There really has not been much going on since my last post. I simply don't do much. Work, sleep, repeat....that's my life. I did do a few bike rides over summer: dinner rides, N.I.T.E. Ride, B&O ride, etc... I just did far less cycling than I intended.
A couple of weeks ago I did the 100k route of the Great Pumpkin Metric. I have done this many times over the years. It went about as I might have expected. It was a fun ride. The hill at Burdette Park is seen in the photo at right. The picture doesn't do it justice.
The weekend that just passed was spent on the bike again. This time it was the Hilly Hundred. Saturday was a bit cool but overall pleasant. The ride was about 58 miles with 5202 ft of climbing. There were a dozen hills with a grade of 10% - 24%. It was a good workout. The only real downside was rolling down a hill at about 30mph and hitting something. I didn't see what it was, either a small pothole or something on the road. What I do know is that I finished the day's ride with a damaged rim and broken spoke, after having fixed a flat tire. I am just glad I was on my old 10-speed. Had I damaged a wheel on my Cannondale I would have been p***ed off.
Sunday, day 2 of the Hilly Hundred, was warmer and really windy. 3968 feet of climbing. There were 8 hills with a grade between 11 and 24 percent. Mt. Tabor is the most infamous hill of the weekend. The photo below (courtesy of Joe Lucas) is looking back after the climbing of Mt. Tabor.
My rear wheel held up well, with a new tire and tube installed. I was stopped on my way up a hill, but only because a got boxed in by a tandem on my left and the shoulder on my right. The rider in front of me dropped her chain forcing me to clip out and stop. We got her chain back on and went on our merry ways.
I spent Monday doing little more than resting. At the moment, my legs are still a little sore. Walking, stairs, etc... are no problem but the quads are a little bit tender to light pressure.
