Morning Climbs & Quality Miles
Not all miles are equal. Flat miles and rollers can only buy so much, but the same can be said for climbing miles. As often as I ride alone (virtually all the time), climbing is a little harder to cheat versus the other stuff. By cheat, I mean simply fooling yourself that you are better than you really are. Considering this morning's ride was nearly 60 miles and that 28% of that was climbing, you can bank it being a pretty good workout.
Early mornings aren't as early as they were just a few weeks ago, and they are also getting a little cooler. Heading for Snowbasin, via Trappers Loop, I decided to use arm-warmers. The climb up from the north side was the best time of this season, and not far off my personal record. Still conditions have a lot to do with those things - take it for what its worth. The loop around the Basin was also pretty fast - about what I should expect this time of year. Down to Mountain Green and immediately back on the road to get over the mountain, that climb was also pretty good - all in some pretty hard gears. On the way home, I ran across a guy that got a little "frisky". After Saturday, I was in no mood and simply applied a little hurt and left him well behind. After a good 12-15 minutes pushing it hard, I was pretty satisfied. That kept me on a pretty good pace to the last 3 miles of grade. I should have pushed that bit a little harder, but it still wasn't bad. Overall, not too bad.
Still a few issues in the right shoulder, but getting better. The key now is to stay healthy. I need to also do a little work on the bike before I take it out again.
Still too early to fall into maintenance mode, but I also need to be careful.
Less than two weeks.
Ride Hard!
