Saturday was here and we finally had nice weather.  Although the forecast was for a high of around 68 degrees, it was below 40 when we got up and it was suppose to be cloudy in the morning. So we were not sure what to wear on the Utah Velo club ride.  On days when we ride just the two of us we can leave later after it has already warmed up but with the 8:30 am start, it was a question of how cold did we want to be until the air warmed up vs. how many clothes to carry once it did warm up.  Anne decided to wear tights and a jacket, and I wore knee warmers, vest and a skull cap.

We rode over to the Provo River trail head where the rider who started in American Fork would meet those who only wanted to do 50 miles. We figured it would be better to ride the loop over to American Fork at the end of the ride, when it was warmer, and avoid driving our car there.

About 30 riders showed up for the ride and we all headed down University Avenue at a fast pace.  With a tailwind, the speed of the paceline reached 26 mph.  Anne stayed right in the pack all the way through Provo.  She has a lot of experience drafting behind me but not as much experience in a big pace line, but she did fine.  After going past Provo, we went through some back roads over to Springville.  We became disconnected from the main group but they did not get very far ahead.  It was now more difficult to keep them in sight since it was just me that Anne could draft behind.  Just after crossing Main Street in Springville there was a regroup so we caught the group there.

It was sunny and much warmer than we expected so everyone was shedding clothes and now wishing we had dressed lighter. Many of the other riders also commented how they over dressed, like we did.  I was wearing my vest with pockets in the back so I had more places to stuff clothes.  After a short regroup, we started up to Canyon Road, then up Hobble Creek.   As soon as we started the gradual climbing, we went ahead of about one third of the riders, the same guys we had to push so hard to hang on to on the flats.  At the fork on Hobble Creek, we took the right fork, for another 7 miles.   I mentioned to Anne that we would catch some of the riders ahead of us because they would get tired.  That turned out to be the case and we went by four of them before reaching the end.

The regroup there was not too long, just long enough to wait for most of the rest of the riders, but some were still not there when we all headed back down the Canyon.  Anne’s descending has greatly improved and she seems to have a lot more confidence with her new bike.  We were taking the speeds up to 35 mph on this gradual descent with rather straight sections.  The group was all spread apart, as is typical for either a climb or descent, but all regrouped when we reached Main Street in Springville.

We had brought a PB&J sandwich, we we inhaled down, thinking they were going to take off, but the group was waiting a bit longer for some riders who were still climbing up Hobble Creek when we all went down.  After about 10 minutes, the ride leader figured they had not turned around to join the descending group, so we we headed out.  The pace line started to move fast again now that we were on flat roads.  Once again we became a bit disconnected but we kept them insight. The paceline then split into two groups, those going back to Provo and those headed back to American Fork.  We cased after the American Fork group and caught them at a light.  I guess Anne decided she wanted to stay in the pack this time, so for the 16 miles to American Fork, she hung right on the wheel of the rider in front of her.  I was riding behind her, or to the side, so she would have a larger guy to draft behind.  I was starting to get weary and figured Anne might start to slow down, but she kept with the pace line all the way back.  She is amazing.

Once we reached the Bike Peddler shop in American Fork, the end of the ride for everyone else, we caught our breath and then stopped nearby to get some lunch. It was then about 12 more miles back to our home.

I guess Anne still had plenty of energy left because she suggested we go to the movie, Iron Man 2. We went over to see if we could get in the 4:30 pm showing, but that showing and next one were sold out, so we bought tickets for the 6:10 pm showing. It was a fun movie and end of a fun day.

Categories: Cycling
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