The road up to Larch Mountain went down fighting today. Ben, Richard and I stormed the hill with the fervor of religion and one goal in mind... get to the top. We left my house at around 7:15 AM and headed for the hill. It was a good crew of equal or near equal ability, and we set a good pace out the Springwater to Stark and eventually out the old Columbia Highway. Ben pulled pretty much from the Sandy River to the turn off for Larch Mountain Road, which marks the start of a 14 mile climb to the parking lot at the top of Larch Mountain.
I really had no idea what to expect from the ride. Lon described it, as he describes most things, as a piece of cake, but I have ridden enough with Lon to know that a piece of cake to Lon means that it will kick my ass and leave me puking on my shoes. This turned out to be a fairly accurate assesment of Larch Mountain. All I can say is that it just keeps going and going and going and going. There are really no flats or down hill sections after the first 4 or 5 miles, so there is really no where to rest, just keep pedalling, mile after god forsaken mile. It was brutal, and with every tenth pedal stroke came the urge to stop and rest and my will to fight that urge diminished with every bead of sweat that poured out of me. It was an epic battle fought in the trenches. I spent the last 2 miles fighting the puke, which turned out to be enough of an attention distractor to get me to the top. And I didn't puke. Sweet.
The descent was both victorious and raucous. Like a sailor on shore leave for the first time in months. All of the potential energy wound up on the climb was released in a furocious volley to the bottom. I hit 42MPH and was yelling into the wind as the pavement flew from my wheels. It was amazing.
3 comments:
Ben and Dave kicked my ass for 85 miles (the road kicked my ass for 95 miles). I just wanted to give a big thank you to Ben and Dave for including me on this little adventure. It was a great route and a great day. I was, however, just a little uncomfortable when it started getting warmer and Dave took off his clothes and helmet.
Richard
Awesome ride. Sara and I did that a few times training for Cycle Oregon, and then the next year training for the Wildflower century. It did nothing but kick our ass, and that was only from Gresham, not all the way downtown.
How do you know what it feels like to be "like a sailor on shore leave for the first time in months"? Is there a story to tell? Hmm? Let me tell you, it's not as romantic as it seems. Although, I could tell you some stories about Singapore...
You guys are hard core, that's for sure. Congrats!
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