First Ringwood Climb of the Year

After a fun father and son ride in Varna today, I was lucky enough to get my first 2-hour ride in for the year. This is a ride that I dream about, and sometimes lull myself to sleep thinking about. It's familiar territory if you've been reading this blog since last fall when I started this blogging adventure, and it will likely remain my favorite ride for years to come. There's plenty of climbing challenges, stunning scenery, and opportunity for reverie and reflection without having to think about traffic, particularly in Lansing and nearing Groton.

Random Observations:

• The street cleaners have already made a pass or two on Triphammer and Rt. 34 in Lansing.
• There are lots of deer carcasses of various vintages littering the culverts in particular.
• People who drink Arizona brand beverages disproportionately litter the highways.
• A car filled with Cornell undergrads think that there's nothing funnier than screaming really loud at cyclists as they pass within inches. (I know where you live, boys. Funny, I saw them all load into the car and just had this intuition that they would do such a thing, and I kept waiting for them to pass.)
• I didn't see a single road biker today on my ride. Puzzling...

I'm feeling pretty strong today, even though Ringwood really presented a challenge, especially the final 250 ft. Fairly brisk North winds also presented a challenge on the homestretch on Rt. 79.

Stats:

Distance: 38.97 miles

Avg. speed: 18.4 mph

Vertical ascent: 2500 ft.

Avg. heart rate: 142 bpm

Calories burned: 2041 kcal

Max. speed: 41.2 mph

Time: 2:07:10

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