Big Effort & Reward

What better way to celebrate a smooth drivetrain than with a massive ride? I had to get an early start, due to family plans, which was just as well, considering my route. Today I took on Yellow Barn Rd. from the Dryden side, a bit of a monster climb that you have to really get mentally prepared for. With over 700 vertical feet of climbing over a 2 mile stretch and a portion that exceeds 13% grade, it's best to take that one on before the heat of the day kicks in.

My preliminary plan was to do Yellow Barn, then take Midline to Rt. 79, followed by the Ellis Hollow/Ringwood climb for good measure. Climbing the bear that is Yellow Barn, I tried conserving more energy for the first part of the climb, in order to push harder on the final rises, the section that never seems to end. This strategy worked really well, and my recovery time after finishing the climb was remarkably fast.

On my way down Midline, I first entertained the notion of adding Snyder Hill to the tail end of my ride, in order to get more climbing in. After Yellow Barn, the Ringwood climb didn't seem all that strenuous, so I was raring to take on Snyder Hill when three fellow Cookies, Mark, Wayne and Matt, caught me on 79. I was disappointed that their ride didn't synchronize with mine, so I was thrilled to ride the Snyder Hill leg with those very nice gentlemen.

This ride gave me a good perspective on the year's training and how one advances through the year. Today's adventure exceeded 3500 vertical feet of climbing over a 48 miles, and I'm ready for more tomorrow. Well, just a little more...total miles for the month of May is currently 665 miles, and I have one more day to give that number a boost. My goal is to exceed 2000 miles before the end of June, which seems doable. So far I have 1450 miles logged for the year, with 84,000 vertical ft. of climbing, so this looks to be my best and biggest year of riding yet, provided I can keep up the pace. (By the way, that's the awesome Mr. Keith with his Park Chain Checker tool, the one that got me on course to a smooth drivetrain.)