40 Mile Ride Through The Knobs (See: Hilly)

After last week's ride I was SUPER ANXIOUS about the hills on this 40-miler. Yes, it's 8 miles less than what I did last week, but I have heard horror stories about the "hills in the Knobs," and this had me worried. Nonetheless, I got my butt out of bed and met a good crowd of riders at the NA YMCA to start our journey. I had looked at the elevation map prior to the ride, and knew there was a large hill about 5 miles in, as well as another STEEPER monster about 35 miles in. Todd told me the one at mile 5 wasn't so bad and, truth be told, it wasn't exactly horrible. It was a slow, gradual climb that I managed to make all the way to the top using the lowest gears while spinning my wheels. As we continued on I thought, "this isn't so bad." After last week's hills I thought for sure I'd be a mental-case once again, but I kept my wits about me and kept on keeping on. There were some small rollers, and some not-so-small, but overall it wasn't that bad and before I knew it we were making a stop at the half-way point for folks to refuel and use the potty. I had learned my lesson after last week's nutrition fail, and ate a Bonk Breaker prior to the ride, filled my torpedo with Infinit, as well as two water bottles full of water and a few Gu's. I tried to drink the Infinit when I could, but at times I felt nauseous when I would crest a hill and the last thing I wanted to do while slowly recovering was take a sip. I did manage a Roctane Gu at the halfway point, and felt fine getting that down. After the stop we were off yet again and made our way around Huber's, which wasn't too bad. Again, a couple of big rollers here and there, but mostly flat with a few small hils. Around the 30 mile mark we all stopped to meet up once again, and I mentioned to Todd that I had seen on the elevation map that there was a large, steep hill up ahead. One thing that I learned from this cycling experience: Never believe a word Todd says. He played dumb at the time and said, "I don't remember that, but if there is one coming up I'll let you know ahead of time." Well, low and behold about 2-3 miles ahead what do I see in front of me? The worlds largest hill (okay, I'm slightly exaggerating here, but after 30+ miles it sure looked like it.) By this time my legs were toast and I was struggling. Just a little ways up the hill I unclipped and decided to walk my bike up - which ended up being quite a workout for my calves, to say the least, since the clips on my shoes had my toes angled upward. I got to the top and again, we rolled out. Along we went, small roller after medium roller until, once again, we get to the bottom of another hill. This one not nearly as steep or as long - I would probably compare it to Zorn Avenue, but with the last hill still fresh in my mind, as well as my legs STILL feeling the burn, I once again hopped off and hoofed it. Truthfully - I probably could have gotten up this hill, and had it been earlier in the ride I would have definitely handled it just fine, but by this point I was more than a bit tired and knowing that the end was coming up soon and I had already completed a ton of hill work, I felt no guilt. Continuing on, once again, I looked forward to a large downhill that we just coasted down (see: riding my breaks the entire time) as it was hella-steep. I'm not familiar at all with New Albany, or Indiana for that matter, so I was clueless as to where we were - I just knew we had about 3-5 miles left before my poor little legs (as well as my bum) could finally get a rest. When it was all said and done I felt pretty decent and very accomplished and proud of myself for sticking it out and muddling up those hills. I would like to try that route again, and am sure I will, to get up that huge fella that had me down at mile 30. It will be nice to see how much stronger I become in the coming months. A few thoughts post ride: 1) Happy I got the biking bibs, but not sure it made a huge difference. My pooniny is still sore and tender, as well as my fanny, but I will continue to ride and see if that ceases. 2) I didn't get emotional at all on this ride, and I think that was due to being better prepared with my nutrition. I will continue to play with this and see what works. 3) Cycling gloves are amazing - my hands feel much better than they did last week. 4) And as always, I appreciate so much the support and encouragement, as well as the knowledge that I continue to obtain from this wonderful group of people. I wouldn't be where I am today without them!