I did the most pointless, dopiest thing today, but I don't remember the last time I laughed at the thought of what I was doing on the bike or smiled so big.

A little background: On River Road in Palisades State Park, the way out at the north end is Alpine hill; about a mile at 7%. Before the climb there is a sort of traffic circle with a 0.2 mile 6% grade leg that leads down to a boat basin. I had come down from the north and decided to do a couple of repeats of the boat basin-to circle segment.

Well, due to favorable climatic conditions, I found it extremely easy to climb that segment. So easy, I practically sprinted up. But when I turned around to return to the bottom, I felt like going slow. I made a point of going slower on the descent than I went on the climb - about 11-12 mph down the hill I'd just averaged 16 mph going up, and maxed out at 21 - not in a run up to the base, but in the middle of the climb. It turned out to be five seconds short of a PR, but it had felt ridiculously fast, and as I toodled downhill at a leisurely pace, it just seemed hilarious.



I thought it would have been nice if some riding mates had been around to join the fun, but then again, they may have realized I was nuts.

I tried doing it again faster, and in the big ring, but that turned out three seconds slower. The third time I took it easy, because I had the whole hill to climb.