Waa-wa-Wachusett

Yesterday I had the pleasure of heading out to Wachusett with three of the Westford Wheelers: Michael Dwyer, Peter Nelson, and Bill Seldon. In the warm morning, Peter and Bill accompanied us to the Bolton flats at a nice social pace though the shady back roads. I am quite happy that I kept reminding myself to spin easy on the hills en route to the mountain. As we approached Sterling, I became a little more apprehensive of the big climb, but was well distracted with the amazing views - I had been asking, "Are we at the base yet?" several times during our approach.

Upon turning onto the Wachusett roads, it was quite obvious where the mountain started. The first long straight away rose constantly upwards with a vanishing bend that suggested this was only the beginning. I am still surprised with the ease of the ascent. I fell into a great cadence in a granny gear and just keep chugging along. My legs didn't feel dead, I wasn't fighting my body, I was just spinning my legs. Because there were no cars yesterday, we were able to take the "wrong way" up - shorter and steeper.

During the climb, the sayings of Steve Prefontaine (a 5k runner from Oregon and at the origin of Nike) were drifting through my head: "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." and "A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts." Needless to say, I rocked the last 300 meters around the final bend as the climb started to catch up to me.

The way back all blurred together from zoning out to just the road and nature. There are short views that stand out: shadows dancing across the road with a full green canopy on a windy descent, views that stretched for miles farther than we traveled, and rushing of fresh air and sun delighting my arms, legs, and face. I wasn't winded until the last few miles - and on such a warm day I'm quite happy with that! I couldn't have asked for any better! I guess I'm lucky that Michael had punished his legs on Thursday and had a race the following day.

Regardless, I had a fantastic semi-involuntary nap shortly after getting off the saddle. I feel a great sense of accomplishment having ridden 20 miles farther than my previous best, and climbing the mountain so well in the middle.

And you know what? I feel great today! A bit tight, but otherwise fantastic!

Thanks Michael, Bill, and Peter! [And thanks to flickr.com users for the photos.]