Hanging Rock Leg/Lung/Gut Buster

No joke - these people are fast!

Last weekend's bad weather postponed our first planned ride to Hanging Rock of the year (which really bummed me out).  However, we rescheduled it for Sunday and lo and behold we had perfect weather and the ride came to fruition!  I had been talking w/ my friend & fellow RD (and pro mountain biker) Tommy Rogers about logistics and putting the word out to gather a good group of riders.  We decided to leave from Oak Ridge Park rather than High Point, which would allow us to avoid some slower stop/go traffic and get out into the countryside and the hills right away.  We met at the park at 10 am and to my shock there were about 30 riders there - guess the word got out!  Kurt & I were the only ones w/ tri bikes, so I'm sure everyone else was really happy about that, haha. 

 



Kurt prepping his steed

We got off to a fast start and I was really regretting having run 15 miles the day before.  My legs did not feel fresh.  In fact, I was hurting pretty much right off the bat.  We headed north into a beast of a headwind, though that didn't seem to slow down the cyclists.  They were also doing that surge thing that they love to do so much, which is pretty much the opposite of how triathletes train.  I kept getting dropped on the climbs and was NOT happy about this.  I kept thinking about how great it was that I was getting dropped from my own ride.  Awesome.  Kurt seemed to be doing just fine - yes I was glad for him but also irritated that I was not doing so fine.  My favorite bacon-eating rider, Brent, was also pulling up the rear w/ me, so we rode together for a little while at our own comfortable pace.  Basically I felt like crap for about the first 90 minutes of the ride and it was a struggle-fest. 

Me & Mr. Rogers

After that, either I started to break out of it or other people started to crack.  A bunch of people started breaking off and turning around and comparatively I started doing better.  The entire way to Hanging Rock we battled a fierce headwind and some seriously steep climbs.  I was scared to death going down one of the hills - I hit 45 mph and was just praying that my bike didn't fall apart on me.  I think some of the climbs on the way to Hanging Rock were actually worse than Hanging Rock itself!  Actually there was a good portion of the ride where I had pretty much decided that I would just wait at the base of the mountain instead of riding up b/c I was just too tired and didn't think my legs had it. 

Pro mountain biker, Kim Flynn, & her hubby

Mid-ride snack

However, by the time we got there I figured it would be a waste if I rode all the way out there and didn't summit.  So, I just took it easy and didn't try to push it.  And surprisingly, the climb felt easier than I remembered it from last year!  Well, maybe that's not so surprising since I'm about 10 lbs lighter now.  Anyhow, I think that it's a good sign.  Now, while the climb was enjoyable, the descent was kinda scary.  It's a pretty twisty road that I don't think was made for a tri bike to go down.  We re-grouped at the bottom and at this point there were only 6 cyclists left + me & Kurt.  Once you get to the bottom of Hanging Rock, you are really only half way there because the route back home is still incredibly hilly!  Kurt, one other guy, & I split off from the rest of the pack and rode our own pace back, letting the other guys punish themselves until their hearts were content.  Riding at my own pace I actually felt good.  I can tell that I have formed a really solid endurance base from the past 2 months of high volume riding.  I'm not there yet with the speed/power, but that's not what I've been working on and I know that stuff is coming soon. 

Overall it was a really fun ride, despite my painful burning quads and having to continuously remind myself that this was all my idea.  Be careful what you wish for right?  Thanks to everyone who came out and contributed to my suffering!  I'm looking forward to more of these types of rides and am already getting an itch to ride Pilot Mountain next weekend...

The pain-dishers