Kingwood Pike

I got out for some hilly riding on my new Gold Rush on Friday and Saturday, so took a nice easy spin Sunday.

The forecast looked great today so I sneaked out for a couple hours before the appointment I had scheduled at 2pm, so I headed up Kingwood Pike, a longtime favorite ride of mine. I'd been seeing the Pike off in the distance on my neighborhood rides this winter and looking forward to getting out there. He's a picture of the start of the Pike from back in early February. It's all up hill from here.

You go up in spurts, leveling off periodically. It's a very nice ride and scenic in a real rural West Virginia way; you get the whole range from down and out, to pretty views. This spot was beautiful today with the silvery shimmer of the bare trees. I'm already getting a little frustrated with the group rides even though they're just starting up for the season. What is the point of blowing right by a scene like this without even slowing down to enjoy the view, let alone stopping for a picture. Believe me, you might not even catch a glimpse of this on a typical club ride since this view is along a bit of a downhill and everybody is usually going all out here to get a run for the next hill. Click the picture for a bigger view. Go ahead, what's the hurry.

I think I've heard the "correct" name for this hill, but have always know it as Sawmill Hill. It beats the crap out of me every spring. It really isn't super steep, but there's about 1/2 mile of it and I usually just get to the point I want to get off and walk. If you click the picture to enlarge you can see the Ramada Inn off I68, it's the reddish building barely visible almost dead center on the nearer ridge line. That is already a bit of a climb up from town. Just over the ridge and down from there will be the Monongahela River and Morgantown.

I love downhills but seldom go back down the Pike, it's just a little more excitement than I need. One of the few times I did go back this way years ago I hit 59 MPH at the bottom of this hill on my Trek road bike. I saw 56, 57, 58 on my computer once in a great while, but never 59 again.

Today was the easiest time I've ever had going up Sawmill Hill (even looking back 20 years). The low gearing is great, so maybe I was just taking it slow, but I sure didn't feel bogged down and the hill just rolled by. What more can you ask from a bicycle.