Bartaped said: Now that the full route is out. What are the best hills we get to ride this year. Always at least one hill of note. Will be some good rollers the first 2 days. What are our opportunities on the east side?

BT~~~the “hill of note” this year, that  I know of, will be the Pilot Mound Hill crossing the Des Moines River on day 3, Carroll to Boone, just a few miles east of the town of Pilot Mound.   The downhill is terrific!!!  The uphill seems to go on forever~~~even after you conquer the steepest part and your legs are “wobbly” there’s still some smaller dips and rises before you finally crest the last part of the hill and onward toward Boone.  It’s pretty level all the way to Boone after that.  Advice: one might want to “fuel up” a bit in Pilot Mound…but not too much…before tackling the town’s namesake hill.  But most of all…Have fun!!!

There is a Hill in Colfax too. the sidewalk along the street has flights of steps.

Ttraffic will be jammed up probably and everyone will walk that one………..lol

Did we go through Colfax a few years ago?  I recall this nice town, but after making a right turn off main street, then a left, it was; WOW a STEEP hill !!  I wasn’t even clipped in, and there was no chance to.  I did make it up, but I had a granny gear back then.  No granny gear now.  If it’s the same town, I’ll have to be clipped in and ready (or walk!).

RaleighRider said: Did we go through Colfax a few years ago?  I recall this nice town, but after making a right turn off main street, then a left, it was; WOW a STEEP hill !!  I wasn’t even clipped in, and there was no chance to.  I did make it up, but I had a granny gear back then.  No granny gear now.  If it’s the same town, I’ll have to be clipped in and ready (or walk!).

yes we did, maybe they will take us up a different way this time. then remember after getting to the top, it went down and back up for a block?

is the hill going into boone the same one we had 3 years ago?   If so, that was not really much of a hill.   Sure it was longer than most, but not very steep at all.

jwsknk said: There is a Hill in Colfax too. the sidewalk along the street has flights of steps.

Mount Colfax I call it.  We walked it in ’06 with our tandem if memory serves me correctly.  When I see bikes weaving from side to side and hear the ziiiiiiinnnnng….rattle ..rattle.. of chains coming off I am inclined not to risk life and limb but just get over to the side and walk the hill. 

RIDE RIGHT

ehlent said: is the hill going into boone the same one we had 3 years ago?   If so, that was not really much of a hill.   Sure it was longer than most, but not very steep at all.

I also wouldn’t mind climbing the colfax hill again.   Last time, in 2006 it caught me by surprise, and it was pretty steep.    Still managed to climb it.    

we are about 6 miles upriver this time into Boone, Twister Hill, (from the movie Twister), not quite as bad as it used to be or as bad as Potter’s. It’s a pretty quick down, across the river and back up. Sure there will be some walkers on it. Part of the Iowa Games Bike Road race, one year a tandem’s rear wheel collapsed going down the hill, spokes everyplace, ground the rear dropouts down but they kept it upright somehow.