FLCC
Home Page

Two seasons ago, we staged what was called the Mile High Ride. The object of the (sadistic) exercise was to ride with a cumulative climb of at least 5280 feet, as measured by Dan Fravil’s altimeter (and the agony on his face). I recall there were about 6 of us who did that ride, the usual suspects sort of thing.

In thinking about that ride, leaving aside all questions of sanity, I realized there were a few problems. The first was that it is dependent on the presence of an altimeter. Those who know me will immediately realize why this is unacceptable; for the rest of you, suffice to say I’m part retro grouch. The second failing of the ride is that we had no defined route; we hit some of our favorite hills and then rode around in circles until we reached 5280 feet, and about 75 miles.

To overcome these problems, both philosophical and practical, we can take advantage of the fact that a lot of the difficult climbs around here start with the letter B; this provides an excellent theme. Staring at a local map, I thought of a route to connect the following six - Baker Hill road, Buffalo road, Besemer road, Buffalo street, Bostwick road and Blakslee Hill road. Brandy (invited because her name starts with B) and I rode this route about two weeks ago, and yes, it is painful.

Making some modifications so that we can start it from Judd Falls plaza, the route would be as follows:

Ellis Hollow, left on Turkey Hill, right on 366, right up BAKER HILL, left onto Mt Pleasant, right onto Midline down to 79, left on 79, right up BUFFALO ROAD, left onto Old 76, turn right towards Brooktondale, through Brooktondale, up BESEMER HILL (crossing 79), down Snyder Hill to downtown, loop back around, go up BUFFALO STREET, back down, through the octopus, get over to BOSTWICK, right onto Applegate, then left, then left again onto 327, down 327 to 13/34, take 34 to BLAKSLEE HILL road, up and up to 96, up a bit further, down to Coddington, down Burns, onto Judd Falls.

The route is probably 65 to 70 miles. It’s not easy. We each managed it with a double, but a triple is recommended. I’m not sure what the total climbing is, but it must be over a mile. Refueling can be done in downtown Ithaca, about the halfway point of the ride.

This will be a club ride some Sunday this summer. There will be the regular tour for the sane people, but for those of you who want to commit mass suicide, this is your ride. Keep this in the back of your mind for now, the exact date will follow. If anyone can think of other horrible hills that begin with B, let me know and we’ll see how they can be fit into this route.

Mike, Finger Lakes Cycling Cult Leader