First Suncrest Of 2008

Last Friday I did the Suncrest south side climb with JE, so today for my lunch ride I decided to give the north side a try. I'm pretty sure the last time I went up Suncrest was Fall or Winter of last year. My legs felt tight on the first few steep sections and I wondered if I should just bail out on Mike Weir drive like last time. But when I got to the turn off my legs felt OK so I kept climbing. Then I came to the dreaded S-curve - an unrelenting >1 mile climb at 10% grade. Mark has needled me a few times about my triple so I determined I wouldn't use the granny gear. In fact, I was going to try to not go lower than 3rd gear. I settled into a rhythm after a 100 yards up the S-curve and felt OK. I wasn't setting any speed records, but I was happy I made it in 3rd. The last steep pitch is another 10% grade, but with confidence gained from the S-curve I motored up it to the 4-way stop. 1375' of climbing in 35 minutes. I wasn't spent so I continued straight through the intersection to reach the summit. This section hits a solid 12% for most of the slope and I was surprised I cranked it out in 3rd gear as well (although I should have used 2nd gear for a better cadence and not some much pressure on my knees). 1500' of climbing in 40 minutes. I zipped down and back to work in 12 minutes hitting 46 mph (I could have gone faster, but speeds over 50 mph make me uncomfortable). I felt good and was happy to see I can still do some sustained and fairly steep climbing without imploding - and in a larger gear than usual.

And happy 35th birthday to Mark, my frequent riding buddy - ride long and prosper!