Last Big Training Ride Before My Tour de Cure Century!!
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Last night my training partner asked me where I planned to ride today. I told him either Cantelow or Cardiac, because I needed to get some hills in this weekend. He told me, “One of them is not enough.” So, I took his advice and rode both Cardiac Hill and Cantelow Road today.
I started out in Davis, rode to Winters, and then out Hwy 128 to Lake Berryessa and up Cardiac Hill.
Lake Berryessa Dam
Top of Cardiac Hill
Top of Cardiac, headed out towards Napa
Hmm ... back to Winters?
Hmm ... head towards Napa?
I rested a few moments and contemplated heading out towards Napa, but decided to head back towards Winters. I’m not ready to take on the other side of Cardiac Hill solo yet. It’s a long climb with false summits, or so I hear. I’ve ridden down that way, but I’ve only driven up it.
Perhaps by the end of summer I’ll be ready to take it on solo. If not, that’s OK, too.
Lake Solano
I headed back down the hill and stopped for water at Lake Solano Park. They’ve got the water turned way down, so it’s kind of hard to fill a water bottle, but it’s better than nothing. There were a few families there barbecuing, oh it smelled so good!
From here I headed Pleasants Valley Road to Putah Creek Road, then to Winters Road, and Allendale, and Timm (?) Roads, to English Hills & Cantelow Road.
I plodded steadily up the hill; each time seems to get a little easier. I’m relearning how to gear for this hill. A few years ago I was riding it about once a week, and usually up the steep side. I’ll get back to that, but today wasn’t the day to take on the steep side. Soon.
I stopped at the top to take a photo, a drink, and a snack, and shortly thereafter another cyclist arrived. I love how encouraging cyclists are. He told me I did some great climbing up that hill. Wow! We chatted a few minutes, then headed down the hill. He was heading off to climb Mix Canyon, then back over Cantelow. Mix Canyon is another climb I need to try this summer.
View from the top of Cantelow Road
Then it was homeward bound.
My total ride today was 82.4 miles. Hills, wind, and not quite enough food or water. I’m feeling it a bit; tomorrow’s ride will definitely be an easy, flat ride for me. My training partner says that today was the perfect day for me to get that last big ride in before the Tour de Cure. The rest of the week it will be pretty easy rides and resting up.
Then, on Sunday, May 6th I ride my 4th Napa Valley Tour de Cure and my second century ride! This is an awesome ride – beautiful scenery, very well supported (AMAZING volunteers, so encouraging and inspiring!). If you’ve never done a ride like this, you really should check it out: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/SanFranciscoArea?fr_id=8064&pg=entry