Nice Hills

    Finally managed to get out on a decently long training ride today. I had planned on a 50 mile loop around the Valley floor with its nice, gently rolling hills. Instead I did Hwy 213 between Mulino and I205. For those of you who have never driven this route, which is very likely all of you, it is all hills. All. Hills. Very long, decently steep hills for about 12 miles. I drive this every day to work, and have been eyeballing it as the perfect training route for the bodaciously hilly ride that is the the 138 mile stretch of the Epic 250K. I admit, it is a bit of an intimidating stretch of road, this jaunt I took today. That is why I have procrastinated, I was afraid it would kick my ass. I opted to do just one circuit, out and back, with an 8 mile warmup tacked on at the beginning. I parked in Mulino and headed south for 4 miles, where the road is gently rolling, then turned back north. By the time I was back in Mulino I felt like my legs were warm enough for the first, brutal climb up out of Mulino. It is a long, first gear grind of several miles. It is steep enough that the log trucks and tractor-trailer rigs climb slowly with their hazard lights on. I know, I see it every single morning. But I have always known that speed is not my strength, my strength is my strength. And by the gods, I can climb hills. The 12 mile ride to I205 was fantastic, at several points I was clipping along a heady speed (my sport tracker app said my top speed was 35 mph, I have my doubts, but I did feel like I was really flying). The return 12 miles was interesting, one aspect that you don't notice in a car is that the hills heading south are shorter but steeper. We're talking a first gear, standing in the pedals, head down, grinding hard to reach the crest kind of steep. I did it well though, and felt good when I got off the bike. The long hours on the trainer, and hours of gearing pyramids throughout the long, dark days of winter have paid their dividends. I have been feeling a little nervous about the cycling leg of the 250K, because it is all hills, and over a mountain pass, twice. The beauty of hills: there is always a downhill side. Granted, my little jaunt today was only a quarter of what I will need to ride in September, but today's ride was a confidence booster nonetheless.