First outdoor bike ride of the season--a SAVAGE 72 miles

Last Monday my "official" SavageMan training program began. The program Coach Michele, of DC Tri HIP fame, put together isn't too rough for the first few weeks--likely because it is April and I didn't have to start in January--when I was really out of shape. I feel like I'm in decent shape for starting the program because I've been running for Nation's Half, had swimming lessons Jan-April, and had some awesome trainer/spin sessions with Andy M. Jan-Mar.

To wrap-up the inaugural week, I did this season's FIRST outdoor bike ride! I know... it has been nice for over a month, but I haven't gotten outside to ride until now! Of course, I've been commuting daily on my cyclocross bike, but "real" bike rides must wait for the weekend because it is impossible to ride anywhere around here without having to stop at a light every few blocks! So, thus far this spring I've been plugging away in the Art Studio/Garage on my trainer.

Saturday, after the HIP transition clinic, I drove to Poolesville, MD and met my friend, Steve, for a 72 mile roller-ride! The weather was cool and windy at the start of the ride, but I quickly got hot and shed a layer. Maybe I got hot because we did a lot of HILL work? Speaking of hills, there were a few points during the ride that I thought boy, I hate cycling; this is hard; I'm not going to be able to do SavageMan; insert grunt here; and, there was one hill that made me say, out loud, when I saw it on the approach, holy *hit. Guess which hill...

Let me tell you about this hill: Steve and I are rolling into a quaint, storybook-like village, Burkittsville, MD. Steve tells me a hill is coming up, I reply, "that's fine." At this point a Burkittsvillian overhears us and yells, "I'm waiting to hear you scream." This guy wasn't just being funny. As we rode out of town a windy two-lane road going straight up a giant hill appeared. It sucked. Apparently it was only 19% grade--steep, but not by SavageMan standards. At the top we were treated to Gathland State Park, water, toilets, a Civil War Correspondents memorial, and AT hikers (including one guy who was hiking the AT with his poodle, who had her own backpack!)

The good news: I finished the ride without getting off, without going anaerobic, without a sore rear-end, and without loosing the desire to be a SavageMan. The stats: 6 hours with stops, 5 hours of pedaling, 5500ft of climbing, 72 miles. And yes, today's run (the day after) was slow.