Mark B
Zen MBB Master
Today's ride involved some climbing. We left out from the meeting spot and started right in on Sunset, a ride I've talked about in previous reports. I'm happy to say, I made it up to the top of this ride the easiest I have ever done it since coming back. I did not have to stop once to catch my breath, so I guess my conditioning is progressing pretty well. After Sunset, we dropped down into Yucaipa and came back up and over Sand Canyon, which is another pretty good grade. Made it over that pretty easy and in fact, crested at about 20 mph. OK, so there is a little downhill before the last rise that I was able to get a run at, but who cares? 
The downhill side of it coming back into Redlands is 6 and 7% and I hit 42 mph going down that. That's the fastest I've been able to let the Silvio go to date. Once we came off that, we turned up Crafton Avenue and headed over to a local favorite ride called Greenspot. Again, I was charging pretty hard up the long, gradual climb, trying to get a good leg burn going. We stopped to regroup at the jerky shop and met a motorcycle rider that was hanging out in the shade drinking a 40 at 9:30 in the morning. He couldn't get enough of the Silvio. He kept going on and on and on about it. We headed out from there and got into another nice downhill section. I pulled way in front of the group and ended up waiting at the regroup spot for quite awhile. The next section is called Greenspot Road and is a long gradual downhill. Usually really fun to get a fast moving paceline on if you have that kind of group. We did not have that kind of group today, but a racer type lady and I took off down the road, me pulling and spinning out at about 33 mph. I've decided that's just about my maximum that I can actually pedal at, at least for now. From there, we jumped on the route of our Sunday morning breakfast ride. I pulled those that could go along at a pretty comfy (for me) 18 mph. Not pushing at all, just cruising. I felt like I could have ridden at that pace all day! We circled around and headed back to the coffee shop when one of the guys suggested a stop for frozen custard at an out of the way shop on the way back. It was getting pretty hot, so the stop felt good and the ice cold treat did a fantastic job of getting core temps back down.
By the time I got home, I had about 45 miles in. It was fewer miles than I wanted, but alot more climbing than I had counted on. I felt the front wheel slip once or twice. Skip is more the word for it. It didn't really feel like I was peeling out. It got really hot, about 103 this afternoon, so I was glad to get home when I did. I continue to feel more and more comfortable on the bike.... Dialing it in more every time I ride it. I was excited to be able to spin out at 33 mph, that was a first. Usually, I was pretty content on downhills to coast and take it easy. Now, I'm charging harder and getting more aggressive as I grow into the bike. The same is true with climbing. I feel like my climbing is getting better all the time and can hardly wait to see what my full potential is as I get in better shape and gain better command of the bike. I stand by my assertion that riding this bike and riding it well are two completely different matters. I can ride the bike OK, but find that I'm riding it better all the time. It's more than just conditioning, it's muscle memory and repitition that bring about fine tuning in your handling abilities. There is no way to attain this except to spend time in the saddle and fortunately, this is a bike that just begs to be ridden.
Mark
The downhill side of it coming back into Redlands is 6 and 7% and I hit 42 mph going down that. That's the fastest I've been able to let the Silvio go to date. Once we came off that, we turned up Crafton Avenue and headed over to a local favorite ride called Greenspot. Again, I was charging pretty hard up the long, gradual climb, trying to get a good leg burn going. We stopped to regroup at the jerky shop and met a motorcycle rider that was hanging out in the shade drinking a 40 at 9:30 in the morning. He couldn't get enough of the Silvio. He kept going on and on and on about it. We headed out from there and got into another nice downhill section. I pulled way in front of the group and ended up waiting at the regroup spot for quite awhile. The next section is called Greenspot Road and is a long gradual downhill. Usually really fun to get a fast moving paceline on if you have that kind of group. We did not have that kind of group today, but a racer type lady and I took off down the road, me pulling and spinning out at about 33 mph. I've decided that's just about my maximum that I can actually pedal at, at least for now. From there, we jumped on the route of our Sunday morning breakfast ride. I pulled those that could go along at a pretty comfy (for me) 18 mph. Not pushing at all, just cruising. I felt like I could have ridden at that pace all day! We circled around and headed back to the coffee shop when one of the guys suggested a stop for frozen custard at an out of the way shop on the way back. It was getting pretty hot, so the stop felt good and the ice cold treat did a fantastic job of getting core temps back down.By the time I got home, I had about 45 miles in. It was fewer miles than I wanted, but alot more climbing than I had counted on. I felt the front wheel slip once or twice. Skip is more the word for it. It didn't really feel like I was peeling out. It got really hot, about 103 this afternoon, so I was glad to get home when I did. I continue to feel more and more comfortable on the bike.... Dialing it in more every time I ride it. I was excited to be able to spin out at 33 mph, that was a first. Usually, I was pretty content on downhills to coast and take it easy. Now, I'm charging harder and getting more aggressive as I grow into the bike. The same is true with climbing. I feel like my climbing is getting better all the time and can hardly wait to see what my full potential is as I get in better shape and gain better command of the bike. I stand by my assertion that riding this bike and riding it well are two completely different matters. I can ride the bike OK, but find that I'm riding it better all the time. It's more than just conditioning, it's muscle memory and repitition that bring about fine tuning in your handling abilities. There is no way to attain this except to spend time in the saddle and fortunately, this is a bike that just begs to be ridden.
Mark
