Road spin: Aerobic and high cadence.
Cold and overcast.
Breathing was good and easy.
Mostly flat with the climbing as false-flats.
Distance: Heck, I don't know.
Route: 180 to Snow Bowl Rd.
I FELT GREAT!
Not only was this the first ride for me in several months, it was actually the first real road-ride I've done in Flagstaff. I had no idea concerning the quality the area had to offer. During my time living here I could find no interest in pavement as hundreds of miles of just dirt could be had.
It was, quite frankly, a lovely, lovely experience.
Nearly this entire year of 2008, I had been occuppied with the fast-paced and rhythmic flow of riding my moto on tacky dirt and technical rock. My life has gone through so many cataclysmic changes; I can see now in retrospect that for some time, not just this year but a long time coming, I had merely been on a mission to define my life's purpose. As a result, my reasons for cycling were shaken and out of place in the life that I wanted to lead. Cycling, like my marriage to Sahar, has facilitated developement and growth within; even if it only be this opportunity to consider it as such.
So today was the beginning of physical training for the Sierra Project and I have decided to take it one pedal-stroke at a time.
Highway 180.
The shoulder narrows to just about nonexistence here, just past the Flagstaff city limits...
like a typical backroad.
Then just around the corner no more that 100meters it widdens up to the where a small car could safely pass!
Can you tell I'm a happy boy to be on the bike? I'm fairly certain this was the look on my face the entire ride.
Passing drivers must have thought there was something wrong with me...
Snow Bowl Road The scenery was just amazing. Though I have driven this road on the way to the Canyon hundreds of times, it was a very different experience on a bicycle. At Snow Bowl Rd I climbed to the point where it begins to get steep. Not wanting to overdo it and also running out of daylight, I decided to turn around and leave it to another day.
On the way back to town it was mostly false-flat type climbing. I must have been warmed up because I felt so great and tuned that I could not help but hammer the entire way back. It was exhilarating, as it always is when one feels strong. The way that I felt, from the moment I left the house to the moment I returned, I had not felt about pedalling in a very long time.
Good nutrition and hydration; pre, dur, post.
Post stretching legs only and self-massage
I don't think I'll shave my legs just yet ;>)
Push-ups: 30 (...It's okay, I'm just starting)
Abs: 100 crunches
...shout out: Thanks Scotty for the glasses!
Great reading. Inspirational, at the very least.
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