Gothard
10-14-2006, 10:06 AM
I needed to do a mountain pass before the weather got too cold here, well it's done. After finishing gluing up my new tubular wheelset (2 tubes of Conti glue all in all), shaking them down once to assure they will hold, I was ready.
Woke up with my wife at 6.30 to leave home at 7. A drive of 90 minutes up the Rhone river valley got us to a village about 4 miles form the climb itself. Temperature upon starting the ride was about 35°F... Luckily after 15 minutes I was out in the sun again and it became perfect as long as I was moving.
My wife (very pregnant) played the sag vehicle, driving ahead and waiting for me to shoot a few pics. I also had my camera in a handlebar bag.
Besides being out of shape, the climb was great, I guess that wether you are fit or not, the pain stays the same, only the climb time decreases.
The Grimselpass is a medium-easy climb, just next to the Furka that adds another 1000ft of climbing that were too much for me today.
The tubulars (Conti Sprinters) shone, more in the descents where I got some pretty extreme lean angles in the hairpin turns in complete confidence (keep in mind this is my first real mountain descent in over 15 months). The grip is formidable, and the "steerability" is much better than my usual 20mm Michelin Axial Comps. On the way up, there was (maybe?) a bit more confort, and maybe a bit less rolling resistance, but the feelgood factor is high enough for me to be happy on the way up. Downhill is no contest. My correct gluing resulted in not one movement of the tubs despite some heavy (short) braking.
Now, enjoy!
Woke up with my wife at 6.30 to leave home at 7. A drive of 90 minutes up the Rhone river valley got us to a village about 4 miles form the climb itself. Temperature upon starting the ride was about 35°F... Luckily after 15 minutes I was out in the sun again and it became perfect as long as I was moving.
My wife (very pregnant) played the sag vehicle, driving ahead and waiting for me to shoot a few pics. I also had my camera in a handlebar bag.
Besides being out of shape, the climb was great, I guess that wether you are fit or not, the pain stays the same, only the climb time decreases.
The Grimselpass is a medium-easy climb, just next to the Furka that adds another 1000ft of climbing that were too much for me today.
The tubulars (Conti Sprinters) shone, more in the descents where I got some pretty extreme lean angles in the hairpin turns in complete confidence (keep in mind this is my first real mountain descent in over 15 months). The grip is formidable, and the "steerability" is much better than my usual 20mm Michelin Axial Comps. On the way up, there was (maybe?) a bit more confort, and maybe a bit less rolling resistance, but the feelgood factor is high enough for me to be happy on the way up. Downhill is no contest. My correct gluing resulted in not one movement of the tubs despite some heavy (short) braking.
Now, enjoy!