Six o'clock at the church is the tradition. And once again, that was the plan for today. But, today, like has happened once before in the past, the entrance to the church parking lot was blocked off. So, instead of parking at that church, I had to go to one of the other dozen churches at the Houghton/Old Spanish Trail intersection. I had expected Dan and Chris to arrive on their bikes, so I would just get on mine and ride around the corner to the meet location. However, no more than two minutes after I pulled up, Dan pulled up in his car and parked next to me. Previous experience told us that THIS church was our alternate meet location if the other was unavailable. So, together we both mounted our trusty aluminum and/or carbon steeds (i.e. bikes) and rounded the corner to find Baker their waiting.
The plan for today was the same as one we've done many times before... OST out to CC and back. But this time, to mix it up a bit, I suggested we alternate leaders and see if we could push the pace.
We were doing just that and making good time as we dove down the hill to Jeremy Wash. I am no cycling expert and don't know all the specifics of drafting, but I must have been drafting Baker, because as he was working hard in front, I kept having to break a bit, so as not to overtake him.
We went down through the wash and rounded the corner to head a little more south-east toward the market and Colossal Cave. Just as we were approaching the Rincon Market, Baker yelled that he was going to pull over and needed to stop. Apparently, on his recent trip to Mexico, he stepped on a stingray. And although he had 'boiled' some water and soaked his foot in it (don't ask me... something he read on the Internet) and it hadn't bothered him when he played basketball, apparently, it was killing him to ride. The pedal cleat was pressing directly on the sore point on the sole of his foot and he decided he wasn't going to be able to continue. He sent Dan and I on as he decided he would turn back.
Dan and I started again and I continued to press that pace as best I could. We made it to CC in one-hour and two minutes by my Garmin, but Dan's cyclocomputer had our time as fifty-nine minutes, as it did not include the 3-minutes we stopped and talked with Chris. So, once again, two out of three of us made the ride out to CC in under an hour. Excellent!
The pause at CC this time was extremely short. Right around 5-minutes in fact. Much more downhill on the return ride. And as usual, a much faster time. Another great ride. We completed the entire trip in 1 hour and 53 minutes. Average speed 14.5 mph. Average Heart Rate 120 bpm.
Showing posts with label CC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CC. Show all posts
Friday, May 30, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sunday Morning Ride
Chris and Dan both rode to the church (meet site). I drove. We hadn't even started our ride yet, and I already felt lazy.
It was just after 6 o'clock the sun was already high in the sky. The weather was perfect, but it had already started to get hot by the time we finished. We set a good pace on the ride out OST to Colossal Cave. My legs were still sore, so it took some extra effort on my part to keep up. But I managed to do so, and even finished the last quarter mile with a little push (It wasn't much, but it was everything I had left at that point). Total time, church to CC gate, just under an hour. Solid!
The break at the turn-around point was a little longer than usual. Nearly 30 minutes. Topics covered: Tom Waits, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Bateman, Crocodile Dundee and Aboriginal farming methods.
As usual, we made good time on the return leg. The fact that so much of it is downhill helps tremendously.
Chris got out ahead of us, so I had lost site of him by the time he turned down Melpomene for home (at least I assume he turned for home). I got back to my car right around eight-thirty. With Dan right behind me.
Towards the end of the ride, my back started to get a little tight and a little sore. I think this is something that happens on my first few long rides after a bit of a layoff. I am hoping it will pass with time.
I have a full day ahead of me and now that our morning ride is complete, it's time to get to it.
It was just after 6 o'clock the sun was already high in the sky. The weather was perfect, but it had already started to get hot by the time we finished. We set a good pace on the ride out OST to Colossal Cave. My legs were still sore, so it took some extra effort on my part to keep up. But I managed to do so, and even finished the last quarter mile with a little push (It wasn't much, but it was everything I had left at that point). Total time, church to CC gate, just under an hour. Solid!
The break at the turn-around point was a little longer than usual. Nearly 30 minutes. Topics covered: Tom Waits, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Bateman, Crocodile Dundee and Aboriginal farming methods.
As usual, we made good time on the return leg. The fact that so much of it is downhill helps tremendously.
Chris got out ahead of us, so I had lost site of him by the time he turned down Melpomene for home (at least I assume he turned for home). I got back to my car right around eight-thirty. With Dan right behind me.
Towards the end of the ride, my back started to get a little tight and a little sore. I think this is something that happens on my first few long rides after a bit of a layoff. I am hoping it will pass with time.
I have a full day ahead of me and now that our morning ride is complete, it's time to get to it.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Inaugural CC ride of '08
It's Thursday morning and once again BigDan and I are embarking on a morning ride. I got to our traditional meeting place and the church parking lot was blocked-off. drat! So, had to pick from one of the other dozen churches on the corners of Houghton and Old Spanish Trail.
I was annoyed with myself, because I forgot to charge the battery in my Garmin 305. So, Dan has to be the keeper-of-time on this trip. Since we have started riding regularly again, this was our first ride all the way out to Colossal Cave.
The weather was perfect. No wind to speak of, which is unusual, especially for the Vail area. About two miles from CC, we passed a group of cattle. Just kind of standing around as we rode by. The group seemed to have gotten larger on our way back. This was an entire heard. One Bull was just standing in the bike lane.
BigDan had a great ride. Extremely strong. He lead the whole way. I stayed with him on the way out, but he dropped me, big time, on the way back. I was about dead by the time we hit Sahuaro National Monument. My back was tight and sore. Lactose build-up in my legs was intense. Thank goodness the majority of the ride from that point is downhill. I had lost total visibility on BigDan at that point.
It's approximately 30 miles, round trip, from Houghton/OST to CC. Finally made it back to the church parking lot. Dan said he completed the entire trip in under two hours. We don't have official records, but by mutual agreement, that was probably our best CC ride ever. Geared down, racked the bike and made for home. What a ride.
I was annoyed with myself, because I forgot to charge the battery in my Garmin 305. So, Dan has to be the keeper-of-time on this trip. Since we have started riding regularly again, this was our first ride all the way out to Colossal Cave.
The weather was perfect. No wind to speak of, which is unusual, especially for the Vail area. About two miles from CC, we passed a group of cattle. Just kind of standing around as we rode by. The group seemed to have gotten larger on our way back. This was an entire heard. One Bull was just standing in the bike lane.
BigDan had a great ride. Extremely strong. He lead the whole way. I stayed with him on the way out, but he dropped me, big time, on the way back. I was about dead by the time we hit Sahuaro National Monument. My back was tight and sore. Lactose build-up in my legs was intense. Thank goodness the majority of the ride from that point is downhill. I had lost total visibility on BigDan at that point.
It's approximately 30 miles, round trip, from Houghton/OST to CC. Finally made it back to the church parking lot. Dan said he completed the entire trip in under two hours. We don't have official records, but by mutual agreement, that was probably our best CC ride ever. Geared down, racked the bike and made for home. What a ride.
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