# Zoo road time trial next Saturday...



## 2ride (Apr 2, 2002)

Just signed up... never knew about it before, looks like fun.

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=5012


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

Do you know what exactly the course is? I've never been up there before. 

No registration fee? Looks like fun, i might do it. Why not.

Only thing is I'm supposed to go to SeaFair and then the ball game on Saturday, so it's gonna be a lot to cram in.

p.s., best time last year was 11:34 for 2 miles? Is it really that steep? By my calculation on topozone, it's about 400 vertical feet in 2 miles = avg grade of 3.8%...what am i missing???


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## rcnute (Dec 21, 2004)

Trust me. It's steep. Those times are amazing. It takes me 23 or so minutes from the bottom to the school.


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

and from my recollection you were eating the climbs for lunch last time I rode with you, so yeah, I WILL trust you on this one.  

i'm gonna go check out cougar mtn tomorrow, anywho. I've been meaning to do so for a while.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

400? Noes, it's way more'n that, unless I am crazy.

s'not STEEP steep, but definitely more than 4%.


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

uhhhhh, oh yeah. The topozone maps have contours in meters rather than feet, which is very odd for USGS 7.5' quads, wtf's  So yeah, it's more like 1300-1400 feet I guess. Nevermind.


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## 2ride (Apr 2, 2002)

*My best time is 18:00*



BenWA said:


> uhhhhh, oh yeah. The topozone maps have contours in meters rather than feet, which is very odd for USGS 7.5' quads, wtf's  So yeah, it's more like 1300-1400 feet I guess. Nevermind.



I thought this was good until I saw on the TT event website that of the 50 people that did the race last year, 45 were under 18 minutes! And we're not talking about just young guys, there's plenty of 40 and 50 year olds.

The Zoo road elevation is gain is about 1,000 feet over 2 miles... average grade 8.8%! Check out this website I found that has info on numerous Seattle area climbs including the Zoo climb..

http://www.bicycleclimbs.com/ClimbLists.aspx


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## Travis (Oct 14, 2005)

here ya go

http://meinnovations.com/CourseProfiles/Cougar.htm

might be fun to see if I can pull anything other than last , never been up cougar on a bike because I have a friend that lives about half way up and he would enjoy seeing the suffering just a bit too much


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

2ride said:


> I thought this was good until I saw on the TT event website that of the 50 people that did the race last year, 45 were under 18 minutes! And we're not talking about just young guys, there's plenty of 40 and 50 year olds.
> 
> The Zoo road elevation is gain is about 1,000 feet over 2 miles... average grade 8.8%! Check out this website I found that has info on numerous Seattle area climbs including the Zoo climb..
> 
> http://www.bicycleclimbs.com/ClimbLists.aspx



I went up and did two laps up thar this afternoon, after ~25 miles of flats up and down east lake sammamish. Ouch! Definitely too steep for my taste. I prefer a pitch where I can stay seated and keep at cadence of at least 80 rpm (I don't have a triple), def couldnt do that on zoo thats fer shur. 

Anywho, both laps I got to the top of the TT course somewhere right around 18:00 (I wasn't exactly sure where the finish line was, so that's +/- 15 seconds or so). But I continued up to the upper road that brings you almost to the towers both times. Not shabby for someone with less than 600 miles since New Years, right?  Lots of roadies up there, I'll say.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

Did you do it in jeans?


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

Argentius said:


> Did you do it in jeans?


naw, but i got passed by one of your teamies as if i was pedaling backwards on my second go...


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## Travis (Oct 14, 2005)

I gave it a go today also ... never riden Zoo hill before and once was enough for me. I did some longish loop from Kirkland down to bellevue and out May Road circling back to Zoo. I have to agree ... It is the first time I have heard the voice in my head say just turn around. Not sure I caught the right route because my stats where off. I started at the bottom and went to the top without taking the upper road. I was somewhat cross eyed but think it finished in some steep rollers with a school on the left?
I must have done something wrong because I have the laps at 12:16 .... my cadence was not working properly and am guessing that it auto paused because I was barely moving

the horror show is listed here
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=3493811


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

Travis said:


> I gave it a go today also ... never riden Zoo hill before and once was enough for me. I did some longish loop from Kirkland down to bellevue and out May Road circling back to Zoo. I have to agree ... It is the first time I have heard the voice in my head say just turn around. Not sure I caught the right route because my stats where off. I started at the bottom and went to the top without taking the upper road. I was somewhat cross eyed but think it finished in some steep rollers with a school on the left?
> I must have done something wrong because I have the laps at 12:16 .... my cadence was not working properly and am guessing that it auto paused because I was barely moving
> 
> the horror show is listed here
> http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=3493811


the last little bit of the TT course just before it flattens out at the top near the school is a stinger! Ramps up really steep just before the end, that's def where I hurt the most.


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## giovanni sartori (Feb 5, 2004)

I ride this hill all the time. Its great for training and is a good test of fitness. The average gradient is 7.2% according to the organizer. I did it in 16 and change and I was 185lbs last year. FWIW the time trial is a bit easier as you start at the first left up the hill, which cuts off the very beginning uber, steep part. Last year he had free food and drink. Not a bad day out at all. Once you do it and see the winning time is 11 and change you'll realize that time is just sick.


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

giovanni sartori said:


> FWIW the time trial is a bit easier as you start at the first left up the hill, which cuts off the very beginning uber, steep part.


Oh, really? You mean it starts on that slightly flatter bit just shy of the zoo parking lot? If so, that would make it significantly easier than starting way down at the very bottom. That first steep part at the very bottom gets you up to redline quick, and can easily blow you up early on the ride if you go at it too hard on that first part.


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## rcnute (Dec 21, 2004)

BenWA said:


> Oh, really? You mean it starts on that slightly flatter bit just shy of the zoo parking lot? If so, that would make it significantly easier than starting way down at the very bottom. That first steep part at the very bottom gets you up to redline quick, and can easily blow you up early on the ride if you go at it too hard on that first part.


That would make sense for safety reasons, I espose.


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## Travis (Oct 14, 2005)

i thought I remember them mentioning a sign that wasn't down at the bottom. I am sure by the time i reached the sign i wasn't focused on too much other than turning over pedals. Still not sure what happened with my data because I weigh 195 and am sure i would finish in the bottom of most any climbing field. When it gets over 6% i really start to suffer


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## giovanni sartori (Feb 5, 2004)

BenWA said:


> Oh, really? You mean it starts on that slightly flatter bit just shy of the zoo parking lot? If so, that would make it significantly easier than starting way down at the very bottom. That first steep part at the very bottom gets you up to redline quick, and can easily blow you up early on the ride if you go at it too hard on that first part.


no no no, not that far up, the first residential street on the left, it cuts off about 80 feet,but 80 steep feet and you also get a rolling start.


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

Did 3.5 laps up zoo road to the towers last night. That sucked.


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