I went out and rode the loop tonight, what a great night to ride. I had my plan when I left the house, warm up out of town, gradually pick up speed, attack the hills going up Y, and then slowly back off the pace and cool down coming back into town.
This is off the subject but when I turned onto Y, it felt like I was riding at 2" above sea level with the water almost onto the road.
My plan was going well until I got onto A, there was just a slight breeze coming out of the south but it really threw me out of my rythm. I continued South on A and started thinking about Dan Venner telling us on Monday that the big dog at the curve had come out at him on his last ride, at this point I was about 150-200 yds away from the curve and I looked up and there were 2 dogs standing at the edge of the road up there. The Walker (a.k.a. Big Dog) started charging right at me, my first thought was "Do I turn around?" but the words of a fellow rider (Timmy 29er) came into my head "What's the worst that could happen?" Well, I quickly tried to forget any realistic answer to that question and decided to continue on. I knew that we were not evenly matched, he had 2 weapons 1) his aggresive growl 2) his sharp teeth (both of which bother me a bit) and I had my precious 21oz Hammer Nutrition water bottle. I grabbed my weapon of choice as he got closer and gave him a squirt, it hit him in the head and body, I don't think he knew what happened. He fell behind and went around to the other side of the road and then began to pick up speed. I could see that he gained confidence with every stride. I quickly became a south paw with the water bottle (I should get paid more for that!!!) and when he was only a few steps away I scored a direct hit, right in the face and mouth. I didn't celebrate too long as I knew he had 4 legs and could catch up fast if needed but I don't think he wanted any more for the evening. I felt pretty good about the whole thing until I realized that I didn't have water in the bottle, instead I was drinking Heed. And then it hit me, I just fulfilled his daily requirements of electroytes and now he would be fresh for the next day, probably even faster. Plus I was thirsty by the time I got home.
Just be ready for interval training on A if you are riding the next day or two!!!
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Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:01 pm
On another note, It's true what they say: the camera does add a huge dent in the top of your head.