Saturday, July 7, 2007
6:00 AM
the hills kicked my butt :(
Activity: Biking
Distance: 13.75 miles
Time: ~1:20:00 minutes
Average: my cadence monitor said 12.5 mph. not sure if this included walking up that hill.
I was supposed to do 30 miles today, and I was actually quite excited for the challenge. I was home in Pittburgh this weekend, so I planned a route that headed down Blackburn Heights into Sewickley. It's funny - I remember Blackburn as being much flatter. Hills seem much less intimidating in a car, I guess.
The bridge over I-79 on Rochester Road is closed, so I went down Macaleer. This part really wasn't that bad. Once I got down the first part of the hill, it really flattened out. Then I made a right onto Mt. Nebo and attempted to ascend the monster hill. I made it halfway...my legs were burning so bad even though I was in the lowest possible gear. I also stood up to get gravity working for me. It was just too much. I got to the point where I didn't think that I would be able to clip out if I went any farther.
At this point, I was still hopeful that the rest of the ride would be fine. I knew that Mt. Nebo Rd had a long, steep hill, but I thought that the rest of the route would be much flatter. It was, but there were still A LOT of hills, all up and down and no flat parts. The hills were so bad that I ended up braking for fear of death on the downhills. This was not an aerobic workout!
By the time I got to Sewickley, my legs were shot. Blackburn was pretty much all downhill for the last mile or two, meaning that I would have to climb all the way back up to get home. I clipped out and called my mom to come get me.. thanks mom!
While I was waiting for my mom, I biked back and forth on Centennial Ave (yay for flat roads by the river!). This let me wind down a little. I wish that I had waited to call my mom and biked around the flat streets of Sewickley for an hour or so. That would have put me closer to the 30 mile mark. It also would have been a much more enjoyable ride. I love Sewickley :-D
Sooo I have yet to do a 30 mile bike ride - the distance that the triathlon will be. I guess that I'll attempt this next Saturday in State College. You can bet that I will be very wary of hills when I plan that route! Happy Valley is much flatter than the North Hills tho, thankfully!
mood:
i'm sad that i didn't do 30.
health:
my legs are shot.
Distance: 13.75 miles
Time: ~1:20:00 minutes
Average: my cadence monitor said 12.5 mph. not sure if this included walking up that hill.
I was supposed to do 30 miles today, and I was actually quite excited for the challenge. I was home in Pittburgh this weekend, so I planned a route that headed down Blackburn Heights into Sewickley. It's funny - I remember Blackburn as being much flatter. Hills seem much less intimidating in a car, I guess.
The bridge over I-79 on Rochester Road is closed, so I went down Macaleer. This part really wasn't that bad. Once I got down the first part of the hill, it really flattened out. Then I made a right onto Mt. Nebo and attempted to ascend the monster hill. I made it halfway...my legs were burning so bad even though I was in the lowest possible gear. I also stood up to get gravity working for me. It was just too much. I got to the point where I didn't think that I would be able to clip out if I went any farther.
At this point, I was still hopeful that the rest of the ride would be fine. I knew that Mt. Nebo Rd had a long, steep hill, but I thought that the rest of the route would be much flatter. It was, but there were still A LOT of hills, all up and down and no flat parts. The hills were so bad that I ended up braking for fear of death on the downhills. This was not an aerobic workout!
By the time I got to Sewickley, my legs were shot. Blackburn was pretty much all downhill for the last mile or two, meaning that I would have to climb all the way back up to get home. I clipped out and called my mom to come get me.. thanks mom!
While I was waiting for my mom, I biked back and forth on Centennial Ave (yay for flat roads by the river!). This let me wind down a little. I wish that I had waited to call my mom and biked around the flat streets of Sewickley for an hour or so. That would have put me closer to the 30 mile mark. It also would have been a much more enjoyable ride. I love Sewickley :-D
Sooo I have yet to do a 30 mile bike ride - the distance that the triathlon will be. I guess that I'll attempt this next Saturday in State College. You can bet that I will be very wary of hills when I plan that route! Happy Valley is much flatter than the North Hills tho, thankfully!
mood:
i'm sad that i didn't do 30.health:
my legs are shot.# posted by Steph 
