Thanks, salsabike and rebeccaC After a couple months of Seattle winter damp, it was so nice to ride in the warmth (even if it was cold at the summit, and the first 1/2 of the descent). Though I have to chime in on the PNW winter discussion above, and say that what I LOVE about the winter here is how it encourages you to curl up under a blanket with chocolate and a book My cats love that too!

But I will be bundling up for my commute to work tomorrow. Sigh.

I was super-nervous leading up to the ride (hard to get breakfast down, the whole works) so it was almost a relief to start the climb--and as hard as it was, I never felt awful. A few times I started to feel discouraged about how long I had been climbing and how much further I still had to go, but then I would make myself look around a bit, take in the view, and try to tell myself that the longer it took, the better, since it was so beautiful out. That sometimes worked... But the gorgeous setting of the climb definitely made it psychologically easier. Physically... Well, this was one of the few rides I actually had sore muscles from the next day. Fatigued muscles, sure--but bike rides hardly ever leave my muscles actually hurting. It was hard. The elevation--especially for someone living at sea level--is just overwhelming. You can't fight it, you just have to slow down and accept that you can't breathe, and can't put effort into the pedals. Getting back to sea level felt so good!