Ride Report 9/6

18.5 mile partnered ride Nimbus Hatchery to Beals Point & back

Today's program calls for hills. YAY!!

Or not. After my ass kicking the day before, my shoulders are a giant ache and I can't move my head much to the side at all. In addition, my lower left back which has been almost silent since early in riding the Bianchi is now protesting loudly about being on a bike today.

The parking at Nimbus Hatchery is ridiculous due to construction. After an emergency trip to the bathroom for me, we are off to ride the only hilly portion of the ARBT trail. My back starts its protest from the first ride up Hazel Ave to the path access. The hills kick my ass for the second day in a row and I spend a good portion of the ride in my little chainring spinning along at 7-8mph.

The ride to Beals Point is supposed to be a warmup for the ride to Auburn, but my lower back is one huge knot at the top of the climb and I have to lay down on my back with my knees in my chest to get the knot to relax. After realizing that I'm not just complaining, T calls the day's ride short.

I'm so wiped out from yesterday's high-speed ride and today's climbing that T actually allows me to just lie down and whine for probably twenty minutes until I'm ready to take the ride back. It's almost entirely downhill and, although not steep, I still ride my brakes quite a bit due to the many blind corners and relatively steady traffic of oncoming cyclists. Still, it's fun to take the ride at 23, 24, 26mph without pedaling.

As we come up to the dam, my stomach starts to churn and my heartrate picks up as I contemplate that last climb from the trail to Hazel. I get my speed up as much as I can, switch my gears and shift into the baby gears when the hill comes around the corner. Toward the top, I want to stop and get off, but with T and the riders at the top of the hill cheering me on, I stutter to the top. If it weren't for the clipless pedals, I never could have made the climb without being able to pull up on the pedals to keep myself moving forward. My legs feel like rubber and I want to get off the bike, but I have to upshift for the coast down the hill to the Hatchery.