The Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen bicycle ride speaks to many, and it says “Granny Gears.”
The annual bike ride takes place the day after Thanksgiving and tackles 13 of the steepest climbs in the city over a 50-mile course.
While many of the slopes are rated at a 25% grade, the steepest is the cobblestoned Canton Avenue. It's only a tenth of a mile long, but it rises at a 37% grade in that distance.
Training film
Aren't you sorry that you missed that? Now you can see all the pain and suffering of cyclists struggling uphill in a newly released DVD entitled “Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen.” It captures the action from the 2009 ride that 180-some souls finished.
Filmed by Global Ride Productions, the sale of the DVDs is a fund-raiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation; $20 of each $25 DVD goes to the fight against cancer.
In a press release, the producers say that Toby Mac and other local musicians donated tracks to the DVD.
More riders
The film has been fashioned as an interval training workout. Each hill lists the grade range and average as well as its length and recovery time. It's 1-hour 50-minutes long and not considered for the casual rider, unless they split it up into 2 or more sessions.
Wired magazine did a piece on this year's ride, reporting that more than 200 cyclists showed up. That's the most since RAAM champion Danny Chew and his brother Tom conceived on the painfest in 1983. Four cyclists took the challenge that year.
Former winners Steve Cummings and Betsy Shogren won again in 2010, but many more had the satisfaction of challenging themselves.
You can get Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen at the Global Ride Productions store. You can visit the fund-raising page at Livestrong.
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