Trying for 25 miles to get to 2100; no such luck. A little more energy than Wednesday, but still not at my best. Routes get easier as you become familiar with them; e.g. after three or four times climbing Burnside Road, I'm starting to know while climbing a particular part, if there's a semi-level stretch around the bend/over the crest, and I can push a little harder then, but if the hill continues or gets steeper, I can take it easy. The downhills get a little faster, too, once you know what's around the curves - though the old saying "you never step in the same poo twice" (sigh, maybe I'll find who said it later) applies also to blind curves.
Two red-tails at the top of Burnside - one sitting on a post and flying to the next one as I rode under, another one screaming in the treetops beyond - couldn't see it, but the sound is unmistakable.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Jonive Road is nice - you see it in the elevation profile as the saddle just before 14 miles and the peak at about 15 miles. Though my odometer was reading 15 miles about halfway up that, where I stopped to eat a yummy navel orange and some chocolate and to refill my water bottles. Man it was nice to have the weight of the water off my back and on the bike at that point. I was almost out of juice at that point, and knew I had 8-10 miles yet to go, but also knew (once I hit Occidental Rd) that it was about 90% downhill.
And that last little hump on Mill Station (at about 20 miles on the profile) always seems to catch me unprepared.
Back to May hikes and rides