September 15th (Morning)

Another brisk morning (8°). Corrie picked me up another long sleeve jersey for biking last night, so I tried it out this morning. I think, other than the first 7 minutes or so where I’d be pretty cold, that would suffice without a jacket. I had the jacket off at Frolek’s gate already this morning (only about 12 minutes into the ride). Granted, the climbing at the end of the Juniper trail and the hills at Rose Hill are a great warm up to be sure!

The ride went really well. Physically, I felt pretty good. And, for the first time yet, I made the entire ride with NO STOPS!!! Well, two stops where I have to go through gates but those don’t count… On the single-track trail where it curves and dips around the rocks I managed to clear and climb up out of it without even a foot down. I then went down and through the creek with a good line and pace and made the technical climb up out of the other side. While this side is easier physically than the east bank, it is more technical for sure and I’ve only made this section maybe 3 times to date, so this was great! Not wanting to screw up my streak, I worked very had to ensure I made the next steep climb, and then the Tom Moore trail (boardwalk and sandy sections are two of the tough portions that have caused me to bail before). In the end, I crested the top onto Summit Drive with NO STOPS and I was pretty pumped!

For the second morning in a row, I’ve had the light at the Meritt highway crossing go green while I’ve been back quite a ways. So both times I’ve ended up sprinting up the hill to the light in the biggest gear. While it’s fun (and I made both green lights), man it takes a lot out of me for the next climb! However, I even stood and mashed harder gears coming up the first climb of Howe Road and then at the end climbing up to work. It felt good to exert that extra energy. I can feel it a bit in my legs right now, but nothing that won’t go away soon enough!