then there was outside

decided to test the legs, the bike, the mental game of it all by riding two days before I took a long ride with the Saturday gang.

getting the helmet out of the car was the sure sign that this was real. after so many days riding on the trainer and going absolutely no where it sure felt good when we turned out of the parking lot and headed down towards central expressway. the goal of the two days was to get that lung butter up and boy was it coming out.

saturday's ride - i wanted to be on the bike for as long as i could. decided to ride from my house to the saturday ride, that would get me warmed up and ready to roll. i over estimated the time it would take to get there, so i had to ride around the neighborhood to stay warm. by the time the ride leaders said let's go, i had 13 miles logged.

riding to gilroy was a lot of fun, tailwind, pushing us along with folks attacking and i had a blast chasing them down, by the time i got to the gilroy golf course, i was pushing close to 42 miles. as we started heading north we all got a taste of what we will be riding in for the next 20 miles, fierce headwind. i was immediately dropped, and rode alone for 18 miles. at one point the wind was pushing me sideways, and riding down the cinnabar hill, i was pedaling as hard as i could and only getting 29mph. eventually i made it home, logged 73 miles and 4:36hrs on the bike. it was total bliss.

sunday rode 33 miles and tuesday another 27 miles.

conclusion: flat roads are fun, hills its a sufferfest, though with after work ride team mates, steven and john, they will get me ready for may-sept ncnca races.