This was a really beautiful ride. I originally wanted to do an additional hour (closer to 40-45 miles) and with more climbing (~3000+) but decided to be reasonable since we’re going to be lugging around 1000 lbs of gym equipment up the apartment stairs. I want to track it just out of curiosity for the TSS but not sure if I will.

This might be my new favorite route on this side of Frederick. It combined all of my favorite roads (including the Mt Saint Mary tunnel!) and some stunning new ones we hadn’t seen before. I hadn’t ridden some of these since last October…the route is mostly flat but the couple of hills it does have are close to 9% (as noted by the average grade.) I know I performed better on them this time around, but all I can remember from that October ride was the unbearable amount of emotional pain I was in; it obscured any physical discomfort. The heartache is gone: the memory of the heartache is something I can now look at without reliving the pain of it.

I didn’t realize these were the roads we’d be doing when I chose the course, but instead of being a punch in the gut like it would have been at an earlier time, it was…soothing. Like a balm over an old scar. It’s good to be at this point now, where I’m at peace.

This is the longest I’ve sustained this pace in a long time on the real bike. It’s the easiest it has been to maintain it - I wasn’t pushing AT ALL to stay at 14+ mph like I’ve had to in the past. I couldn’t see my average pace, so this is what it came out to without trying! I think if I’d pushed, I would have been closer to 16 mph, which would have been a record.

There were several beautiful moments where I just settled into the grind and sort of let go. It was my first time hitting that amazing flow state I’ve felt mountain biking, on the road bike. It was like I became one with the bike, but I wasn’t a solid being anymore…I felt like I was spirit, one with the sky and the mountains and the white line on the road flowing next to me.

I forgot!!! This route connected to a trolley path in downtown Thurmont! It was a major surprise and SO MUCH fun!!!

ALSO ALSO: I STAYED ON THE BIG CHAIN RING FOR ALL THOSE HILLS!

Wow, very nice! Big chain is impressive but remember that you want to keep cadence high (even in hills). Still, pretty impressive wattage!

And the pics are just gorgeous!!!!