Conquered Highway 211 Saturday

I completed a 28-mile ride this morning, that felt like 50 miles! But I’m so impressed with my performance. The route left Roger Soler’s in Helotes, my backyard, and headed north on Highway 16. Turned left on Highway 211, to be greeted by a series of rolling hills, although the outbound journey wasn’t too bad.

The group I was with turned left off 211 at Culebra Road, and we headed for the Exxon gas station just a few hundred yards up that street for a small break. I wasn’t looking forward to the return trip, since I’ve driven SAG for many training rides on this route, and know that 211 from Culebra Road is 7 miles of HUGE, continuous hills. Anyway, I sucked it up and hit the road.

I’ve become a particular fan of the big ring on my bike, so I stayed in it, shifting as I needed, but refusing to go to a smaller ring. I had to test myself. I had to push myself. And I did.

I conquered 211 and remained in my big ring for the entire trip. Granted, there were a couple of times that I slowed. My riding companion up 211 was Lloyd Hensley, I asked him how we were doing for speed, and to my surprise up 211 I was pulling 10 MPH! For me that’s a huge accomplishment.

Anyway, we took a group photo (well my other riding companion, Lillian LaFave did) at the top of the last hill before taking an exhilarating ride down a great hill on 211 back to Highway 16, and a right-hand turn back to the start.

Many of the group had asked: “Tony, are you ready for ‘The Wall?’” That’s another huge hill that greets you as you make the right-hand turn from 211 to Hwy 16. With bravado, I said, “sure!” Anyway, Lloyd had been sharing with me the finer points of his hill work, and had demonstrated how he “walks his bike” while still in his pedals.

We made the turn, and ventured up “The Wall!” I rode seated for a couple hundred feet, but realized that if I was to remain in the big ring I was going to have to pick up some momentum. So, with Lloyd’s encouragement ringing in my ears, I stood in my pedals, leaned forward over the handlebars and proceeded to appear like I was walking in my pedals, and driving up the hill. It really was quite efficient.

Anyway, the trip from there back to Roger Soler’s was a series of rollers. I was told that in the group I was riding in we were maintaining 20 MPH on the flats. That really made me feel good.

I had a good deal of energy still to give so I sprinted off for a ways (not sure how far), just riding as fast as I could. It felt good. I feel good. I believe my training is paying off. At the end of the ride I learned that I’d covered 1,295 feet of elevation during the morning’s outing!

I’m ready for my 55-mile ride Sunday, leaving from Comal Elementary School at 7:30 a.m.

C ya on the road! Tony
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