ridden with for awhile. We cruised at a moderate pace, catching up on what we’ve been doing. But then, it was time to pick a route.

“Have you ever ridden the Alps of Circle C?” he asked. (We live in the Circle C Ranch subdivision.)

“Never even heard of it,” I said.

“That’s because it’s a route I cooked up myself.” he said. “I wanted a place nearby to get some hill work. So I looked around for hills in the neighborhood.”

We headed out on Mopac, turned west on Hwy 45, and rode the first hill up toward Escarpment Blvd. Not too tough, although he finished substantially ahead of me. Turning on Escarpment took us into the residential area, and the first small hill. Then we turned on some streets I hadn’t seen before (this is at the southern end of the subdivision, and it’s an area I seldom visit). We went up a street called Savin Hill, which curved, always climbing, for about half a mile. Then we did it again. I was huffing and puffing at the end of the second climb.

“Got another,” he said, as we turned down a different street. It was a long, looping road with a steady climb to Escarpment. Not tough, but another tester. Time to loop through a different area. Back out onto Hwy 45, with a series of mild climbs to the highest point on the route. But the return eastbound features a nice downhill that gave us a chance to recover — just in time for another series of climbs to the end of the route.

Real climbers won’t be impressed by the elevation change…

But as I said, my thighs burned.

“Whenever I want a quick workout, this is what I do,” said my friend. “I can finish it off in about 45 minutes and head to work.”

I thought I actually climbed better halfway through the ride than I had near the beginning, when I was fresh. I’m sure we’ll do this route again, many times. But I’m also going to be doing it on my own.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Categories // Rides, training Tags // hills, Rides, training

Comments

  1. Red says

    August 1, 2008 at 6:48 am

    I read an article recently about training for mountains when you don’t live in a mountainous area by doing this sort of thing. I have an area near my home where I like to do my hill work. It is a neighborhood with several short but steep climbs. I estimated that by doing a loops that covers about 5 miles though never more than half mile from my star point, I can get close to 1000′ of climbing.

    Reply
  2. Apertome says

    August 1, 2008 at 8:16 am

    Looks to me like a fair amount of elevation change, at least for such a short ride. Do you know what the total amount of climbing is?

    That should be a good place for training rides. Then again, there’s no shortage of hills on the west side, from what I recall (I lived in Austin several years ago).

    Reply
  3. rainycamp says

    August 1, 2008 at 8:54 am

    Apertome, those west side hills are brutal, but they’re not as convenient as riding in the neighborhood. They’re a “destination” ride for me, and as I get stronger on hills, I’ll travel to that destination from time to time.

    Reply
  4. Charles Cushman says

    August 1, 2008 at 9:43 am

    If you felt better half way through the ride it was probably due to your legs finally warming up. I know that I need 1/2 of riding at a decent pace before my muscles really start to feel good for strenuous riding. Without that warm-up my legs can’t utilize my energy stores efficiently.

    Reply
  5. arlynasch says

    August 1, 2008 at 5:06 pm

    Nice job. Sounds like the beginning of a mountain climbing career 🙂

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 259 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version
%d