Part of the reason I guess was that it was so much fun to be back on a bike again. I couldn’t help but detour extensively and go down into the Lion’s Campground to try that insanely killer hill again. Of course there were two other hills crossing the highway bridge into Devon there and back again. I really didn’t think I could ride up that campground hill but I would go as far as I could without dismounting. I surprised myself in that not only did I not dismount, but I remained seated for all three nasty hills. Mind you I had to shift into 1/1, the easiest possible gear. But at least I did it. Nice work for the quads, I’ll tell you. But you have to be patient. It takes a long time to ride up that hill at 5 km per hour. Of course once I get my legs back into biking mode, I’ll do that hill a lot faster. It’s great low-impact cross-training for my main sport which is running.
Halfway across the bridge on the way home my chain slipped off so I had to stop and put it back on. I still have no place to carry any tools so I ended up with pretty dirty hands. And I had to put some air in my back tire. My lips are all black and tired. That’s a punny joke, get it?
I’ll be buying a quick release bag carrier soon. So I think I ended up riding hard for about 26 km today which is nothing on the flat, but throw in those crazy hills from hell and it’s a bit of work for an old gaffer like me.
Fun fun fun. I can’t wait to go on a century. I think it’s so amazing that I can be 50 or 70 km from home on my own on a bike and all I have to get back is…me. It’s the greatest feeling. I know, I’m weird. But at least I’m harmless weird.