Well, that was humbling …

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Today, I selected a ride on FulGaz in Spain.

FulGaz categorizes rides by duration, distance, and difficulty. This one was approximately 45 minutes in length, and marked as very difficult. I have completed several difficult climbing rides throughout Spain, and was not concerned. I have learned most of the climbs have a grade between 6-10% which is manageable with the gearing on my bike.

Not this time.

This ride included two climbs. One about 2 km in length, and the other about 5 km. That seamed reasonable when I looked at the profile. Unfortunately, the profile doesn’t mention the grade. These climbs were mostly at 15-20%. I don’t know if you have tackled long climbs this steep, but they are challenging, to say the least. I completed the ride, but was completely spent at the end, giving me a whole new appreciation for the tour riders that sprint up these mountains.

I thought about this. The problem wasn’t the grade. The problem was I didn’t have the correct gearing. FulGaz actually has a feature that enables the rider to effectively adjust gearing ratios during a ride. Unfortunately, I forgot about it. Tomorrow I’ll give it a try so I’m prepared the next time I need to tackle a long, steep climb.

I didn’t need to feel dejected. Defeated. The bike wasn’t setup correctly for the climb.

There. That makes me feel better.