Sunday, September 8, 2013

West Side Hills

My riding buddy Olac is a climbing fanatic. Nearly every Sunday he rides a loop of the West Side's steepest hills. The actual course varies, so the attached map is just to give a general idea of the highlights. We start at The Bagel Shop at 965 N. Resler across from Franklin High School. We head up Redd to High Ridge, ride to Redd Rd then right on Dakota Ridge. From there we go up and down the various "Ridge" roads of the newer West Side subdivisions. You can go exploring on your own and decide how much suffering you're willing to impose on your legs. To give yourself a sense of accomplishment, see how many times you can ride uphill until you reach a dead end where the desert or a gated community begins. The goal is to work your way eventually to Belvidere. From there you can choose your poison: Los Cerritos or Pinehurst will take you to Thunderbird. Thunderbird is thrilling downhill where cyclists easily break the 30 mph posted speed limit. Instead of turning left at Shadow Mountain, you can cut through the parking lot of the apartment complex on your left and ride a brief section of sidewalk to get to Silver Springs. Silver Springs is a long climb that turns into Stanton. Ride to the end of Stanton then head downhill on Festival. If you're a glutton for punishment, you can loop back up to Stanton on Buckley. Head down Festival again to Mesa (refuel at the gas station/convenience store if needed) then turn right and go to Mesa Hills. This is a grueling climb back to Stanton. Olac decided it wasn't bad enough, so he cuts over on Lawndale to Irondale. The first part of Irondale is one of the steepest climbs in El Paso. If you're like me, you'll be zig-zagging left and ride just to stay on your bike. Get back on Stanton and return on Silver Springs. Again, you can choose any route you want. On this map I chose returning via Thunderbird, Singing Hills, Belvidere, Via Descanso, etc. It really doesn't matter. There are countless hills to choose from. It's pretty easy to climb anywhere from 1500 to 3000 feet on a 25-mile ride, depending on how many hills you choose. With Transmountain under construction, this is the best overall climbing workout you can get in El Paso. Sunday morning is a great time to do this -- traffic is light. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/285623681