April 19th (Aft) and April 20th (Morning)

April 19th (Afternoon)

BOOOO!!!!

 

I fought a strong headwind the whole way home and I don’t think I won! Every time I hit about 20kmh, it was like a brick wall... Uggghh... The fact that I have to work hard to go downhill is just not right! I had my worst yet recorded average speed of 17.7kmh and worst yet recorded high speed of 60kmh.

 

However, Peterson’s creek was actually pretty good. The new tires sprung whole new life into my braking experience! I never had any issues with the front tire skidding that I knew of, but with these tires the brakes gripped hard. I felt very much in control going down, with much less dragging of the rear wheel. I even made the third switchback (the one I kept making before, but only with my foot down). I was going to bail, as there was a huge piece of tumbleweed right on the corner, but at the last second, I saw a line on the inside, and managed to take it. In fact, even when the tumbleweed isn’t there, I will probably take that line again. The other two switchbacks that I consistently miss I still missed! I will get them yet!

 

Coming up out of Peterson’s was above average. Only 4 stops again, and 1/3 of it spent walking. I think the 4 stops will be pretty much my average for a while, or I might get that down to at least 3, as there are three very tough sections that I don’t see me making for a while. Very deep and sandy, steep and rocky, etc.

 

The peak/valley sections before Rose Hill were not that great (I need to give this section a name, maybe the 4 Hump Camel??? Hah!) With the strong headwinds, I couldn’t get the speed I needed, so I missed both the last and the second to last climbs. Well, I always miss the last one... But the other one I know I can make, but slipped a bit, lost any momentum I had built up coming down and then couldn’t gather enough power to get to the peak. Wind makes me grumpy! And we’re considering moving back to Saskatchewan some day... Yikes!

 

April 20th (Morning)

Nothing much new to report. Good ride, although I didn’t feel as good as yesterday. But the times were good, only 1 minute longer than yesterday and the speeds were above average. I got stuck behind a couple of cars coming down from Juniper, so I didn’t even break 70kmh today. Oh well, the brakes got a workout instead! Boy I’d love to try this hill someday on a road bike... :)