We rode 109 miles starting in rolling terrain and ending in the mountains. The highlight of the day was a 3 mile long climb up a mountain on US 441 10 miles north of Franklin North Carolina. This was followed by a 3 mile long descent. The climb took 30 minutes and the descent took 5. Hit 43 mph on the way down. We gained enough elevation on the climb that I could feel it getting cooler and windier as we gained elevation. The descent required full attention because of the wind. Most of the rest of the route was rolling hills.
After 2 days of doing this I've discovered I'm stronger and faster than I realized. Because 99 percent of my riding is solo I don't have any way of measuring myself against other people. Since I ride the same routes at home and time them I can track my progress but I don't ever know how I compare to other people until I get to an event. I see my times on my routes at home getting better but that's to be expected as I get stronger as the year progresses. So it has been nice to see that I'm plenty strong enough to do the miles each day and enjoy it. I learned something. If I'm feeling low on energy drinking 2 bottles of regular Coke puts me right back to riding well. There must be a massive amount of sugar because I can feel the effect in about 2 minutes.
Tomorrow we get on the Blue Ridge Parkway for our first full day in the mountains. It should be a great adventure.
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