On Tuesday, December 24th (Christmas Eve) I started day 1 of The Strava Festive 500 strong. It's an eight day challenge to ride a total of 500 kilometers. Since we don't use the metric system in the US of A, it's 310 miles. It equates to a solid 40 mile bicycle ride each day for eight days straight.
A 40 mile bike ride isn't that big of a deal on its own. Even a couple of days in a row of 40 miles each day is OK with little to moderate training leading up to the event. However, 40 miles a day for eight days straight with little to no prior riding is a lot. So, I'm just shooting for four days, non-consecutive, of 40 miles total each day.
On day 1, I headed out on San Diego's Hwy 78 towards The San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The road is fine in some spots and extremely scary in others. The shoulder goes from a car-lane's width to nothing and back for miles at a time. The entire climb up to the quaint little town of Ramona is beautiful, but I feared for my life the entire time.
My worst fear was that at the top I'd have to simply turn around and descend the same road. It'd be a test of my mental ability to descend because I am sure that the bike is way more capable physically than I am mentally to do a fast descent.
Thankfully, at the top I found a route that looped me back to home without having to put on my big-boy pants and drop back down Hwy 78. Whew! The loop was almost a perfect circle (as close as mountain roads are concerned). All said, my ride was 42 miles and 3100 feet of climbing.
Here's to a complete 160 miles for me!
Clayton
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