I am back at the Clarkston library this afternoon, taking advantage of a full-sized keyboard to post some long-ish blogs.
Bicyling for the last few weeks, hills have never been far from my mind. I certainly am not used to hills like these in Brooklyn. Aside from thinking of how much I hate them, I have had a couple of other thoughts:
(1) The grade (steepness) of a hill always seems worst from a distance. But as you approach, the grade tends to flatten out and is not that bad. The main reason for this, I think, is that when you view a hill in the distance it is easy for your eyes to recognize the height (vertical distance) of the hill, but not very easy for your eyes/brain to gauge the horizontal distance of the hill. The brain (mine, at least) tends to underestimate the horizontal distance and hence overestimate the grade. But as you get closer to the hill the brain more accurately judges the horizontal distance and therefore more accurately judges the grade. A secondary reason is that, often, you are going downhill when you approach a hill in the distance, and so taking your downhill as the frame of reference, the upcoming hill seems relatively steeper than it is. At any rate, it is nice to approach these intimidating hills that loom in the distance, and discover, the closer you get to them, that they really were not the formidable obstacles that you were expecting.
(2) Some roads twist and turn as you ride uphill, so that you never know what lies around the next corner. Other roads, like those I encountered in my first few days of this trip, are straight and evenly graded as you climb uphill, so that you can see the top of the hill one or two miles ahead, and know exactly what is in store for you. This is somewhat comforting. But I think that the routes that twist and turn, so that you don't every really know what is coming up next, are the more interesting roads to travel.
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3 comments:
So True!
I’ve also noticed that even once I'm on a hill (at least one that’s inspired enough dread) I can make it seem even flatter by looking down at the road, stealing the occasional glance for hazards; once I get it in my mind that the hill is steep, it just becomes drudgery. Another thing I was reminded of when I read today's blog was just how psychological they can be, testing far more than your physical condition . . .
BTW: I’ve just started my fourth week of biking to work (what shall I do with all the extra money?)
Heheh
Kevin E
It occurs to me that there are serious life lessons in both of your comments. Obstacles always appear huge from a distance but become do-able as we approach and actually tackle them & the unexpected events often tend to turn out to be the most interesting. Hmm. Pretty deep thoughts from a hardworking biker.
I am wondering if all of what happens when seeing/approaching hills as you described oth pysically and pschologically has anything to do with Esinstein's theory of relativity and if so what?!
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