The Jamestown route is quite a bit tougher than Lefthand. After passing through the town of Jamestown, the road pitches up more steeply, and the remainder of the ride alternates between what I'd guess are 5 and 10% gradients. The 5% gradient allows a bit of rest before cranking the effort back up again to surmount the next steep section.
At about 8,500 feet a few miles East of Peak-to-Peak we were rewarded with some of the best riding I've encountered. A smooth dirt road passed by an idyllic wood barn sitting toward the end of a prairie in the forefront of snow covered mountains. I stopped here for a moment to enjoy the quietness and take a few photos:
Even if I weren't training for an Ironman, I'd need to be fit enough to pedal to locations like this.
After nearly 3 hours of climbing, we reached Ward and rewarded (ha!) outselves with a nice cookie and orange soda. My legs felt the effort of 4 hours in the saddle, and I needed an easy day today.
Overall, training is going well. I am once again able to shift into the 53 x 12 when doing big-gear efforts, and on Friday I averaged 250+ W for each of my ten 5 minute big gear efforts.
I made one little mistake of running a bit too hard. My ankle was sore for a day, but now is feeling great again. I've got to remain disciplined and view my running as rehab and not as training. On the plus side, running is still easy (though I am going very slow).
On a final note, I registered for Triple Bypass (the Avon --> Evergreen edition) and am filling out my 2011 race schedule. I'm thinking of making the 70.3 World Champs my main goal for the season since I'm not confident I'll be going into CdA in perfect condition. Plus, I'll have the summer to train like a pro.
You are a pro!
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