Saturday, March 5, 2011
2/3 of 3 Mountain Madness
My odometer has been broken for a few weeks, so I don't have the speed or exact mileage, but I did tackle Hanging Rock AND Sauretown today in one ride. I drove to the Food Lion at Highway 66 and Mountainview and rode from there. The distance was probably close to 30 miles, so I can't really call it 2/3 of the 75 miler coming it, but 2 out of 3 mountains in one ride was a confidence builder. I did Hanging Rock first and it has not gotten any easier. The drizzle started just before the ascent and the temperature dropped. I didn't think I would have anything left for Sauertown. Something very strange happened though. I don't remember the second climb. I remember the wind started blowing directly in my face, the rain got worse and suddenly the fog was so thick I couldn't see the lines in the road. My knee started hurting and my ipod went out - I think it got wet. Next thing I remember I was at the top and felt great. I think I was so scared I was going to get run over that I focused so hard and don't remember the pain of the climb. The conditions were awful, coming down was quite scary. The fog lifted about halfway down the mountain, but I do remember the intense cold - evidently my jacket is windproof, not waterproof. It was an exhilarating experience and gave me a great boost to my mental confidence in being able to overcome obstacles in biking. I'm ready to take it to another level after this ride. 4 weeks in a row doing some big climbs and I'm feeling good about my schedule. My goal is to learn how to spell Sauratown Mountain before I ride 3 Mountain Madness.
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2 comments:
Good job Bro!!! The whole weekend was rained out in Georgia so all I did and still doing is beer. On a positive not, how about them HEELS!! What I turn around for the season.
Ok, I spoke too soon Brewmeister Dave. I did get to ride Sunday with the professional bikers here in GA. I was hungover doing this ride on Sunday afternoon but decided to ride. We only did 34 miles, but it felt like 75 to 100. It was a fast pace and the wind was horrific. We averaged 18.5,but with the wind that had to be 20 miles per hour. I slept for hours when I got home, still feeling it today. There are a few "A" riders on this team and you know me, I will try to keep pace with the first group which is not smart knowing how much faster, stronger, and quicker this group is than me. But, you will only get better by working as hard as you can.
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