On the one hand, I've been swimming somewhat regularly since joining the local YMCA, but the biking portion has been a little... neglected. I've gone out a few times to ride on the (very flat) paths at the beach with my husband and daughter. I probably should have been the one pulling her around in the bike trailer, but I left that to my husband! Good thing because the last time we went out I fell off my bike. Oops. In retrospect, it was sort of humorous.
Scene: Me on my bike, biking shoes locked into the clipless pedals (sidenote - I'm not sure why they call it a clipless pedal since your shoes are clipped in? I can't be bothered to Google). Daughter is crying from inside the bike trailer because she accidentally turned off "the pad" and Mickey Mouse has ceased to stream. We stop suddenly at the first cry thinking something is horribly wrong. I turn/yank my right foot sideways to get it unclipped from the pedal. In super slow motion I begin to tip to my left as I'm frantically yanking my left foot sideways. I am convinced my toddler is greviously injured even though she is safely tucked away in the bike trailer with snacks galore and an ipad. Crash. I'm on the ground, in the dirt. My left elbow was a little scratched, but luckily that was my only injury, other than the severe blow to my pride. My daughter's immediate reaction, "Mommy fell off her bike." She still tells people about it. She even told her class during their Monday morning weekend review at preschool. I'm a legend.
Flash forward to three weeks ago, I was in the local shop that runs in the triathlon. What is this I spy? A map of the course for the taking. Yesssss. I grab it and quickly scrutinize the route. Doesn't look too bad, mostly through residential neighborhoods close to the beach, in fact, it goes right by my house. Until... until... I realize the last part of the route goes directly up a very, very steep hill. My husband likes to tell a story about riding up said hill with his friend. His friend puked at the top. This friend was in pretty decent shape. Ugh.
Monday morning I woke up at 5am. I thought, "Self, now is a good day to ride some of the bike route." I blindly grabbed my biking clothes in the dark, none of which match so I'm sure I looked AWESOME, and off I went. Right as I begin my ride I see a light flashing behind me. Some guy passes me on his bike and gives pleasant greetings, something like, "Good morning!" To which I responded, "(pant, pant) hi (pant, pant)." Again, this was at the beginning of my ride. Fantastic.
As I snaked my way through the neighborhoods, it really wasn't too bad. In fact, I was moving at a pretty quick clip. If it hadn't been dark, I probably would have gone down the hills much faster, too. I told myself when I got to the hill I would revert course and circle back home. Well, that didn't happen. I saw the hill and thought, "Self, you need to do this. You need to prove you can get up that hill, otherwise you'll be the lame-o walking up the hill on Sunday." Slowly, painfully I went up the hill. I actually was a bit of a lame-o and I cut it short and went off on a side street. Map my Run tells me the hill keeps going for another quarter of a mile, but supposedly the elevation change is minimal past the point I cut out.
For some perspective, here is a view of the hill. This is a view from the bottom; it curves left and keeps going.
As proof I am not exaggerating the severity of this hill, here is an elevation chart with grade:
By contrast, my running hill is a 5% elevation grade. That seems really, really silly in light of this particular hill.
In the end I did 75% of the course, and the only bit I didn't do was to/from the beach, which is entirely flat. Though I previously broke my bike's computer, when I got home I calculated that I'd pedaled a 16 mph speed on the course. I honestly have no idea if that's good or bad, but My Fitness Pal claims this speed is "vigorous." Thank you downhill portions!
In any event, Wednesday morning I picked this up
Time to make it happen.
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