A good morning cooking at Community Meals. Marilyn, (whose picture I meant to get) was the provider of today’s great sautéed pork tenderloin meal. For her 50th anniversary party she had guest contribute money toward Community Meals. By the time I Ieft , ran a couple of errands and made it home, I was fairly tired and just kicking back was very attractive. Given the time constraint, I knew today would only be a one hour ride in the neighborhood. As I took off, I contemplated just keeping to the level areas but I really wanted more of a challenge. So, I headed for what I refer to in my log as The Big Hill which would also let Biking for Food Pledgers off easy as the miles do not add up very quickly on The Big Hill.
The Big Hill isn’t so much long as it is steep. It drops for about 2/10ths of a mile and comes to a T. To the left, the road runs fairly level for another ¼ mile. To the right, the road drops steeply for another 2/10ths of a mile. I go there for training as the upper part of the hill has got to be one of the steepest grades I have ever encountered. So steep, that its grade is not fit for print and if it were any steeper, one would probably fall over backwards on his/her bike. As a matter of fact, when I have trained with by bike fully loaded-down with gear for a road trip, I do have to be careful not to lean back or else the front wheel comes up. So, yes, one could fall over backwards.
Because of the T at the bottom of the first part of the hill, I can’t just let fly. It’s a balancing act of squeezing just enough to slow down, releasing so that I don’t burn out the brakes and squeezing again for a couple of seconds before I pick up too much speed to no longer be able to stop. Sometimes, I feel as if the brake handles are going to crumble in my hands and I will hurl down the hill into the field of thorns at the bottom. Usually, I like to think of escape routes for situations. But in this case, there really isn’t one so I try not to think of brake failure.
My record for going up and down is 9 times. 4/10ths down, 4/10ths up, 4/10ths down, 4/10ths back up. And so it goes. I’m never quite sure how long I will last. I have had grand plans several times to break my 9 times record but I have come close only once. It’s odd because I know I’m capable of doing more than 3.6 worth of miles. In fact, my biggest uphill challenge was 22 straight miles uphill on Mt. Lemmon in Tucson. But, the grade there never came close to the grade of my little Big Hill. And, this isn’t quite the same thing, taking a very different kind of discipline. The glory of accomplishing going up and down and up and down doesn’t quite have the same glory as riding to the top of a mountain or traveling a certain distance.
The first lap always seems to be the hardest as my legs scream out, “what the hell are you doing!” Today was a good day with the 2nd and 3rd laps going much easier than the first. At one point, my paranoia of brake failure turned to wondering if I would get assaulted by a police dog. As I go uphill, off to the right, is a farm that trains K-9 dogs. I’ve passed dogs being trained on several occasions and never really gave them much thought as the dogs always seemed very focused on obeying their commands. Today, the training was a bit more intense with blanks being fired and a “bad guy” doing his best to provoke the dog. I had visions as I came into sight, that the canine would find the “fleeing” figure (me) someone who needed taking down. Fortunately, the training ended peacefully and I was able to go back to worrying about brake failure.
Today's Ride: 79 mins. Miles:10.14 60 degrees. Miles YTD: 810.15
Yes!!! Pledges are still being taken! at www.stpaulsfay.org/bikingforfood
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