Ride of Death

Yesterday's ride was a great ride except for all the death around us.



Because of today's triathlon, most of our group was absent. It was just Ron & I. We started out both pretty strong (Ron was stronger) heading into the wind. We noticed it on the way to the starting point and figured it would eventually be a factor. Just didn't think it would so soon.

As soon as we came to the bottom of our first downhill, boom! Dead racoon. Bummer. We pedalled on and came across a dead possum, dead birds, and a dead snake. It seemed strange that with all the dead animals around that the morning was so beautiful. Seeing the sun rise over the mountains through a bullet riddled road sign really takes the breath away!

So we did our Usery Pass loops (19.5 miles each way) with plenty of hill. Some moron (me) decided it would be fun to climb Las Sendas mountain 38 miles into the ride. Well, we did and the workout was awesome! Which brings me to another "dead" fo rthe ride. We were cruising down Hawes Rd (at 35+mph) to meet McKellips and head back to the cars. Dead end. Hawes was closed due to construction. We went through the "road closed" signs to see if we could squeak through. No way. A huge hole in the ground and plenty of fencing made us have to turn back and go around. We looked at this as an opportunity to add mileage instead of a bad thing.

The last "dead" of the day was how I felt. I was wiped out! I don't think it was as much the distance as it was the climbing. All in all we rode 46.94 miles and climbed 2008 feet. Our average speed was 15.3mph and our max was 41mph. Our route is here.

I decided (at least my butt did), that my seat is inadequate for long rides. My butt was also asking me to switch my seat. I think I will put the gel seat back on for my ride in November. Which reminds me, I am using my ride in November to raise money for the National Autism Association. If you can help me by donating, please click here. Thanks.

A Hill, 6 Dudes, & a Headwind

This past Sunday, our group decided to ride the "Pecos Road Loopx2" route. The route is fairly flat with some slight rolling hills. Last time we did this route, the hill on Chandler Blvd was taken East to West. Not too steep, but a little longer than the down side. Last time on the downside, I hit 43mph. This time we decided to do that part of the loop clockwise (West to East). Just a little steeper. Since this route is fairly flat, I rode the single speed. On the way up the hill, I was out of my saddle, and pulling my body down so that I could keep pedalling. I thought my legs were going to explode and my lungs felt as if they were going to jump out of my chest, it was great! I thought I was going to stop to rest, but somehow, I managed to keep on moving and make it to the top. Ron, has nicknamed this hill "Big Bertha". She was much kinder on the counterclockwise part of the trip (I did hit 43.3mph coming back down).

We were all dudes this trip. With the exception of Bertha, it was just us dudes. Kate and Suzanne, you guys missed a great ride. I don't know who it was that decided that Gary should lead, but he dragged us along for the first 10 miles. as mentioned in Kate's blog, Gary is "The Pro". He is a fast rider and really knows a lot about the sport. Gary finally pulled away from the rest of us, but we caught him on the hill. I hope to see both ladies back out with us soon.

We started this ride at 6:00 and finished around 9:00. I hadn't noticed until we were at the end of Pecos Road, but the wind sort of picked up. The whole 20 miles back was into the wind and slightly uphill. With the wind and the hills, the 40 miles we rode almost felt like 50.

It should be noted that Kate, Peter, & Kyle are all doing the Nathan's triathlon in Tempe this coming weekend. Good luck you guys, you'll do awesome!