I survived

Oh my what a ride. Today reminded me of why I love to ride and how bad it hurts when you have not rode in a long time and decide to tackle one of the tough ascents. Yikes!

Went to Monte Bello in the Los Altos/Palo Alto hills. This is always a great ride/test but usually one I do when in mountain bike shape/condition. And let me say 2 rides in 2 years does not do it.

The ride started with a nice single track downhill that took us from sunshine to in the trees. So beautiful! It is relative technical in that it snakes with fast turns, little ups and downs and since it is just after winter, ruts and ruts suck. Since my reflexes are dragging this made things more interesting. After a sweet intro the way I remember the climbing begins. After the first major climb which in hindsight is relatively easy I told my friend Rob that I may have out done myself.

But instead of taking the easy way I thought lets do the challenging way. Let me tell you, these hills are never exactly how you remember, especially since I have only rode this trail about 5 times. Lets just say that the Hill, called Indian Creek Trail was a really pain in the arse. The last time I rode this I climbed all the way in one shot, not today.

Instead I broke it into sections, aka,intervals. This allowed me to control my heart rate and respiration. The thing is, I lack the specific endurance. I always had climbing strength, I could power up the hills due to my leg strength and my mental attitude but I lacked the ability to endure the longer climbs. I never doubted myself but I sure had to coach myself up that hill. The pitch is legit and I had to shift my weight forward to grind. Only 1.2 miles in length it felt like forever.

Altogether we rode 6.09 miles in over an hour. I was behind Rob as he has been riding and that certainly helps and aided me in my desire to push. It felt good to work, and I had to dig in today and reach for a little extra. We finished with a sweet, fast single track downhill and small climb out. The best was at the end I felt like I had more gas...eventhough after the big climb I felt like I could puke. My recovery was really strong. And I am pumped for tomorrow's workout at Stones with the fellas.