I was assigned to sweep this morning, which basically means that you are last to leave camp and you help load the gear truck. We were still on our way by 7, but I was with a different group of riders than normal.
Our route was only 84km, but it included an approximate 2700 foot climb over 6 miles. It was roughly a 6% grade. If you don't get what that means, it's really steep, really fast! The rest of the ride was rolling hills, which are a lot of fun.
We agreed ahead of time that we would just meet at the top, and not try to keep up with each other as we climbed. Suffice it to say that my group had a nice, long, refreshing wait at the top as I struggled to meet them! But, since the word of the day is accomplished, I am proud to say that with a few breaks (I blame the altitude) I made it up the hill.
We were in camp by noon. Our average speed for the day was 19km/hr.
In other very exciting news, I have a new maximum speed!!!!!! I hit 60.5km/hr on a (safe) downhill. It's exhilarating.
I've decided that there are two types of hills: roller coaster hills and real climbs. Roller coaster hills are fun because you get lots of speed going down and can almost coast going up. We have these kinds of hills in K-W and I think I'm well practised. 6% climbs, on the other hand.... We don't have those in southern Ontario! So that's where I need practice.
And this is where we are camping tonight. Beautiful.
Hurrah! Well done! Would climbing the escarpment in Hamilton be a tiny taste of that? Because I am unable to do that. We biked all day yesterday on Toronto Island, and it was wonderfully flat and paved, with no motor vehicles anywhere. That's my kind of cycling day. ;)
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