The first day that the 6-man group convenes is always the toughest. We ride like medical residents eat–as if there will be no food tomorrow.
After riding into clouds and through rain storms on the first few pre-camp days, the sun powered us. It begged us to ride more. We obliged.
We left the hotel on our bikes at 0900 and returned at 1830. The garmin showed 5:36 of actiual ride time. 51 miles, 6800 feet climbing, 6800 feet descending, 9.3 mph average and 3600 calories burned.
The local canyons here in Laguna rise about 1000 feet. That doesn’t sound like much but the issue is how short in distance they are. Steep would be an understatement. Granny gear at 3 mph for 30-40 minutes at a time. It’s not like a crit.
I know…It seems like too much. I agree. I did well for 7.5 hours of the nine.
The toughest part for slow-twitch guys like me is not the distance.
It’s this…
I made it but it wasn’t easy.
JMM
