I have not been on the bike much this year. January I was sick most of the month, February I traveled a lot and when I was home it rained, so March I’ve had to kick it in gear to get back into climbing shape. What better way to do that than a 4 hour ride in the mountains, with 4700 feet of climbing? Ugh. Wow, did I suffer, and Strava confirmed it:

It was an absolutely beautiful, warm day, and much to our surprise, one of the roads was closed because of rock slides from the rain we’ve had so we didn’t have to deal with cars, motorcycles, skateboarders…just a handful of other cyclists out enjoying the spectacular day.

I couldn’t do much more than lie on my couch when we got home. It was an early night, to say the least. But I got back on my back today for a 1.5 hour recovery ride and about 1200 feet of climbing, and am happy to say I feel much better. It was another beautiful day, and I am grateful to be able to ride my bike, even when it hurts.

I have a long way to go to get back into decent climbing shape, but at least I’ve gotten one hard training ride out of the way!