3GR Report: Gang Of Four

Another day of awesomeness

Let me see....The was Single Speed USA going on not all that far away, a mountain bike race in the "back yard", and a ride to celebrate a bridge opening on a bike path in the area. Yeah......I was pretty sure I would be on my own on this 3GR. 

But late Friday I received a text message from  Robert asking whether or not there would be a 3GR, to which I replied in the affirmative. So, on Saturday morning, I thought maybe one person might show up. I left the house with plenty of time to get there and headed off through down town Waterloo.

I was stopped at a stop light when I saw another cyclist blasting up the street. It was Tony who had joined us for the first time last week. Okay....so maybe there would be two more joining me. Onward to the meeting place. Tony was pushing the speed up, and we were flying along as if we were in a hurry. We arrived with plenty of time to spare, so we started chatting. Suddenly here was Mike. Okay, maybe we would have a group of four. 

I was surprised to have two others to ride with ,quite honestly, but maybe one more would show, so we waited and sure enough, here came Robert. Four would set out then to do the loop.

Robert on point

Mike following.

Tony and I in back

It was a fast start, just as it was going to the meet up place, and conversations waxed and waned depending upon how hard we were pushing it. I could tell this was an accelerated pace from any previous 3GR and I was wondering how long I might be able to sustain it. Mike had said his knee was still bothering him from his Tour divide ride, but he certainly didn't show any weakness going out.

I battened down the hatches for a tough ride. I tried to be smart and not over do it. Fortunately I had been feeling better of late, so I was able to maintain pace without going into the red zone. Water at the proper time, and smart use of my gears really helped yesterday, as it got warmer as we went along. The other guys finally backed it down a notch when we got close to halfway through, so I was glad to see that.

Rewards...

The conversations went on then, since the riding wasn't so taxing. We went back around to the South and hit the hills running past the Camp when the speeds and all went back up again. At the point that was most advantageous for Mike to peel off to get himself home, he waved us goodbye and disappeared Eastward. The three remaining riders finished up the loop, now with slower speeds, thankfully. My legs were burning and I was getting really hungry from the harder efforts.

Soon we were back threading through the bicycle paths and streets of Waterloo's North side and we decided we all had time for a pit stop at the coffee shop. It was such a fine day that when we all obtained our Cottonwood Canyon coffees and treats, we sat outside, and enjoyed the perfect conditions. It was rather obvious that no one of us was in a hurry to get anywhere, but after an hour plus of great conversation and rest, I felt the tug to get a move on.

So we all drifted to our respective homes and I was beat. I had to wait a further 2.5 hours until lunch, since we were doing a late celebration of my son's 10th birthday. I was about passing out, but a good sandwich and fries revived me, and I survived!