Just another Saturday morning in Utah

I will NOT get off and walk. I will NOT get off and walk. DON’T look up ahead, just concentrate on the immediate road ahead. DON’T look up ahead. Just keep pedaling. Doooh! I looked! The top of the hill is still a long ways off. Concentrate. Pull up, push down, pull up, push down. I’m going 4 mph, but I’m still pedaling. Good grief, I shoulda done more conditioning rides before this. Such were some of my thoughts as I rode the hills around Sand Hollow Reservoir. Nice scenery, cool air, very little vehicle traffic. (This picture is at the top of that hill, that’s me in the back. . . or a rendition of what it was like - picture from last year.) Quick chit-chat’s with those I pass and those who pass me. I met one guy, as I stopped at the top of this long hill with others taking advantage to rest their legs, who had a stroke 6 yrs ago when he was 42 yrs old. Riding, he said, is saving his life.

This morning I "took part" in the Tour de St George. As I viewed the course on line, I noted that it started in St. George with the 30 mile turn around here in Coral Canyon. (I didn't want to pay for that.) The remainder of the ride went on around Sand Hollow, (where I'd been wanting to ride anyway) through Hurricane, out to Tourquerville, past Quail Creek Reservoir and back by Coral Canyon again, then back to St. George, for those ready, willing, young and able to do 65 miles or more. So, about an hour earlier I had joined the riders at Telegraph and the highway to Hurricane, heading east to Sand Hollow. I passed a few, I was passed by a few. My left knee began to hurt and I wondered if I could ride up that hill from Hurricane. I knew if I called Carol to come get me in the truck the hill will still be there. It had concerned me for three years, wondering how I'd do riding it. It’s several miles long and looks steep. The traffic speeds by a few feet away. The knee pain lessened and I went for it.

So, I got the monkey off my back. I pedaled up that hill, joining other riders who entered the highway coming from Quail Creek Reservoir. (I’d opted to cut off about 7 or 8 miles since I wasn’t even sure about riding this far, riding alone from Hurricane for about 5 miles.) The hill was a challenge, no one going more than 8 or 9 mph. Not as bad as I'd thought. Going up, I was passed by only one rider; a lady on a pink bike. (Hey, she was about 25 yrs old!) Maybe Brian C. can relate. . .maybe.


For the record, I didn't partake of any rest stop refreshments since I hadn't paid to ride. I rode 32 miles that seemed more due to the hills. Below is the elevation chart of the total ride. My portion was in the left-center. I need to live on the beach where it's flatter. (here we come, Alli.) I'm getting to old for this.

And to think I was going to lounge around and just read this morning. :-)