redlands savage hills challenge
what a fun ride!
i was worried about the weather cuz it was only supposed to be 66 and cloudy (so cold for me)... well... i was glad to have that cool weather and cloud cover! i wore my jacket most of the day... but did a lot of unzipping of both the jacket and jersey when climbing!
i was even more impressed when i found out the rotary got this put together in about 2 months! good job!
they had a gimmick.. and i loved it! at the top of each hill climb (there were 7 official ones) you got a sticker placed on your number.. if you got all 7... you earned the "i survived the hills challenge" t-shirt...
hill #1 was steep! wow! yes.. it registered 22% at several points on my gps (garmin edge 305)!
hill #2 was the witch climb of the day (substitute a b).... it was long and it was steep.. and did i say it was long? it was an out and back hill and one gal was weaving back and forth back and forth just to get up it... she finally got off and walked (i was glad cuz she was making me nervous cuz i thought she was gonna cause and accident with the riders descending!)
i just ground it out.... 1, 2, 3, 4... groan 1, 2, 3, 4 groan..... made it to the top... phew! i made sure i got that sticker!
the descent of that one actually scared me cuz the top part was so steep (again.. several parts were registering up to 22 with extended portions in the high teens) i just knew i was going to need new brake pads after that ride! i was shocked at the number of riders i passed going up.. walking! and that was only climb 2!
continued on... more hills..... more stickers! i think it was number 4 or 5 that the lady said the worst was over (that one and #2).... she was right... that was one short but very steep (who knew redlands had all that steep climbing and we didn't even climb oak glen!)
i was happy to get sticker #7... the final 5 miles were basically downhill after that!!
this ride is on my short list for next year! hopefully the rotary will improve on a couple of aspects... and i'd love to get a medal instead of a t-shirt! (especially since we already get a t-shirt just for signing up)
all in all it was a good way to spend a saturday! (and my knees weren't aching at the end!)
