Saturday I spend a good part of the day helping paint at the dance studio my girls will be dancing at this fall. Same teacher, just a new location! Nice. When I got home I decided to go ride.
Izzy had that look on her face so I asked her if she wanted to go ride. We rode about 5 miles around a little loop and I dropped her back off at home. Then I headed out for another 22 miles. I was looking for some hills this ride because hills are my weakness. I headed out north of town and attacked the first long climb. Legs were feeling okay so I pressed on. The ride was going ok until a guy nearly brushed me with his mirror. I was on a wide open flat road and he didn't bother to move over. Then he of course flipped me off like it was my fault. People crack me up. On the other hand, I did want to run over my first cyclist today....but he was wearing a Calgary Flames jersey....that was the reason...not anything else. Sorry, Red Wings for life. I managed to average over 17 mph for the ride, a full 1.3 mph faster that I have ever averaged out on that loop.
I have been pushing harder on each ride, knowing that I will only get faster if I push harder. I have been steadily averaging faster on every ride I do. It feels good to go that fast, but I still have a long way to go. I do alright for a guy that is 60 pounds overweight. You heard me....I averaged 18.1, 18.8, 18.4, and 17.1 (in the hills). At 255 pounds that is alright. Singletrack...well...hehehe....that is another story. All of these speeds are on the road. Still, I was only averaging 16.5-17 on flat ground a few weeks ago.
Sunday, Jeff and I headed to Cannonsburg Ski area. He had never ridden there and we wanted to ride the State Game area too. The one thing....and I mean ONE thing I dislike about Cannonsburg Ski Area is how the trail starts. It has to be a mile climb right out the gate. Not a easy gradual climb, a tough climb. Might not be tough for some, but my weight kills me in the hills and I am a notoriously slow starter, meaning my legs were screaming for mercy on the first climb. Great. Plus, add the 27 I rode hard the night before and I was asking for punishment. This course is a blast. Lots of ups and downs with hills, roots, and rocks. I like that the laps are short, gives me time to recover. Jeff and I did a full lap and then opted to take an alternative route on the second lap. We too a left and took the shorter climb into the trail, cutting out the long climb and the first half of the lap.
We jumped on the connector and took Egypt Valley road down to 4 mile and made the left down to Cannonsburg State Game Area. As history says, I haven't ridden there in 2 years. This was the very first trail Jeff ever rode...and he rode hard enough that he puked before the end of the first lap. That didn't happen today, he handed my ass to me and I never saw him after the creek crossing. I forgot how much fun this trail was. It makes for a good day to drive up there and ride a few different trails. I had to take it easy and just cruise because my legs were shot. I did what I could and made it back to the trailhead where Jeff was waiting. I rolled through the parking lot and started the jaunt back to the connector.
It was still a good ride but I was beat. With 27 on Saturday and 21 on Sunday I had a good weekend of riding. I just need to keep chipping away at my weight and keep the wheels turning!
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