It wasn't my best day out
 

I didn't have enough time for a long ride of any sort on Saturday so I opted for making the miles count.
I haven't done THIS CLIMB in a while and figured it was time for a gut check. When I got home I subtracted the starting point from the end and divided by the distance covered... your basic grade percentage calculation. If I had known it averaged out as a 9% (OK, 8.9 but why quibble?) climb. If I had known that, I might not have tried.

Anyway, up I went. Can't say for sure if it was any easier than the last time I tried or if I stopped any fewer times to catch my wind but I did get to the top -1.3 miles- in 15 minutes. That would be 5 minutes less -minimum- than the last time I tried. Where I turned left was about 600' and I felt so good, I turned left and headed up and down and up and down and left and right and left and right and right and up and up and up and got to the top of Milagara Ridge, 663 feet up.

So, I hung out for a bit and headed on down to the top of Sharp Park Road. Hit the crossing button and waited. It turned green and -with one foot still clicked in- I flipped the around, pushed off, went to click in the other foot and my toe count the tire. Much awkwardness and a hard bounce of the ol' coccyxx and nether regions off of the saddle followed by stumbling and a general lack of grace ensued and I was on my way. Off course a car was sitting at the red light watching the whole display :eek: "Just look cool" I said to myself and peddled off across the road.

Then I pedalled around a newish subdivision I have never really checked out and headed out the parking lot right back onto Sharp Park Road. It pretty much just dumped me into the road way -which can be pretty busy- so I headed for the rounded shoulder and the bike/ped path to get out of the way. I took the curb at an angle -I was moving pretty quickly but not blinding- and when my rear wheel hit the gutter, I noticed, too late, that it was full of dry eucalyptus leaves. Shwoop! Out went my rear wheel from under me and I was airborne. Bike went down in a slow, graceful slide and I flipped over to land on my shoulder and did a half roll/summersault. How embarssing.

Gathered my wits, did a parts check and head down the the Grace McCarthy rest area (it's all on the hybrid view, folks, with sufficient zooming in). Took a break, ate my fig newtons and I got to take the 1 mile, 9% drop. 35mph. No cars behind me. What a rush. I was pretty beat from the climb up and the fall but, man, I felt good. I can't wait to go back and try again.

Is this great or what? I love my bike(s)

With both hills and blood, that will qualify (for now*) as an "epic" ride...congratulations!




* Note: as you progress in the sport, the criteria for "epic" keeps going up....be forewarned.

Sounds like a good ride to me. Glad you or the Reno didn't get dinged up.

So basically the bike's okay?

Only 35?:D

Glad you survived more or less intact.

I wasn't there to see it but this sounds like at least a 9.5 landing to me:p:p

Glad you and the bike are okay.

Yep. The LeMond came through literally without a scratch. I just had a lightly scuffed elbow. Didn't have any blood :( My pride was pretty thrashed though but I'll get over that. I went down right at the top of a blind right-hander -folks are generally doing 45-50mph there- and the lanes are pretty narrow. All I could think of was that rider in the TdF who went down at the traffic island and landed with his head on the road as a SAG wagon went by just a few inches from it. I realized at that point that I was pretty trashed from the ride up and figured a nice rest at the vista point was in order before I went back down. Smart move.

It's amazing how slowly one can crawl uphill. I was doing maybe 4.5-5.5 mph pushing granny at about 50-60rpms. Not a mash, exactly, but more like a s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n spin. This is hard stuff. I guess 1.3 miles at 9% (with 3 or 4 stops) is about my limit right now.

I could average about 3 mph up a 1.3 mile hill at 9%. At least I think I could maintain that speed while pushing my bike.

"Momma said they'd be days like this........"

You speed demon you. :)

I have ridden a Trek 520 up hill at <3mph

Or.... "some days the bear will eat you. Some days you'll eat the bear."

Glad you and the Lemond survived and that you're able to post and keep some humor about it all.

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug"

Yeah, we both survived just fine.
Took my baby out for another jaunt last night, in fact.
Short, but challenging (not quite as challenging as it has been, though. Cool :D)

And you HAVE to keep your sense of humor intact.