Training wrapup: The Backside Sopro

M-Thurs Nada except for 30mins spin on trainer

Fri - 40 mins on cross bike to get the legs going again

Sat: THE BACKSIDE

Drove to Newport and rode to the Backside of Mountain Lake, then clover hollow loop back to the car. This ride takes you up one of the legendary climbs in this area: 613, the Backside of Mountain Lake. This is the CAT1 climb that Lance rode away from the field in the last Tour DuPont. The kind of climb that you find bodies in the road during hot days, where if you stall while pedaling you fall over. The front side, route 700 is 7miles long, and the back side is 4 miles long with the same elevation gain. This climb is what is at the end of the Mountains of Misery challenge century. See the course profile with the climb at the end here: MOM course profile

I rode with Sam, he is a freshman at Tech and on the cycling team. His older sister is our babysitter. We were Sopro. Misty rainy, the kind of weather that makes you think you're Belgian for getting on your bike. We wore our clear $6 rain jackets instead of our technical cycling jackets.

It's fun riding with him, cause he isn't old enough to have that self preservation reflex kick in, so rather than lollygag on a climb or roller, he's out of the saddle honking over it. Works my ass. Took me 39mins to climb 613. I think this is like 2mins off my time from last year. Sam was several mins faster than that.

Whenever I do that climb, I have to tell someone. Sort of like name dropping: Yeah, I rode with the third cousin, of the garbageman of the accountant for Lance Armstrong.

Yeah, I rode the backside today.

It only has an affect on someone who is a cyclist, anyone else just nods their head. Yeah whatever.

We turned onto the Clover Hollow loop which goes through some of the most incredible Virginia Countryside there is. Rode 2feet away from a cow that had gotten on the other side of the fencing. Think if that guy had decided to play like a dog. Funny image, trying to spray it with a water bottle and shouting NO, NO, GO Home, as you hit it like a brick wall.

Quite glad I did that ride. Nice to get it under the belt and know that it is doable, and that I am getting faster on it.