South Mountain - Part Two, the Climbing Continues

The conference ended at 5:30 pm and the sun sets at 6:07 pm. So, I loaded the rental bike into the rental car and drove down to the foot of South Mountain instead of riding to the mountain. After unloading the bike, I started climbing at 7:00 pm. My legs felt the prior day's climbing but I worked hard on the climb trying to get the most benefit.

As this was the second night in a row that I climbed South Mountain, I now had an advantage: I knew the road and where the steep portions were. As such, I could better pace myself and attack on the shorter steep pitches and hold back on the longer ones. However, the steepness of pitches near the top surprised me. They are truly tough!

As I obtained the top, there were several cars in the parking lot. Instead of stopping, I just circled the lot and immeaditely headed down the hill.

Since I drove to the mountain, I was playing with the idea of riding up the mountain twice. I had the battery life, but did I have the determination?

Well, when I reached the bottom, I was not inclined (no pun intended), to turn around and do it all over again. I was tired and I wanted to wimp out and head back to the hotel. But, as I reached my rental car, I saw a cyclist coming up the mountain. We each turned around spoke. Greg allowed me to join him on his climb up the mountain.

Never trust anyone who says "I'm not a good climber." They lie! As we headed up the mountain, my heart rate soon climbed to new highs for the evening. As Greg chatted away, I could only respond with very short, single syllable sentences sandwiched inbetween my gasping for air. This is just what I needed, someone to push me to work harder when I wanted to quit. Thank you Greg!

We did not do the entire climb as Greg was out for a shorter ride. This was fine with me and it was getting late and I needed to pack once I got back to my hotel.

All in all, I did over 21 miles and over 2100 feet of elevation gain for the evening. Ride data to follow once I return home.

Fun Thoughts About South Mountain

1) Wildlife - I saw only one coyote out for a ramble one the first night. I did not see any snakes (dead or alive) on the road.
2) Sportbikes - I saw a line of 25 (Greg counted them) sportbikes in a single line. Impressive sight. We were stopped at the time so they did have to pass us.
3) The View of Phoenix is great! As you climb up you can see the lights of Phoenix below you. As you climb, the city lights drop away below you. A very impressive sight indeed.
4) The TV Towers are at the top of the climb. You can see them on and off as you climb and this provides you a good judge of how much futher you have to go. The number of antennas is also impressive. I have not seem so many in one location before.

Posted 9:26 AM by John Henry