Mike's Bike Blog

Saturday morning I rolled out of bed, I felt a little sore in the legs. On Friday I threw in 3 sets of Sumo Squats  into my weight routine. I kept the weight low with 12-14 reps, but not doing them in several months it left my gluteus a bit sore. I had narrowed my routes down to 2, I was either going to head over to Georgetown and catch the Cyclopaths that are training for the Hotter than Hell 100 or go for the Dam Loop. I had hoped to be rolling by 6:30, which I would have had to had been on the road by if I wanted to get to Georgetown in time of the start. Since I didn't get ready till 7am, my route was chosen for me, so off I set on the Dam Loop. The Dam Loop is a well known Austin  route, in fact I probably passed at least 100 other riders out and about on various locations on the route. I was a bit leery of doing it, but I needed to see how my knee would hold up. The route itself is only 42.69 and 2789 feet of climbing. No where near the feats of climbing Arlyn  is putting up, but there is a max grade of 28.3% on Bee Caves Road.

Once I got on the other side of the 360 bridge the climbs started. I hadn't gone this direction on 360 in 6 months. When I worked at Keller Williams Skipper and me would ride 360 or Lost Creek daily (I would, Skipper was a bit more laxed when it came to our rides).

I did a portion of this route in January. On Saturday from the 360 Bridge to Bee Caves I averaged 13.7 mph up the hills which ended up to be 468 ft. of climbing. My cadence averaged 82 rpm. Back in January I average 12.7 mph and my cadence was 73.8.  On Saturday I wasn't trying to push it, I was mainly concentrating on keeping a high cadence and keeping my heart rate in zones 1-2 (109-148 bpm). I also didn't want to push it too hard and have knee trouble.The portion of Bee Caves Road from 360 to Bee Caves (7 miles) I averaged 17.3 mph for 265 feet of climbing. My cadence averaged 85.4 rpm. Compared to the January ride I averaged 15.2 mph and my cadence was 75.9.

From Bee Caves to the Dam (8.9 miles & 288 ft of climbing) I averaged 18 mph and 85 rpms. In January my numbers were 15.9 mph and cadence was 75.9. I don't have it mapped but I suggest you take the river access road down to the river. The climb back up is 102 feet in .3 miles, but the view is worth it.

The last section from the dam to Anderson Mill Road (7.5 miles) I averaged 15.9 up the 490 feet of climbing. My cadence was 88 rpms. My previous times are somewhat comparable for this section, in January my average time was 15.1 and my cadence was actually higher 79.9. In January I had to use my triple ring though to get up the hills by Steiner Ranch. One other reason I had competition to pass someone on the hill so I was pushing it. This time I tried to keep my heart rate low.

At the end I still felt good, in fact I put in another 18 miles to come out with 60.81 miles. I would have kept going, but I ran out of water and Heed. If you haven't done this route before I highly suggest it, it is one of Austin's "Must Do Rides". The roads either have a very wide shoulder with enough room to ride 2 up or follows established bike lanes. Give me a call before you do this route and I'll probably join you!