It was a fun ride, but it was some tough climbing on a recumbent. It was 2700 feet of climbing on the 100k route, but it felt like more, because of the way it laid out. I learned early on that the best way to climb a hill on a recumbent is to use your downhill speed advantage to take a run at it on the downhill leading to it, then hold speed as long as you easily can going up the hill. Of course, that doesn’t work for a hill that’s preceded by a long flat, or a long uphill that’s preceded by just a short downhill. And that’s what this ride had so much of: a short downhill followed by a longer uphill. Of course, that would gain you elevation, but then you’d give it all back in one big downhill, then it would be back to short downhills followed by longer uphills. So Greg and I kept passing uprights on the downhills, then getting passed back on the uphills. I’ve never seen 5 mph on my bike so many times in a ride. Even after such a fast start, I only ended up with a 17.0 mph average.

I had my doubts about getting up a few of the hills, especially toward the end, and it didn’t make it easier seeing so many riders walking their bikes, or laying beside the road. It was some good hill training, and I can see I need more.

There were lots of law enforcement people and volunteers all along the route. I thought they did a really good job, and everyone was very friendly. All in all, I thought it was a great ride. I’ll do it again next year, but I’ll make sure I’ve done my share of hill training beforehand, again.