Notes
Holy cow this was tough. We didn't start off from where the 50 mile route actually starts, but just started at the bottom of the hill where the loop goes around. Full route that Steven did was about 35 miles...and i did 22. First off, it was freezing first thing in the morning. my arm and knee warmers helped a ton and i had gloves and a head band on...but my poor litle toes froze, if i'm going to do cold rides like this...i need to get some footies. This was basically 3 mountain climbs...each about 3 to 5 miles in continuous incline. i was dead by the top of the 3rd and had Steven finish the ride off and come pick me up instead of doing the last 10 miles. I did make it up all 3 inclines without stopping once, so i was proud of that; though we did stop at the top of each incline and regroup for a few before descending. i was really shaky on the down hills because they were long and steep and curvey...so i kept braking nearly the entire way down to keep control. I think if i could get more comfortable on the drop bars, i'd be able to break easier and keep better control, but i'm still very shaky on the drop bars. just need to practice more. my legs don't feel too bad today (monday). i was a bit nauseous after the ride, so i could tell i really worked myself out hardcore...or maybe it was just he winding roads making me car sick on the ride back. :)
Steven's garmin said about 6124 feet of climbing...tho he had a little bit more on his last 10 miles..but not much as we had already done all 3 gaps.