Dazed and no longer confused:
Was I happy to reach the marker!
Was I happy to reach the marker!
courtesy: Guy (our FRF Patron)
Last Friday a small group of FRFuggitivi's made the annual pilgrimage to ride up Mount Seymour. Our group usually rides in July, when le Tour is on, in honor of Bastille Day. But this day in May, at the foot of the climb I noticed it unusually warm. Before the climb, Mario steered us beside the giant provincial park sign for a photo. I was feeling good.
The Seymour climb is long and on a scale of 1-10 in terms of fun factor, well if it wasn't for the clear view of Mt. Baker - I'll have to give a lowly 1. At the start of the climb I knew where I would be - forming the gruppetto. And I routinely position myself shared with my 'roommate' Mario. The weather was good but as I started climbing I notice the unrelenting heat more like July. Seymour is a nasty climb; 12.5kms, elevation of 1,040 metres, 7% average gradient. It's deceiving because the first half of the climb is much steeper than the second.
At the 7km marker I was starting to feel dizzy and decided to stop in a shaded side of the road. I told Mario and Guy to go on - actually I considered turning around and down the mountain. But, I thought of how far I've come and the Velominati Rule #5 gnawed into my mind. I pushed on. Now I understand, had I stopped riding I would literally roll down the hill. That wasn't going to happen as I re-discovered my rhythm. I past the roundabout overlooking a beautiful clear view of Mt. Baker and really wanted to stop to take a snap. But, no way I was going to stop and break my new form rhythm. I hit the 11km marker and started to feel again my tight legs, a bad sign. The rest of the guys were on their way back down as I struggled upwards. Guy, Jos and Scott turned around and paced me up encouraging me. I want to thank them again for the team work. And a special thanks to the two elderly ladies that drove beside and offered each of us a most welcome... Werther's toffee.
My Strava numbers: Up: 12.1km, 1:21:35 @ 8.9kmh. Down: 12.1km, 16:50 @ 43.6km/h
The Seymour climb is long and on a scale of 1-10 in terms of fun factor, well if it wasn't for the clear view of Mt. Baker - I'll have to give a lowly 1. At the start of the climb I knew where I would be - forming the gruppetto. And I routinely position myself shared with my 'roommate' Mario. The weather was good but as I started climbing I notice the unrelenting heat more like July. Seymour is a nasty climb; 12.5kms, elevation of 1,040 metres, 7% average gradient. It's deceiving because the first half of the climb is much steeper than the second.
At the 7km marker I was starting to feel dizzy and decided to stop in a shaded side of the road. I told Mario and Guy to go on - actually I considered turning around and down the mountain. But, I thought of how far I've come and the Velominati Rule #5 gnawed into my mind. I pushed on. Now I understand, had I stopped riding I would literally roll down the hill. That wasn't going to happen as I re-discovered my rhythm. I past the roundabout overlooking a beautiful clear view of Mt. Baker and really wanted to stop to take a snap. But, no way I was going to stop and break my new form rhythm. I hit the 11km marker and started to feel again my tight legs, a bad sign. The rest of the guys were on their way back down as I struggled upwards. Guy, Jos and Scott turned around and paced me up encouraging me. I want to thank them again for the team work. And a special thanks to the two elderly ladies that drove beside and offered each of us a most welcome... Werther's toffee.
My Strava numbers: Up: 12.1km, 1:21:35 @ 8.9kmh. Down: 12.1km, 16:50 @ 43.6km/h
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