Good Times

This past weekend was the type of weekend that reminds me how lucky I am: friends, bikes, food, beer, great conversations and the cutest kiddo ever.

Two of the three day weekend days were ride days; Saturday was a group that I hadn’t ridden with but Gary and other friends had – a group that I later found out was known for speed and climbing – not necessarily qualities I was looking for on my loaded touring rig! It was already quite warm when we started out, and the pace was good for road bike riding – quick but not hammer down – but this was a bit fast for me on Ocho (my touring bike has a name, btw. Ocho is our eighth bike.) I kept with the group for the first 10 miles at my expense and had to take my time hauling myself over the first climb, enjoying the occasional glimpses of the Russian River winding its’ way below Fitch Mountain Road in Healdsburg. By the time we turned up Mill Creek Road, I was the last rider and the other girls soon were out of sight as the road headed up. No problem, plenty of amazing scenery to absorb as I trucked along. This was another road I hadn’t ridden before, and it was lovely – very few cars along a small road that goes through park-like redwood forest – amazing! I had been told the climb would be steady but not bad until toward the end. I’d mentioned to Gary that I might skip the end and head down where they would catch me up, so wasn’t worried. Until I got to the 20-25% grade. We’d probably done about 18 miles before this, and some climbing, which wouldn’t be a problem normally. But when I hit that grade, all bets were off and I almost couldn’t unclip from the pedals fast enough! 50lbs of bike and gear got the best of me and I stood awkwardly with tired legs trembling and twitching. Now I had to push this thing up the grade. I hoped it wasn’t very long, but when I got up the switchback I could see that it went on further than I wanted to push. Great. Well, I guess I’ll wait for them to head down, I thought, they should be coming in a few minutes. More than a few minutes passed and I began to think the group was at the top waiting for me. I didn’t know how much further that was – it could literally be around the next bend – so I decided to keep pushing. Unpleasant task it was, I’d much rather ride than push, but there was no getting back on while I was on the grade with that load. After a bit I spotted a driveway off to the left that went uphill in the opposite direction, so if I got up that and on the bike I could at least get a start back up the grade…It worked and up I went (I’d passed the worst of it) and eventually I found the group. Everyone was surprised to see me – they all thought I’d be smarter than to try to get up there 🙂 I was pretty spent by that point – it was hot and I’d forgotten my food in the car – but I was given some water and we all headed down the hill. It was a long ride back to the car, but the group was assembled at the beer garden and we all rehydrated and fortified ourselves with food and good conversation. NIce group of people to ride and hang with. 50 miles and 3,200 feet of climbing – not too bad for the first long ride on the touring rig.

The weekend was rounded out with a pleasant barbecue and time with friends Sunday and another ride Monday – only 30 miles and less than 1,000 feet of climbing this time. A nice post-ride lunch with friends completed the day, and the weekend. Maybe some laundry was done also, but maybe not 🙂