THAT WAS HARD, MAN.

AGAINST MY BETTER JUDGEMENT, I opted for the long route of the 8th annual Hardman Classic.  The head wind was brutal for the first hour.  If it had flipped for the return, which often happens...

... I would have cried.

Why did I go the long route?

Well, because Tatt!...

You doing the race Saturday.

I reckon, but just the short version.

C'mon, we're all going long.  We'll ride together and just cruise.

Ok.

In other words, I knew that he knew that I knew he was totally full of bs, but...

... who doesn't want to ride with their pals?

The only reason we stuck together for the first hour was the brutal headwind.  Nobody wanted any piece of the front.  Once the climbing began...

... it was every racer for themself.

Let me just insert this odd piece of wisdom...

... I always suffer the most on the races I care the least about.

No disrespect to the race, or the promoter, or competitors.  But, if I'm not totally into pushing myself I can count on the usual rookie blunders...

• Not eat enough
• Not drink enough
• Forgot to start computer until 20 minutes in (hard to know how much torture is left when you don't know how many miles have been covered.)

... those got me today, but I've also done these...

• Stayed out late the night before
• Lazy bike prep leading to failure
• Changing a tire the night before to wake up to a flat
• and more

... I actually did put on a new tire last night, and it sealed perfectly.

I told the network yesterday I'd be going for a PR on Skyline, and I was pleasantly surprised to get it done.

Not that it helped me ride with my much faster friends.

The downhill was a pretty rugged gravel road that had clearly been battered by all the rain earlier this year and the hurricane we had a few months back.

I let it rip and had a blast, so glad I had the new tread on the back.

The Conti Terra Speed 45s were flawless even though I rimmed out numerous times.

28lbs up front, 30lbs in the rear.

At the bottom I caught up with the Assassin and Out Of Africa.  I was ready to pull the plug and head back vs doing all of that a second time.

C'mon, go with us.

Nah...

It's just that one climb.

For reference, long coures is 8300' of climbing over 70 miles... 

... 6000' of it in a scant 35 miles.

Anyway, they talk me into it and I swear, the first little bump in the road was like dropping anchor...

... leaving me to ride alone for 2 1/2 hours.

I have the best friends.

I really do...

... and I saw lots of 'em today.

All I can say is the Hardman...

... is hard, man.

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Because I accomplished my PR goal, and persevered I figured it was time for my typical splurge.

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166 lbs
7 hrs
No strength work
00 minutes recovery
20 minutes reading + Journaling 

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