Sunday's ride and a new "killer" hill
Posted On Monday, July 7, 2008 at at 9:36 PM by MTB ManSunday at about 4PM, Charles and I set out from my house for a ride up to Thatcher Park on the Helderberg Escarpment and back.
We immediately ran into a downpour but waited it out under some trees overhanging the road and it let up in a few minutes. That was the end of the rain for the rest of the ride.
Thatcher park was one of those "feared" milestones for me. Something I didn't expect to attempt for some time but I was used to Charles challenging me on each ride so I wasn't surprised. I accepted matter of factly because I have come to look forward to these climbs.
To spice it up a little (although Charles said it was to avoid traffic) we took a side route up to the Thatcher park road which turned out to be the challenge of the day. This road is steeper and rougher than the main road, turning into gravel on the last and steepest half. It was a hard workout for me but definitely do-able, not as hard as our previous attempt at Powell Hill. A really steep crest of only a few feet for a couple of nice all-out spins of the crank and we were at the top.
The rest of the ride to the park overlook was uneventful; a moderate but steady climb. We passed turn offs for the infamous Pinnacle Road which Charles insists I can do (but not today, please) and Indian Ledge. The overlook was at the 13 mile point and after a brief rest to enjoy the view (hazy) we turned back. I had been having some lower back pain to this point. I'm not sure what was up with that because bike riding has been the cure for that in the past. Perhaps all that climbing. In any event, it wasn't a problem on the ride back.
Of course the return ride was mostly downhill although we didn't go back the way we came but looped south and then east to about the 24 mile point, then turned northeast to home.
A very good workout!
Average HR 129. That's 73%MHR for me.
32.75 miles.
Riding time 2:33.
Calories burned1273.
Max Heart rate: 163
Average Speed: 12.76 mph
Max Speed: 35.1 mph
Ascent: 1187 ft
Descent: 1167 ft
Average Cadence: 67
Here's the route!
