Had a great ride on the Peach Tree Loop today. Tim, my trusty buddy, pulled me along for a good portion of the ride. And the big news is that I conquered my nemesis, that nasty, tripartate hill going up off of Montevideo. I've never made it up that second, horribly steep, obnoxious part of the hill and my cranks didn't want to turn but I made them, even with cars coming back down the hill so there was no opportunity to make switchbacks. I just had to grind it out and try to yell encouragement at myself to will it to happen. By the time I got to the third part of the hill, I was spent, but I made it up and tried to recover on the relatively flat portion that followed. I still don't like hills but I'm finally making some headway on improving my climbing. And we had another nice surprise: some young girls had set up a lemonade stand in Poolesville close to our designated rest stop. It was so enjoyable to have a nice cold glass of lemonade AND a chocolate chip cookie, all for a dollar. Those kids made out like bandits with us! Of course, a nice "ride after the ride" at Potomac Pizza rounded out the day. Woo hoo! Can't wait to kick those hills' asses again next time. Starring Tim Vandish, Gary Prussian-Prince Wolanske, Barbara Thacker, Mary Salemme, Bill Choi, Randi Brown Franklin, Sharon Tucker, Dino Tiongco, Marni, Al, Martin, Joe, George, Cheryl, Maya, Sue, Steve, Mike, Alexie, Brian, Lena, and Susan.