After a hectic week of end-of-school activities, I was looking forward to “escaping” on Sunday to ride the King’s Tour of the Quabbin with my friend, and PMC ride partner. With over 5,200 vertical feet of climbing over 62 miles, the ride promised to push my limits, as well as give me a good opportunity to check my fitness, my nutrition, and my equipment.
Organized by the Seven Hills Wheelmen, the course was as advertised – beautiful views, little traffic and a ton of climbing. With the guidance of my ride partner Nancy, who loves (loves, loves, loves!) climbing hills, I worked on my technique, focusing on managing my effort to avoid burning out before the final climb. Bright sun and strong winds kept the temperature perfect – although some of the descents were a little tricky when the wind started to blow from the side.
A huge thanks to my teammate for, once again, pulling me into a crazy-terrible-awesome adventure and sticking with me, to Steve for watching the kids (despite some serious ride envy), and to Seven Hills Wheelmen for a great event which donated a portion of the ride proceeds to MassBike.
