Two Wheel Blogs

We did our little epic on Sunday...or at least most of it.

We got up really early, and made it to the trail head by 8 and were riding by 8:30. I started off feeling good. I had all my skills and was negotiating the uber-tight switchbacks admirably. The trails were nice, some sections were more fun than others, and nothing was what I would classify as very technical...except for these switchbacks. Some of these switchbacks were like trying to turn your bike around in the bed of a pickup truck...they were tight and sometimes they were pretty steep too.

Somewhere about the 3 hour mark, I started noticing that anytime the trial turned up even slightly my HR spiked, my ears started ringing, and I started to feel really hot. Something was terribly wrong. I was getting sick. I told the guys (Cary and Pete) that I was sorry, but I was going to have to abort. They were totally cool about it...I guess they were tired too.

Because of the configuration of the trail, we could not simply abort and go home...we had to get back to the vehicles which were a long ways away. We plotted a return course that incorporated a bunch of trail, and probably about 9 miles of road. We finally made it back to the vehicles at about 3:30 (7 hours after starting the ride). I had plenty of leg strength, and my skills were still intact...I just could not put out any effort without pegging my HR. I also felt as if I could not get any air.

We rode the entire length of the trail and a good portion of the trail on the way back, but none of us can say we completed the ride (though, I am certain Cary and Pete could have had I not bailed on them).

Now I am sick..full blown head cold. My ears now ring 24-7. I only made it for about 2 hours at work yesterday before returning to my bed at home. Today I am at work, but will likely go home early.

Here is the funny part...My wife and kids went out of town on Friday and I had the house to myself over the weekend. When they got home on Sunday, they were all ill. It would seem that we all were coming down with it on Friday, but I managed to hold off a little longer before getting full blown sick on Monday. Hindsight is great....I thought I was dealing with allergies last week, but a little sniffle is typical for me in early spring.

Like 2-Old said the whole incident makes me cranky...so here is a silly picture like his...I think its fitting, because every time I tried to go up a hill, I was wishing I had some rocket boosters, but I ultimately felt like I was lugging around an anchor (the bike in this picture must weigh a ton).