riverc0il
New member
Somewheres along mile 13 or so... I felt a strange deja vu from an experience I once had on a road bike. You see, when I used to bike in my late teens, my mom would ask me where I was heading. And I would always reply back "I'll find out when I get there." Call it a life philosophy. More often than not, I developed good sense of direction and went in the general direction I wanted. Every once in a while though...
So I had planned a 10 mile ride with a big hill. I forgot to check elevation gain on google maps before leaving and had gotten more hill than I had bargained for with a low point to high point vertical gain of approximately 700 vertical feet with total ride vertical gain probably well over the 1000' mark.
The loop up and over Dana Hill was pretty intense. I thought I was doing really well but as things got progressively steeper over the course of the 2.3 mile 600 vertical foot climb. I could tell by the landscape features that I was about to crest the high point when the pitch got excessively steep and I totally bonked. Had to stop for a breather and to get my legs stretched out. Looking forward to getting back on that hill for a rematch. Had to head back downhill to clip in, crested the hill, and OMGWTFBBQ WOOOO downhill baby! I pussied out and ground my break pads.... but it was a turny road and I had no idea what I was going to turn the corner on going 30+.
Any ways, while I was enjoying that long down hill... I apparently missed my turn. Oops! It looked obvious on the map... but I would later find out on my way back that it was a dirt road which is why I didn't even consider it.
So I eventually get to the bottom of the hill and think I am linking back up with Route 132 very near Ashland for the easy remaining 3 mile ride home. Turns out I hit 104 and I still have 10 miles of peddling to do to get home... double my planned route. Oops! :lol:
Thankfully my legs were up to... especially since my cell phone died halfway through the ride :roll: Total trip time was an hour and twenty minutes and I confirmed my suspicion that the bike leg of the sprint triathlon that I am training for will be the easiest and my best part of the event. With hill training like that and a triathlon happening down in the flatlands... I think I can at least make up for my bad swimming LOL.
Any ways.... I FREAKING LOVE IT up here! So glad I went road and not mountain. Cresting the top of Dana Hill Road and looking out over the landscape from 1200' up from a quiet back country road with wide open vistas... just took me back to so much of the riding I did in northeastern MA. Only the views are way better and the hills are way bigger and it feels so much more "out there" considering I was never more than a few miles from a major highway. It felt like I was home. I knew I had finally found where home was.
So I had planned a 10 mile ride with a big hill. I forgot to check elevation gain on google maps before leaving and had gotten more hill than I had bargained for with a low point to high point vertical gain of approximately 700 vertical feet with total ride vertical gain probably well over the 1000' mark.
The loop up and over Dana Hill was pretty intense. I thought I was doing really well but as things got progressively steeper over the course of the 2.3 mile 600 vertical foot climb. I could tell by the landscape features that I was about to crest the high point when the pitch got excessively steep and I totally bonked. Had to stop for a breather and to get my legs stretched out. Looking forward to getting back on that hill for a rematch. Had to head back downhill to clip in, crested the hill, and OMGWTFBBQ WOOOO downhill baby! I pussied out and ground my break pads.... but it was a turny road and I had no idea what I was going to turn the corner on going 30+.
Any ways, while I was enjoying that long down hill... I apparently missed my turn. Oops! It looked obvious on the map... but I would later find out on my way back that it was a dirt road which is why I didn't even consider it.
So I eventually get to the bottom of the hill and think I am linking back up with Route 132 very near Ashland for the easy remaining 3 mile ride home. Turns out I hit 104 and I still have 10 miles of peddling to do to get home... double my planned route. Oops! :lol:
Thankfully my legs were up to... especially since my cell phone died halfway through the ride :roll: Total trip time was an hour and twenty minutes and I confirmed my suspicion that the bike leg of the sprint triathlon that I am training for will be the easiest and my best part of the event. With hill training like that and a triathlon happening down in the flatlands... I think I can at least make up for my bad swimming LOL.
Any ways.... I FREAKING LOVE IT up here! So glad I went road and not mountain. Cresting the top of Dana Hill Road and looking out over the landscape from 1200' up from a quiet back country road with wide open vistas... just took me back to so much of the riding I did in northeastern MA. Only the views are way better and the hills are way bigger and it feels so much more "out there" considering I was never more than a few miles from a major highway. It felt like I was home. I knew I had finally found where home was.