august 23 rides

[andtckrtoo]

It was a gorgeous day here in the Bay Area, too. It started off foggy (what's new?), so I had on a light jacket, but warmed up quickly enough (jacket got stuffed into jersey pocket). I did Hwy 9 up through the Santa Cruz mountains (11 miles basically straight UP!), then rode the rolling hills on Skyline Blvd, then went down PageMill and then to Moody and finally to Foothill (the flat section - YEAH!!!!). I have not be doing real climbs, and this one - 3000 feet in 37 miles, was tough on me, but I did it, and I'm so darned happy. Lovely ride through the redwoods.

An interesting note - I'm a recoving runner, and former cyclist (DH runs, doesn't bike much, so we have been running and hiking mainly, but I got a new bike and rediscovered my true love). I burned more calories on this 37 mile ride than I did when I ran my 2 half marathons. And, I consider this a training ride!!!! I hope to do the 52 mile loop next weekend. Do y'all eat more on long ride days? How do you account for the calories burned on log ride days? (this also could be why I dropped 5 pounds without even really trying - I can only run so far, but put me on a bike and I like to go).