First of all, I know what Coach Patricia will say to me. That is "what were you thinking!?" I know, I know, but it was "only" the summit. The one thing I should have realized (and I did but won't admit it) is that I have NOT ridden up the mountain for almost 2 years! In fact, I have done virtually ZERO road riding in the past 2 years. That I was on a new bike and maybe should make sure all my brake cables were adjusted before I descended 10 miles back down. That maybe I wasn't really ready at an endurance/physical level.
All I can say is "oh well." :-)
So I headed up on the new bike. I was interested to see how the climbing would be with compact cranks. I have ridden up Mt. Diablo dozens of times on my 53/39 and 27/12 set-up. So what would it be like with a 50/34 on the front? All I can say is that there was definitely a difference. I spun up (actually meandered up) to The Junction (~ 6 miles up) and felt great. Since I had not ridden anything like this for 20+ months I was quite happy with my progress. So I decided to go to the top. Heck, it was only 4.2 mile further. So I did.
Was fun to be out there and even gave a shout out to local pro triathlete Chris Lieto as he cruised by me while I was taking pictures (my Roberta Gonzales impersonation). I assume it was one of his last hammers up the mountain before Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in two weeks.
Anyhoo, I did overdo it. It was hot. I was tired this afternoon. But I did it!
Here are some pics from the ride:
A look out over the tri-valley. Curry Point. ~ 1,500 feet.
There were a few folks at the junction.
If you looks closely you can make out Curry Point below.
Done! Now it is 10 miles back down!
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