Riding Hard.

I went in to work extra early hoping to catch a few hours of daylight for an afternoon ride and that's just what I did. It all started out well enough. I stormed up over the St. Thomas hill and across the flats with ease, legs feeling fresh and light on the pedals, staying on top of my gears. It even felt kinda warm in the afternoon sun. The 18% grade at Piney Grove was slow going, winter legs after all, but for a couple hours this feeling continued. It was good to be on the road.

At Mantua I ran into an old riding buddy and we rode side by side all the way to the bottom of Caves Road Hill. We chatted about the racing season ahead, Lance, his Saturday morning coffee shop ride that regularly attracts 30-40 riders. Eventually, He turned left towards Baltimore and I went straight towards home. Then it hit me. This hill is only about 800 yards long, but it's kinda steep and after a few hours of softening up on all the previous hills, it sneaks up on you.

I looked down for another gear but there weren't any. I need to get a 25t (maybe a 27?) I thought to myself as I flailed away at the pedals. At the top and across the faux plat back towards St. Thomas it didn't seem to get any easier. I was bonking.

I struggled up over the last stabbing climb and turned the corner at the cemetery. The rest from there was easy. Coast down to Reisterstown Road and up the last small hills towards home. My bike is caked with a layer of salt from the road and now matches my white handlebar tape and saddle much better. It felt SO good to be back home and I can't wait til my next chance to bonk again.