I thought I would share the beautiful bike I have been riding since I arrived in Potsdam. This is my Dad's Pinarello Maxim(1994?). Its a masterpiece. Its like driving a classic Ferrari after touring all summer with a weighed down truck. I have had loads of fun flying around the roads of St. Lawerence County. For my last day in town I did a 50 mile time trial on the notorious white hill loop. Its a steady climb for the first 15 miles, then 20 miles in the forest until you bomb down the last 15. I really wanted to see what I could do so I checked the time before I left and started riding hard. I hoped that I might be able to average 20 miles per hour, two and a half hour ride. I maintained a solid effort on the climb keeping in mind to save enough to hammer back later. I remembered all the moments this summer where I wanted to give up, wanted to slow down, and pushed through. The mind will tell you to stop long before you have to. I knew that I needed to keep the effort up early. After the climb I tried to recover and still hold a solid pace through the forest. I was cramping and my muscles were crying out. Just as I was slacking I sighted a young black bear crossing the road. This unexpected wildlife experience gave me a mental boost and I started pushing just that extra bit harder. As I was flying over the rollers on the raquette river road it started pouring. But the rain just cooled me down and gave me something to fight against. When I got back to route 56 I knew I had to give it all I had. I got in a high gear and tried to let my body do work. It was intermittently pouring and my back was killing me. I flew through Colton and Hannawa Falls and as I climbed the last couple rises going into Potsdam I knew I had gauged my effort well as I was starting to fall apart just a little. I was excited to see my ride time and while I tried to enjoy my last ride in Potsdam this summer, I knew I needed to keep the push in case the clock was close. As I pulled into my driveway I checked the time and smiled with delight. Two hours and twenty nine minutes. What a way to cap off a great stay in Potsdam.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
White Hill
I thought I would share the beautiful bike I have been riding since I arrived in Potsdam. This is my Dad's Pinarello Maxim(1994?). Its a masterpiece. Its like driving a classic Ferrari after touring all summer with a weighed down truck. I have had loads of fun flying around the roads of St. Lawerence County. For my last day in town I did a 50 mile time trial on the notorious white hill loop. Its a steady climb for the first 15 miles, then 20 miles in the forest until you bomb down the last 15. I really wanted to see what I could do so I checked the time before I left and started riding hard. I hoped that I might be able to average 20 miles per hour, two and a half hour ride. I maintained a solid effort on the climb keeping in mind to save enough to hammer back later. I remembered all the moments this summer where I wanted to give up, wanted to slow down, and pushed through. The mind will tell you to stop long before you have to. I knew that I needed to keep the effort up early. After the climb I tried to recover and still hold a solid pace through the forest. I was cramping and my muscles were crying out. Just as I was slacking I sighted a young black bear crossing the road. This unexpected wildlife experience gave me a mental boost and I started pushing just that extra bit harder. As I was flying over the rollers on the raquette river road it started pouring. But the rain just cooled me down and gave me something to fight against. When I got back to route 56 I knew I had to give it all I had. I got in a high gear and tried to let my body do work. It was intermittently pouring and my back was killing me. I flew through Colton and Hannawa Falls and as I climbed the last couple rises going into Potsdam I knew I had gauged my effort well as I was starting to fall apart just a little. I was excited to see my ride time and while I tried to enjoy my last ride in Potsdam this summer, I knew I needed to keep the push in case the clock was close. As I pulled into my driveway I checked the time and smiled with delight. Two hours and twenty nine minutes. What a way to cap off a great stay in Potsdam.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Awesome riding Dane! Good luck back in Portland with your new post-grad life. Stay in touch and give my best to the D-Simms.
ReplyDeleteAwesome riding Dane! Good luck back in Portland with your new post-grad life. Stay in touch and give my best to the D-Simms.
ReplyDelete