So other than guilt at my extended absence from this, my own space, what brings me here today? A milestone, of sorts. I accomplished something I have been working toward for months: I rode my bike up a pair of hills that have daunted me for years, and which I vowed shortly after reintroducing myself to my bike last spring that I would conquer.
I started out assiduously avoiding all but the smallest hills, but I always knew I wanted to end up on this particular road, which has an outlook I often drive to when I'm waxing poetic about where I live. In fact, driving here -- where I would park at the top and pull out my bike to take other, slightly less aggressive, but equally visually stunning routes around the area -- turned out to be the best training I could have done. It gave me the view I wanted as motivation, and got me used to similar terrain but at my own pace.
There wasn't really anything special about today that made it the day. If I weren't a chronic overdoer, I probably would have stuck to the easy route, since I had a moderately aggressive hill ride a couple of days ago and should probably have been giving the quads a break. But nah...I was in use-it-or-lose-it mode, so once again, I parked at the top, but this time, I turned around and went down one of the hills, then tackled the other for the first real climb. And when I got to the top, I turned back and did it in reverse, trying not to think of how long the hill was and how steep the hill was and how quickly I lost my momentum once it flattened out before the second climb.
It probably aided my effort that I put this pair of hills at the beginning of my ride when the legs and lungs were both fresh. But that doesn't take away an iota of the happiness I felt when I knew I was going to make it all the way up without a break or a walk. And the view may be one I've seen dozens of times, but it was all the more spectacular knowing I had propelled myself there.
But this morning's cycling pleasures weren't nearly over. Like I said, those hills were just the start of my ride today, and I had plenty of vim and vigor left over, plus the high from having achieved my goal, so time for a nice, easy ride to enjoy the fall weather, right? Eh. Not entirely.
After the hilltop, I went down the other side to where I often trained for today's milestone, a nice ribbon of road that takes me to other challenging hills and nice scenery. If I'd stayed on that road itself, I could've just had a nice cruise admiring the foliage, but no. I turned the corner to the nearby wildlife refuge, which is nestled down in the back of the hills I'd just been on...down being the key word there. Way down.
As I bombed down the road into the refuge, I told myself, "Hey, no pressure...you did your bit today. If you have to walk it (and you probably will), that's fine." But it must've been my day to conquer stuff, generally, because I didn't have to walk it (though I did get off a couple of times to take a picture and catch my breath). Once more, the view was somehow that much more spectacular knowing I had earned it.
I geared down to casual tourist mode after that, and decided to scope out the orchard I'd been seeing signs for during the past few weeks' rides in that area. It was a nice winding road that first took me through the waning corn fields and then on down past the orchard into a quiet wood awash in yellow leaves, all the brighter for today's overcast sky.
On the way back up the road, I walked the bike up the orchard path and looked into the options for coming back with the boys later today. I had a nice meet and greet with a couple of horses from the neighboring stable and then a short chat with some fellow leaf-peepers who had made their way up to the orchard to admire the view too.Then it was time to head home for lunch, after one last good hill push, happy with myself as I rarely am for having set a goal and reached it and kept on going. I'm on the lookout for that next hill...any suggestions?
