Feeling Guilty

As much as I enjoyed yesterday’s downhill park ride, I can’t shake the sense that I cheated.  

Let’s be honest – while loads of fun – the ride consisted of a relaxing, scenic gondola ride to the top, followed by a downhill.  And repeat.

No painful uphill.  No slow grind, cursing all the way to the top.  

So today I had to make things right.  I rode uphill.  A lot of of uphill.

Up the road out out of town, before jumping into a mix of exposed forest roads and single-track.

The trees finally offered shade relief, but the barrage of never-ending technical switchbacks nearly had me waiving the white flag in surrender.

It sucked beautifully.

And the descent was all the better knowing I earned it one pedal stroke at a time.