I spent last night drinking too much wine and talking cycling with Ron, my riding partner for the week, then promptly decided "I'm going to get an ass whooping."
So, this morning I woke early, loaded up my pancakes with fresh raspberries and blueberries provided by Riss. Energy and fuel for the day.
And what a day it was. Ron and I took off for the Applegate lake early. It was still cloudy, but the day was predicted to be hot so we enjoyed the coolness while it lasted.
No route map, no road map, just me and Ron on the road for the day. The roads were fairly empty and the traffic that was seemed fairly cycling friendly. Ron was leading, setting the pace at 16 or so right off the bat. I held on and hoped I could make it without embarassing myself. The day just got better and better. The scenery was breathtaking and I learned so much from Ron. He improved my pedal stroke, taught me to ride without hands and improved my cadence. I was climbing hills at +80 cadence..something I've never done and it felt great to not climb at a snails pace. We also had soooo much fun. We were very compatible and enjoyed the day...even laughed when out route dead-ended on dirt roads to no where.
We made it back just as the hunger rolled in...luckily Ron's place was just around the corner from a restaurant/pub, so we changed out of our sweaty duds and popped the top off a few Arrogant Bastards. Returned to the landing zone just in time to see Riss and Robb landing their paragliders after a rockin' and rollin' day in the air.
Totals were 45 miles, 3:15 time, 13.7mph (yes my fastest ride yet), max speed 33.5mph, 3007 feet of elevation--oh yeah and I earned that beer--2000 calories burnt:)
RL
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