Any time a ride has multiple 50+MPH descents, it's a truly special ride to savor. I did one of my favorite routes today up in Strafford, NH beginning and ending at Bow Lake. This is my favorite type of ride combining steep climbs for endorphins and steep descents for adrenaline.
I established a new high speed for the Berry descent of 50 and also touched that on the Parker Mountain descent on route 126. The route also contains about 8 miles of gravel and most of it was in pristine condition. I was actually surprised at how good it was given the generally dry conditions. Much of it was packed beautifully and rode similar to pavement. I did almost no braking on the gravel sections including the descents.
It was hot but it didn't seem quite as humid today. There was very little traffic on the roads - the least I've ever encountered on this route. I don't think more than 10 cars passed me on the whole 49 miles.
I've been craving a mountainous ride and this fit the bill at over 80 feet per mile.
The route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14860584
The captions tell more of the story.
Halfway up the Parker Mountain ascent on route 126. It's steeper than it looks. 50MPH is reached on this section when descending. You do need to pedal all out at the beginning to achieve this speed and then get in a low tuck.
This is just before a fantastic descent on Wingate. High 40s can be reached with two nice turns.
The beginning of the first gravel section coming up.
Beautiful views that kind of reminded me of Little House on the Prairie.
The other top descent on Berry Road is in the distance. You can already see the drop coming with a ridge in the distance.
Getting closer to the plummet.
Just before it really drops. The grade tops out at 10.1%. It's almost a perfectly straight road with excellent sight-lines. I beat my previous high speed of 49 today topping out at 50. I think I had a slight tailwind.
This is the same hill on the way back and I'm about to do the ascent. You can see how straight and steep it is though the picture doesn't do it justice.
Another gravel section. Most was really smooth.
The turn just before the Parker Mountain descent. After that corner, it plummets.
And what better way to end a ride than to take a dip in Bow Lake!
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