Double the climbing
Inspired by John’s suggestion that we climb Lake Desolation today, I made that my plan for the ride. Unfortunately we couldn’t coordinate schedules since I had to start early after sunrise to accommodate Steph’s and my full day of activities.
I headed west up Gailor and Strakos. Love those climbs. Short and sweet, yet still some substantial altitude gained, some 600 feet or so. Then north on Locust Grove since Greene is getting resurfaced. At the end of Locust, left onto Spier Falls Road, continue straight on that and North Greenfield Rd, and North Creek Rd down to Middlegrove Rd.
Lake Desolation Road starts up slowly after the bridge. Just before crossing the bridge I encountered my first dog of the season. I big friendly mutt that kept running back and forth in front of me. I nearly hit him the first time. He finally gave up playing with me when I threw an angry kick his way. Now, I love dogs. But this was a bad dog. Naughty dog.
After the fifteen mile warmup I started up the climb. It felt good and I got into a rhythm quickly. LD is roughly five miles long and has many different sections and pitches. The harder ones come in the final third, naturally, right after the gravel pit. Once you see the smiling fish, you know it’s time to get out of the saddle, stop licking your wounds and pump for the finish.
It’s funny how the climb unfolds. I hit the 20 minute mark at right about the farmhouse below the gravel pit. Ten minutes remain to cover the worst climb and the two rollers to the finishing bridge. Never seems like enough. Once I reach the log house before the smiling fish, I check my time and see it’s around 27 or 28 minutes. Good grief! How can I make to the end before 30?! At this point I want to rest for a second, but the clock ticks on. Shift down, hunker down and head down the first roller. The second roller is modest and easily crested with a dozen pedal strokes. Time slows down, finally, giving me a break and letting me enjoy the seeing the Post Office… then the bridge just around the bend… and the finish. On crappy pavement. Groan. Oh well. At least the turnaround in the parking lot is newly paved.
I surprised myself with a new PR of 29:15. Earlier this year I climbed this with Kyle and had a 33:16 time. Big improvement! ‘Course it was 20-30 degrees colder at the time.
Down the hill, turn around and repeat. The numbing cold descent does a lot to try and disuade me from a 2nd attempt but I manage to quell that negativity. The second time round I didn’t feel as tired as I thought I would–this translated nicely into a 29:44 time, just 29 seconds off the first one! Amazing (to me at least). Stopped for an energy bar and drink in the parking lot by the bridge, and I noticed two huge fish in the stream under the road.
It always surprises me how long it takes to descend. It was roughly 10 minutes to make it down to the bottom each time. ‘Course I was riding the brakes not letting myself get too fast, the roads were wet and I was a little numb from the cold. Near the gravel pit the wind was dancing around like a drunken prom date. Twice I was buffeted so strongly that I lost my line and had to recover slightly. A tear formed in the corner of one eye, so large that my entire right peripheral vision was reduced to a parody of reality, warped like a fun house mirror.
Total altitude climbed according to Magellan MapSend software: 4679′.
Heading home on Middlegrove is always fun, it’s mostly downhill with only two or three rollers to break your stride.
Two days ago a beaver dam broke and washed across Denton and Bloomfield roads, so I decided to swing by and check out the damage. It wasn’t too bad. But the height of the water on the road’s shoulders was kinda impressive/scary. Some chunks of pavement are missing and a fine silt is all over the intersection.
My cycling career has been a series of revelations to me. Hours upon hours in the saddle have given me endurance, confidence, and perseverance. While I see pros on TV, it seems like an alien world that only tangentially touches ours. The statistics those guys post are astronomical compared with my modest ones. I’m OK with that. The stats my cycling buddies post are usually faster than mine as well. I’m OK with that too. It’s the inner battle I dwell on most. Can I keep going at this pace? Can I complete this distance? Can I continue in this weather? This is the litany of doubt running through my mind all the time. Gradually, I reach higher and higher plateaus of cycling ability and simultaneously lay many of those doubts to rest.
Today I flattened Desolation.
Today’s ride profile is brought to you by the letter ‘M.’
May 20th, 2006 at 10:34 pm
You mad man!! how did that feel? I felt great after the first ascent,
but was not thinking of doing another. I was on a time limit, but
there wasn’t even an inkling of doing it again in my head.
Congratulations on the accomplishment and the consistency of the
efforts.
May 21st, 2006 at 7:01 am
Kurt is going to be this year’s sleeper. We are going to have no real clue as to his talent until he decides to use it. He’ll rip off 450 miles in the Saratoga 12/24, then start complaining where he lost time…….