Bullis Park - Final Ride on the Schwinn

Tonight we joined Vicky and others for a ride from Bullis Park. My last ride here was on a Sunday and I dragged a bit as I had sore legs from climbing a lot of hills the day before. I wanted to try this route again before I got the new bike so I can see how I perform more fresh on this route. My hope is this will allow me see the improvement with the bike and not just in my performance from being in better condition for the ride that day.


Seven of us rolled out and I enjoyed the downhill start and the long flat stretch. It's a nice warm-up before the constant uphill climb on the rough surface. Sure enough, we make the turn and I slowly lose speed. That's okay. This time I'm ready to just keep on grabbing gears. I have an idea of how much of a climb it is and how far it is to the next rest stop.

As I'm plugging along, Pete and one of the riders catch up with me. This rider is gabbing away. I've developed a bit of a pet peeve for people who just gab away as you struggle, breathless up a hill. I try to tactfully encourage her to pass me and move on. Instead, she just pulls in front of me and keeps on gabbing. I try to interject in her rambling about her struggles with a "oh, like I do every day?" comment, but that falls on deaf ears. Truth be told, I don't think she paused long enough to hear me say anything. Pete manages to finally encourage her to keep on pedaling as I get on her wheel and I'm free to finish the climb with my own thoughts.

We regroup and head out on Amman Road. This road is known for it's big rolling hills. I rode the road once before, so I'm ready. Vicky reminds everyone of the hills and encourages us to gain our momentum as much as possible to help us up the hills. I manage to do a pretty good job and feel good about it. Then I hit the last uphill. I think I've done well, and suddenly, the hill extends even further. I have to shift down to the small ring and the bike takes awhile to do so, and I lose quite a few gears. Oh well.

Becky and John wait for me at the intersection. As I crest the hill I wave, and they make the turn and head on. Once I make the turn, I focus on catching my breath. Once I have, I pick up some gears and work on trying to catch up with the group ahead of me. I pull into a small town and see a speed limit sign of 20 mph. I look down at my bike computer and I'm pedaling along at 15 mph. So, I'm not speeding, but that's impressive on this heavy bike! I have a huge grin as I try to take in this tiny town. I blow past a side road and notice what looks like Becky and John down that road. Oops! I pull in to a parking lot just as Pete and Laura catch up with me. "Was that our turn?" Pete, "I think so."

I cut through the parking lot and head down the road. My right calf starts to knot up a bit and I unclip as I coast along and try to stretch out my calf. It doesn't seem to be enough, so as I approach the next intersection I pull over and get off the bike. I walk around in a couple of circles and begin using my bike to stretch out my calf. Pete catches up with me and points out that we have to keep moving if we're going to make it back to the car before dusk -- and before the parking lot gets locked.

I head out and Pete warns me that there are some uphills ahead of us. I've never been on this road before, so he wants me to be ready. I decide that I should grab the big ring and pedal my heart out while it's flat so that the slowdown on the uphills doesn't slow my overall progress. I keep pedaling as hard as I can and occasionally manage to grab another gear and kick it up a little more. The uphills are nothing when you're going that fast and have that many gears available to you. I keep up the attack and as I approach Specht Store, I see the rest of our group in front of me. They must have paused to wait for us and then given up, but maybe not and I really did nearly catch them.

Of course, it's at this point that I now have a nasty crosswind. I realize I was able to book it on the last leg of the ride because I had a nice tailwind. I grab a comfortable gear and try to keep pushing to the main road. There is no chance of actually catching the group in this wind. Not for me on this bike. We turn onto Blanco Road and get ready for the uphill to the parking lot. I know that I'll have to use my low gears, but I can make it. I pass Laura going up the hill and just keep on motoring my way up one beat after another. Just then, my cell phone starts ringing. I'm not stopping in middle of a hill even though I'm sure it's Vicky. Pete went up the hill ahead of me and was pulling in to the parking lot about then anyway.

As I near the parking lot, I see that the park guy is there waiting to lock the gates. Oh boy! Pete is loading his bike, so I roll in and jump off my bike. We need to get moving so the guy can lock up, so I grab my gear off the bike and pull a Swedish Chef as I start throwing my gear into my car. I barely change my shoes and I'm ready to go. Just then, I hear Pete try to start the truck but it won't turn over. Ugh! He decides the truck won't start, so we shift the gear and bikes to my car thankful that we brought two cars to this ride.

I feel I did much better on this route today. I'm happy with my performance and now I'm ready for a road bike!

Goals
Today's Miles: 14.5
Total Miles Achieved: 429.9
Financial Investment: $972.39
Total Weight Loss: +2.4