Couldn't make the Group Ride Wednesday, so I made my return to Diablo on Thursday. I had multiple goals set so I could claim that whichever one I actually accomplished WAS my goal. Last week I started riding my road bike around with SPD cleats and I felt comfortable with that.
So I drove to The Church, I wore my bike commuter shorts and a T-shirt so I wouldn't feel too serious.
The Approach to The Gate went fine - so my lamest goal was met and the bar was moved.
The Dips went kind of OK - I still can't get out of the saddle to do those bursts of acceleration that I'm so famous for. Mentally I had to accept that I'm just going to have to gear down and maintain cadence - physically I just have to watch for pain and weakness and don't let them have an advantage on the mental part.
Then came the biggest challenge of all of course - The Bump. I was feeling the tired leg muscles and breathing harder than I have in a while but one stroke at a time and trying to maintain some semblance of souplesse got me past The Bump, and past The Washout all the way to the end of Split 3 Segment. So I met my goal of making it up The Bump - YAY. My stretch goal of making it any farther was forgotten about.
A little tired and sore after... no biggee... I'm still going to be driving to The Church for a while so I use my matches ON The Mountain rather than just getting there.
Stand by for more, my loyal fans. 👆👆👆
