As it was told to us, the 20% gut-wrenching climb on Maui’s best ride was named Mr Steepy after Lance said “man that’s steep!” during a ride with some locals. Mr. Steepy is the right name and the photo doesn’t do it justice. It’s a climb where you lose all momentum immediately and it hurts as bad sitting or standing. Nearing the top, the thoughts in my head were not, “man I can climb and I’m going to kick ass next season.” Instead it was more, “when will this end, I can’t climb for shit, a few more pedal strokes, and I’m at 187 bpm!”
In about 30 seconds of climbing, I was at max power and heart rate and it took me nearly a half an hour on the other side of Mr. Steepy to recover. The ride itself, before and after the climb, is hard and very challenging for me because there’s no rhythm to the road. Each crest, valley, and rise is a different grade, length, and road surface.
Not until the last hour and a half, with the big tailwind, and rolling it at 30 mph did I feel good — really good.
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