Last night.
This morning.
The road less traveled.
There are two secrets to completing this tour. First, it's mind over matter. Control your mind and you're half way there. Sure, 3,400 miles on the bike is a long way, but it's really more about making it to the next SAG (support and grub) and then making it to the end of each day. The second secret is recovery... Get to the hotel as early as possible, eat, rest and get ready for the next riding day. Today I learned to recover while riding 148 "roller coaster" hills. Conserving and expending energy at precisely the right time made this potentially difficult day a lot of fun.
This morning we followed the storm that began last night. It was another stroke of luck that everything happened in front of us and we never got wet... Tomorrow we cross into Illinois.
Roy and I got a little wet but not too bad. I still cant believe we did all that climbing yesterday and today!
ReplyDeleteSounds like Day 24 was tough. And your post today confirms that Day 25 was even tougher. So what can a friend do to help from so many miles away? Well, not much really! But I thought perhaps if I could show some solidarity that would be good; so I set out to ride Crownview, PV’s infamous stinger climb (1 mile, 16%, straight up). Greg and I discovered (and conquered) this hill together about a year ago on a very hot day. Well, today I made it to the top and starting thinking…is this enough? I mean the XC gang is headed into Thousand Hills State Park to ride the 148 "Roller Coaster" hills. So I decided it had to be Crownview X 2. On my first climb up I passed a Mexican worker who looked up and shook his head as if to say “Don’t you rich Gringos have anything better to do with your time and energy?” When he saw me coming up so soon for a second time, he just smiled, gave me the thumbs up, and said “Uno mas..eh?” I finished out the ride with the Domes, Hawthorne, and home the neighborhood church way (you know the one with no climb!). Maybe in addition to mind over matter, and recovery, I was able to send a little energy your way. Hope you are well and feeling strong.
ReplyDeleteRobert,
ReplyDeleteI, too, was on "the hill" this morning. I was going to do the "donut" when I spotted some friends who were heading in the opposite direction. I turned around and caught up with them; they were on the way to Malaga to meet friends for a ride to Point Fermin. I opted to join them. On the way back to Hermosa, I took PV East up the switchbacks. Forty five miles with 3,000 feet of climb. I need to investigate Crownview; sounds like fun.
Jim XC09