Katzenburg

As bad as it looks, and then some.

Yesterday I brought you a beauty. Today I bring you a beast.

The Washington County Bicycle Club's Windmills & Hills ride lived up to its name. I'll assume that you're familiar enough with windmills, but you might not know about Katzenburg Drive. The elevation profile above doesn't do it justice ... literally. Elevation profiles on MapMyRide top out at 20 percent, and Katzenburg is steeper than that in spots. Located halfway between Campbellsport and Theresa, Katzenburg is a climb that you can see coming but it immediately erases whatever momentum you have built in anticipation. I was the first rider to summit this bugger today, but before I did I fell below 6 mph and my heart rate soared to 175 bpm, 95 percent of my maximum. Because I rode to the start of today's event, I already had more than 40 miles in my legs before I hit Katzenburg, but I don't know how much more I could have gotten out of myself even with fresher legs.

We had a good turnout, great weather and a great route by Jimmy Scharrer, who's never afraid to send people skyward. I'm not sure how many vertical feet of climbing we encountered today. I do know that I burned more than 3,000 calories and finished the day with 72 miles. It was a good effort.