Milestone Training Day - Skagit Spring Classic

Did you know Devil spelled backward is Lived? Now, I ain't gonna go there and get all wonky about this factoid. Its just a great opening to this blog post. Nothing else. This Devil is pitchforking about mile 42 of the ride I did yesterday - Skagit Spring Classic, on Bow Hill Road. Something about a Devil, egging you on behind a rubber mask, and shaking its pitchfork, to get you flying up a road! Each year I expect a priest to jump out of a passing car and bum rush this guy and somehow save the world.

Nope, each year, the Devil is back.


Yesterday was a planned milestone for me. On the docket was a typical L-O-N-G day - and to make it a milestone, I signed up for a metric century (yep 100K) ride up north. What a day in the Puget Sound! Yesterday was in the mid 70s. The ride was the Skagit Spring Classic put on by the Skagit Bicycle Club. The ride works its way around the Skagit and Samish river basins of Skagit and Whatcom counties. The bike and I hit the road about 9 am and immediately it came back to me from that last time I did this ride before - chip seal! Most of the ride - the roads are bloody chip seal. Not a lot of smooth pavement in Skagit county. I was in for a bone rattlin', teeth chattering, vibramatic day. It took me longer to settle in on the ride too, since for some reason my eyes would not stop watering. It was really quite a pain and went on for the first two hours. Not sure what that was about. The last bit o' bikers pain was the winds (winds in italics means real windy). They were present in the morning when we were in the river plain, went away in the Chuckanut Mountains and then reappeared with a vengeance back in the river plain - for the last 20 miles. Overall, I felt strong for most of the ride - up to the last 15 miles. My endurance, energy and legs were great - right where I need to be in the training program. But... something I am a bit hampered with in longer rides is a lower back and shoulders that 'gives out' in the late stages of a ride. I've worked hard in the gym to strengthen my core and shoulders so I am not sure what this is all about. I tend to like my stem/handlebars pretty low (1-1.5") below my seat - maybe I need to raise them up? And maybe... at 49, it could just be OLD age. Ack! I hate writing that.

So to sum it up....

The Good:
I completed this milestone!
It was a beautiful day
I felt strong for 90% of the ride
Had two post ride pints at Naked City Brewing with my honey
Bow Hill Road Devil

The Bad:
Chip seal
Winds
My latent cold was an issue during the ride
Two hours of eye watering
My lower back tightened up in the last 15 miles
My shoulders fatigued in the last 10 miles


The Ugly:
Me today... a bit tired, still with a cold and some pesky allergies