Unlikely. You'll see why in a bit.
This post starts off last Friday. I decided to try to do a circle around the peaks, with a minor hiking detour up Abineau Canyon trail to Waterline Road on the north side of the peaks, then riding down waterline to a viewpoint overlooking Lockett Meadow, and the Schultz fire burn area. But, about 15 miles into the ride, I decided not to do all that and just ride for the sake of enjoyment. Some nice pictures came out of it...
Slowly clouds move in...
After taking a bit of a nap on a rock near Bismark Lake, I headed out with the planned intention of making it around the peaks still. But the building thunderstorms persuaded me to head back towards home. I ended up racing the storm front all the way back to town.
Blasting across Baderville, I had to stop and take a picture of the rain marching down the side of the mountain. I knew I was gonna get wet.
The storm caught me about a half mile away from a gas station. Normally, the peaks are above this tree.
Eventually, the rain let up, and I made it home. Later in the afternoon, I met up with TC and we went for a ride up and over Observatory Mesa. We met a few nice people, and had a good ride.
Runoff from Tunnel Spring.Fast forward a week, and I found myself shopping for powerbars and stuff to add to energy drink mix to make it taste somewhat decent. Why? Because I was going to ride in the Taylor House Century Ride on Saturday, with plans to ride the 65 mile route, or possibly the 90 mile route.
Yes, I am insane.
Day of the ride, Code shows up to ride too, which motivated me even more. TC was there to see us off, and take our goody bags for us, since she couldn't ride due to her knees. The closer we got to start time, the more excited I got, until finally, a few minutes past 7, a police car barked it's siren, and the horde moved out, amidst the hundreds of clicks of hundreds of riders clipping into their pedals. We rolled out of the hospital parking lot, down Beaver Street, and wove through town, out to Townsend Winona Road, and onto Leupp Road. I caught up with Code pretty quick in town, and managed to drop him before we got out of town.
I was feeling great, riding well within my limits, and was actually passing a couple people. I even passed a couple of groups of riders on uphills, who had passed me on the preceding downhill. I was feeling so good I didn't even realize I had done 22 miles already until I blazed past the first aid station, the turn around for the 43 mile route. No wind, just enough cloud over to keep the sun cool, it was a great day for a ride.
Code finally caught up to me at the 65 mile ride turn around point. I was feeling great, and he felt good, so we both decided to ride on to Leupp, the halfway point for the 90 mile ride. We stuck together, got passed by some folks, but paced ourselves to the aid station in Leupp.
Yes, I am insane.
Day of the ride, Code shows up to ride too, which motivated me even more. TC was there to see us off, and take our goody bags for us, since she couldn't ride due to her knees. The closer we got to start time, the more excited I got, until finally, a few minutes past 7, a police car barked it's siren, and the horde moved out, amidst the hundreds of clicks of hundreds of riders clipping into their pedals. We rolled out of the hospital parking lot, down Beaver Street, and wove through town, out to Townsend Winona Road, and onto Leupp Road. I caught up with Code pretty quick in town, and managed to drop him before we got out of town.
I was feeling great, riding well within my limits, and was actually passing a couple people. I even passed a couple of groups of riders on uphills, who had passed me on the preceding downhill. I was feeling so good I didn't even realize I had done 22 miles already until I blazed past the first aid station, the turn around for the 43 mile route. No wind, just enough cloud over to keep the sun cool, it was a great day for a ride.
Code finally caught up to me at the 65 mile ride turn around point. I was feeling great, and he felt good, so we both decided to ride on to Leupp, the halfway point for the 90 mile ride. We stuck together, got passed by some folks, but paced ourselves to the aid station in Leupp.
The only picture I have of the ride. The peaks look small...After taking a break in Leupp, Code and I took off. I fell into a groove, which was just a little faster than Code's, and I left him behind. I made it to the aid station, rested up, and waited for Code, where a similar scenario played out. We left, and I ended up leaving him behind. I made it to the last aid station, at the end of a long climb, and took some time to rest and eat a popsicle and refill my bottles. One of the volunteers, after asking how well my ride was going, asked if I'd gotten any flats. I held my hands up. "Don't say that, man! The first rule of Flat Club is we do not talk about Flat Club!" Everyone laughed. I left after Code rolled in on the last, and what I knew to be the hardest leg of the ride.
Why is it they always schedule the hardest climbs for the last 10 miles, when you're dead beaten tired?
Up Townsend Winona, through town, up Cedar Hill, just focusing on the pavement 6 feet in front of me. Before I knew it, I was waiting at a stop light to turn into the hospital. A few people clapped and cheered as I rolled up, and TC came and gave me a hug, told me that she volunteered to help out for the ride, and took STeve so I could go get food. I sat down to a great burger, and talked with other riders and volunteers.
I guess some people were talking about "That crazy guy riding the 90 in denim shorts on a singlespeed" and how amazed they were at how well I was doing. That made me feel good. Great ride, great riders, great volunteers, great experience. By the time I had gotten home, I had ridden 100 miles in 6 hours and one minute.
"1: Ride a full century. This mainly is just a round about way of saying I want to build up my endurance further."
I can cross that one off my list.
Why is it they always schedule the hardest climbs for the last 10 miles, when you're dead beaten tired?
Up Townsend Winona, through town, up Cedar Hill, just focusing on the pavement 6 feet in front of me. Before I knew it, I was waiting at a stop light to turn into the hospital. A few people clapped and cheered as I rolled up, and TC came and gave me a hug, told me that she volunteered to help out for the ride, and took STeve so I could go get food. I sat down to a great burger, and talked with other riders and volunteers.
I guess some people were talking about "That crazy guy riding the 90 in denim shorts on a singlespeed" and how amazed they were at how well I was doing. That made me feel good. Great ride, great riders, great volunteers, great experience. By the time I had gotten home, I had ridden 100 miles in 6 hours and one minute.
"1: Ride a full century. This mainly is just a round about way of saying I want to build up my endurance further."
I can cross that one off my list.
Mileage: None today, but I did walk some.
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2 comments:
Wow! That's amazing that you rode 100 miles in a single ride!! That seems like something you would hear about a Olympic triathlete doing. o_o* I cant even ride 5 miles on flat ground on my bike without literally tearing muscles in my legs. (lets just say ive sort of given up on building midget stamina. Im just trying not to be 400 lbs at this point.)
love that bright red flower picture up at the top, too. looks like some variation of a bleeding hearts plant. <3
I liked that flower too. It was part of what made me decide to just ride for the heck of it that day. I did miss the effect I was going for with it, though. When I first saw it, the flower was the only thing illuminated by the sun in the scene,and it stood out. But by the time I dug out my camera and got positioned, the sun had moved enough that the ground behind it was lit up too. Still a pretty picture, though.
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