Had a couple of extremes training the last 2 days. Tuesday I cruised to Portland for my first group road ride of the year. This PVC ride is pretty rigorous depending on who shows up. Nonetheless, the hills don't get any flatter so you can easily tire yourself out over the course of this 48 miler. Eric Weinrich was there and he and an Elite rider got away for 75% of the ride so it was a semi-chase-mode ride. It was great to ride with others. A late ride downpour cooled down the engine speeding up recovery.
Yesterday I connected with Racin' Rick (he got a new haricut):
and Mike Hartley (who threw down a torrid pace):
and Mike Hartley (who threw down a torrid pace):
at the Snowbowl in Camden. I had no agenda and was just looking forward to mtb riding some climbs and sections of trail I don't get to at the annual race. This was a nice mix of riders, each of us with unique strengths pushing the others to ride slightly out of the comfort zone. Rick's blog has a nice write-up, pics (suprisingly unselfish, none of him!), and a profile of our ride. Mike brought his Shepard/Husky/Kujo mix dog who made the whole 2:45hr ride. She was fast and had even another gear called "Squirrel!"
We completed our descent and Rick says he's going up to the top 1 more time because it was still light out! Dang I was on empty, but Mike and his dog were in so who was I to say no? The final time down made all the effort worth it and I pedaled straight to the lake and walked in fully geared. After a tuna sammy and beers with the boys I was fully satisfied and grateful for the opportunity to ride with these guys.
I thought I wasn't hungry, but I couldn't resist the golden arches as I cruised through Augusta and succombed to a Big Mac and shake attack. It was like an eater's playground!
Next up is the NECS Horror at Harding event in Sunapee, NH. I'm ready!
1 comment:
crap, and I was just getting ready to do a squirrel post today. you beat me to the punch!
Post a Comment