Grinding it Out

Everyone once in a while you have one of those magical rides where you seem to get stronger as the ride goes on, where gravity seems to work in reverse as you float uphill, where you constantly ride off the front.  This wasn't one of those weekends.  

I think I've been fighting a low-grade bug for a week or so.  Hopefully, that explains my wooden legs and soaring heart rate.   I did log 68 miles, 5250 ft vertical, with lots of gravel and dirt.  But every time the road headed up, my heart rate skyrocketed and I went off the back.  John and John both had to wait for me on several occasions.   Oh well, a few weeks ago, I was one of the stronger riders, hopefully this is temporary.    At least I can say I was proud for not giving up and grinding it out.

The weather was gorgeous.  About 30 deg at the start and mostly around 40 for the ride.  The roads were a bit soft in a few places but mostly they were good and fast without too much muck.  One of my favorite "forgotten roads" is no longer forgotten.  Creek Drive outside of Bladensburg was completely redone.  Widened and graded.  It is now a respectable country gravel road.  At least it is still a steep beast of a climb, but no longer the muddy jeep trail it once was.  I am surprised some road crew was willing to pour so much $ into such an obscure piece of nowhere trail.

The one downer of the ride was when John S. and I came together.  It was a stupid thing, just us flipping casually through a town.  I was on the sidewalk, not really paying attention, and John had cut through the grass.  He jumped up on the sidewalk and his rear wheel went into my front wheel cantilever brake -- it ripped two of his spokes right out of his Zipp 303 rim.   I didn't see him coming over, and I am sure he didn't see me already on the sidewalk.  I was holding my line, but he was a 1/2 wheel ahead ... just one of those stupid things that doesn't seem like anyone's fault.  He needs a new rim, but no one got hurt.  John was able to get a replacement wheel from a friend and we were back up and running in 20 minutes.  Can you imagine one of our friends has a full shop out in the middle of nowhere and we just happened to be right around the corner from nowhere.

John G. wants me to do the "Southern Cross" race at the end of February.  I must admit I am tempted.