Last weekend was the Livestrong Challenge. Great event, great people, great cycling, less than ideal weather, great cause (for a shameless plug dont forget that the fundraising still continues - fun update on that to come in the near future). It was a great day as I previously documented, but the part of myself I was most proud of and also most upset about was Montreux. I had heard about it, I had read about it, and I decided to just let the wheels turn as they needed to turn and make the trek up blindly. Hindsight is 20/20 and I really wish that I would have driven the route to see what it would be like. For those who don't know or would want to do some Googling (or Bing-ing) Montreux is the name of a climb down near Issaquah. From Newport Way you head up Village Park Drive to the lowland portion of Cougar Mountain. The climb is just over 600 ft of elevation, a slight dip to Lakemont and then a bit more of a climb (very gradual) once on Lakemont. The average grade is 9% however that is the average - steepest I think I read somewhere is about 15%. I was feeling really good going up the hill with Patrick, and then I got on myself mentally - this was when my legs were just BURNING. He told me I could do it and that it got more gradual right after the hairpin. From all I could see it was just going up. So I dropped, took a 30 second breather, wondered how the hell I was going to clip back in on such an incline, and kept grinding.
Well if you are at all competitive you know what that does to you. For a week I thought of how and when I could get back down to Issaquah and force myself to stay on those pedals just grinding. Happy birthday to me! I decided that CBRE's gift to me was that I didn't have any AM meetings so I got on my bike, kept pedaling beyond work, through Marymoor, along East Lake Sammamish and down to Montreux. I was nearing the intersection, looked up and said, this is going to be the best or the worst idea. I pulled out my elk tooth from the Big Guy for some added motivation and push and started grinding up. Slow and steady, slow and steady. There is no reason to push yourself to the top, Andrew, just get there. My lungs were burning. Why did I think this was a good idea? I'm not even nearing the hairpin and adrenaline must have gotten me this far last week, how will I keep going. OXYGEN - LUNGS...NEED...OXY gasp GEN. I confess, I decided to take it easy. I did some zig zags from one side of the road to the other, just turning my head to see when the cars were coming. Nothing wrong with that, I was still going up. I was approaching the hairpin and the inside is definitely steeper but you gotta keep mashing. A few more zig zags and then I could see one of the turnouts where Patrick and I waited for the others. Push me Big Guy, push me! Legs were melting, but I got there. And just like Patrick said and I saw the week before, it flattens out from there - in other words, why take a break. Keep on pushing it. I got to the top and got off the bike, not for a break but to take a picture. I probably scared a few stay-at-home mom's with my scream of happiness looking out over the valley, but I didn't care. Headed down to Lakemont, knowing it's not as steep but just as long I decided I didn't need to give myself any speed. In fact, once I looked down and saw I was going 49.6mph I decided to hit the brakes a little bit. Exhilarating, but I still wasn't ready to look down and see that I was going over 50 on a bike.
I took the rolling hill route home too so I had a good day of climbing. Today, I left for work a little later than normal and decided I could take it easy so I just went the quick and easy way. On the way home I was reflecting on the past months of my life. Yes, I tried to get on the rollers and get the legs moving on a regular basis for a base, but still. In late February, I had my respiratory infection and was out of breath climbing stairs. I can still remember getting on my rollers, pushing myself to go 2.5 miles, getting off, going outside and just crying because I just couldn't get myself to push it more. I can remember the good days when I was huffin' and puffin' to get up Hwy 9. "Going down to work is fun, but the way home is uphill." Now today on my "resting day ride" home I was still spinning at 90-100 rpm up the hill (steady 105+ on the flats) cruising at no less than 14mph up Hwy 9 without even getting into the small chainring. I can remember when my "new best" for getting home was under 48 minutes. Taking it easy today, I was curious once I got to 180th since I was spinning comfortably at 100+ average and I pulled in at about 44:10. Cycling - great for the mind, great for the body.
Nothing is official yet but I'm starting to think about next year since there wont be any more organized rides I dont think (most of them happen end of July or beginning of August and I might be busy). Definitely have the LSC 100-mile on the schedule, definitely looking at the STP and leaning toward the 1-day and then to prep might do the Flying Wheels Century and depending on how I feel through the cool winter maybe even the Chilly Hilly. I admit, I was a little bit of a wannabe last fall, when I started commuting, but I think I can say I'm turning the corner and can nearly classify myself as a cyclist.
Don't forget to cheer on Lance starting Saturday!
LIVESTRONG!
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