Inspired by his recent San Souci hill climb PR, and watching the pros ride up HC climbs in The Tour this week, Grafton had asked me if we could try his hand (or rather, his legs) at a "real" climb himself. So I gave it some thought as to where a challenging, but rewarding climb might be that we could attempt together. It had to be sufficiently long and steep enough that making it to the top was not a sure thing. And it had to be safe enough for Grafton with traffic and on the return descent. And the view at the summit had to be impressive, so as to provide that influential positive feedback that would encourage him to seek out future uphill challenges. Well, The Quabbin Tower Hill Climb seemed like the perfect fit. The climb is 1.8 mi long, rising 500ft, at a 5% grade, which classifies it as a Cat 4 climb.
After deciding on this venue earlier in the week, I told him we could do it on Saturday, and I don't think a day went by where he didn't mention it. So this morning (after watching the day's Tour stage, of course) we packed up and headed to the Quabbin. As we drove there, Grafton's determination never wavered (as sometimes it has). Upon arriving, he pulled his own bike out of the back of the car and was ready to go instantly. I will let the video coverage provide the rest of the story...
More photos from the day. And Google's version of video coverage.
