Fried egg im in love locations3/29/2023 ![]() My pace is slow as I try to keep my heart rate steady. A few cyclists pass me, chatting with one another as if they were riding the flats. My husband is several switchbacks away, having disappeared long ago. We are all the same and we understand this about each other. Beating them up the hill is always better. As soon as someone passes you, usually coming with a warning “On your left”, the adrenalin starts pumping and you’re compelled to give it all you’ve got to stay with that cyclist as long as you can. This is unreasonable thinking, I know, but it is also a source of motivation for me and most other cyclists. Never mind that the cyclist may be half my age or that I haven’t ridden in so long. Word around the local cycling circuit is that someone has made it up in 14:30 minutes. We all know our best time on Old La Honda. It is the benchmark climb for many local cyclists ( also explained here). The bridge is the starting point of this hill. I stopped at the bridge partly to remove extra layers of clothing but mostly to mentally prepare myself for the climb. Especially this baby hill.Ī few miles later I reach the base of Old La Honda. I hate to turn around halfway up the hill, any hill. But would I reach my limit before even making it halfway up the hill? There is always that possibility and the easy solution would be to turn around and coast downhill if it gets too hard.īut I know myself better than this. I wanted to take my heart rate up and feel the burn in my legs. ![]() I’ve had my power breakfast after all–maybe I will manage?Īt the last minute, I changed my plans. I am a long way from even contemplating that coast ride but surely Old La Honda, my little hill in the neighborhood, would be okay? Old La Honda is the gateway to a lot of even bigger hill climbs in the area. ![]() When I was in better shape this was normal. We live in a big cycling community and most cyclists clock in as many miles–if not more–each week. This statement is not meant to be boastful…more wistful really. We would stop several more times just to savor the clean country air and enjoy the views of the ocean. We would stop for lunch in Pescadero, a small rural town south of Half Moon Bay. On the weekends we would up the mileage and ride one 50-60 mile ride, a fun (and tiring) activity that would take the better part of the day when we opted for the round trip ride to the coast. There was a time when 30-40 mile hill rides 5 days a week was the norm. I fried an egg and made an open-faced sandwich it’s all I would need to get me through the second 30 miles of the weekend. The flats bore me it was only concern for my legs that made me consider the same ride again and I knew that after a 9-month absence from riding a flat ride would be best. My husband and I thought it best for me to avoid the hills for a while and planned to do the flats again but I can never help myself. Two days later, though still a bit sore in some places, I was ready for another ride. It was like starting over again but I made it and it felt wonderful to get that “first” ride out of the way. Mentally I was ready for the long-overdue bike ride but would my legs be up for the challenge? I rode the beginner route that my husband mapped out for me as a new cyclist a dozen years ago a scenic, mostly-flat 30-mile bike ride that would hopefully give me back my cycling legs. I have missed being on the saddle, clipping into my pedals, the wind kissing my face. This is the longest time I’ve spent away from my road bike and the reunion was bittersweet indeed. I donned my cycling gear for the second time in three days…and 9 months.
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