Fortunately, by the time the temperature reached 102, my Felt bicycle had been sleeping soundly in the garage for hours. That’s because we started our ride this morning bright and early at 0700 hours.

Jennifer, Joel and Marco were my ride buddies this morning. Unfortunately, Jennifer ended up missing the ride since she discovered that the cleat on her shoe had broken off which would not allow her to clip-in or out of her KEO Classic pedals.

The route this morning was a new one that Marco devised which included revisiting an old nemesis of mine. A big hill on Scenic Loop road which I had last encountered on March 12, 2006 – my first ride with my new road bike. I remember that hill well. Remember how my legs became bricks and my lungs nearly exploded. I remember defeat. Stopping about 3/4 of the way up…panting…and joking with some joggers coming down the hill that I was giving “the bike a rest.”

Today would be different. And it was…

I climbed up the hill with relative ease. Don’t get me wrong now. The hill fought back. It increased my heart rate to 162 beats per minute! But stop me? No longer. I’m a different rider. A better cyclist.

One of the real joys of cycling is how well you notice improvements in your health. Hills that destroyed you in the past become simply a “good workout.” It felt great to make short work of that hill today!

Our ride today was just over 40 miles. The toughest challenge I seem to be facing with the longer mileage is comfort. Hands/wrists start to get sore. Every once in awhile I feel a little numbness in the nether regions.

In fact, last week after the 46 mile Valero ride I experienced my first saddle sore. An unwelcome “badge of honor” that shorter rides had helped me avoid.

So…as I prepare for that century (100 miles in bike speak) on the first day of the MS 150 I know that some new challenges must be faced. I look forward to finding ways to conquer them and I know I will!