First Mountain Ride

[Woodstock Hippy]

This is my normal route at the upstate house.  I took out my trusty old Trek 5200, the same model that Lance used to start winning all those Tour de France's.  I drove my truck down my road because I just knew that I'd be in no shape to finish the ride with a 2.5 mile steep climb ending on dirt.  So, the first 4.5 miles is downhill at around 20 mph into Phoenicia, then 9.5 climbing with three tough sections.  At the top of that climb my hip muscles were hurting pretty bad, but then 45 mph into Hunter, rolling downhill with the wind in my face to Lexington turn into a false flat grind again into the headwind to West Kill then the killer: 2 miles up a tough steep climb.  I did it at 4.5 to 5.5 mph, the slowest I've ever seen a bicycle go. But then I get the glory; 7 miles downhill hitting 35 or so back to my truck at the bottom of my road.

I've been hurting for the rest of the day, although I did go gather rocks for two hours for the fireplace in my new sun room.  Still, I'm smiling inside and feeling great!

[stephen1254]

Sounds pretty good, particularly for the first ride. The bike fitness will take awhile to come back, but every ride gets easier. Isn't it nice to be thinking about something else - your new hips - instead of how sore your butt is because its the first mountain ride of the season?