Dogmama, I love you advice about a mantra. My upcoming ride is actually a series of several climbs, the first being Mount Diablo at 3800 feet, next up is a county park at about 2200, then comes a pass that actually has, "Oh my God" painted at the base. That's about as far as I got last year - 91 miles, 9,000 feet of climb in about nine hours total riding time. I was unhappy about the time. This year I'd like to get to mile 115. It'll add about 2,000 feet of climb. I'll obsess about the time later.


Veronica