Monday, April 6, 2009

Sick Nasty....

This term comes from my 15 year old and I felt it very fitting to describe how Saturdays Marquis de Sade Ride went.

I knew going into to this event that the 82 mile course with well over 6000 feet of climbing would be wicked nasty. My goal was to make it as far as I could and shorten the route if possible. Mainly I wanted to push my limits in a new direction and tap into some needed courage to roll out with this crowd.

After only a mile or two the climbing began and it was serious right out of the gate. Three levels of climbs would then drop us down one of the steepest descents I have ever ridden. Not only did the road drop but add a curve and a STOP sign and this would have me gripping on for dear life.

I managed to pull myself together and settled into more climbing and riding to end with a total of 37 miles. Sick, Nasty…. BUT thrilled to have completed what I did.

Sunday would be my redeeming day as I headed out with 5 other riders. Never have I embraced and been so thankful for rolling hills instead of steep mountain climbs. The ride was fantastic and the weather was perfect. There were parts that we pushed the pace and rode in a single line and parts that we rode 2 by 2. We rolled back in the park with dead on 71 miles of riding. LOVED IT and felt great!!

I did manage a few chores and you all will be relieved to know that I went grocery shopping so we have food now…lol!

Could not have asked for a better weekend!
Robin

13 comments:

Wes said...

Are you gonna change your nic to Gotta Ride? :-) That's some impressive mileage!! Hills will make you STRONG!!

Marlene said...

That is some serious riding! WTG, girl!

Sherry said...

Robin, you log some amazing miles on your bike. Superstar!!!

Any ride titled "Marquis de Sade" I shall stay away from. LOL! ;p

Anonymous said...

You got in tons of mileage on teh bike this weekend. Great job. Glad to hear between all the riding that you were able to pick up some groceries.

Unknown said...

Wow, that's some kind of riding weekend! I could never handle that much time on a bike. Great job!

Chris said...

Way to go Robin. Man, I SO wish I could have made that ride although I'm not sure that the P2C is set up for that kindo fo climbing. Man, I wish I had my road bike back!

Now, I'm gonna be "skeered" to ride with you! :-)

Runner Mom said...

I am so proud of you! I was thinking about you and praying on Saturday! Call me when you get a sec.

Hugs,
Susan

Grey Beard said...

The key to good performance in hills is gearing. Stock gearing is woefully inappropriate for riders who have worked their cadence up into the 85-95 range. To get the same gearing you need to replace the 52T with a 35T !!!

I ride 46/38/24 chainrings with a 12-27 in back so I never need to stand up to ride up mountains. The key is to ride your gears at your normal cadence and heart rate - then any slope is just a bunch of flat.

I keep meaning to do a blog post on this, but till then, email me if you want a gear chart spreadsheet.

teacherwoman said...

OMG, your description of Saturday's ride left me with white nuckles! Glad to hear you had a great ride Sunday as well!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

i'd one day love to ride long and strong like that! Great job!!

MJ said...

Way to put in the miles... 100+ in a weekend is pretty awesome. And with hills too.... good work!

ShirleyPerly said...

I hate steep descents too!! Why can't there be any mountains that are steep on one side but really gentle on the other?

But good for you making it through 37 miles and then another 71 the next day. Time in the saddle is what counts.

Anonymous said...

I would call that incline nasty, too. Huh, climbing 6000ft on foot - ok - but on a bike??? Crazy!!!