Another first for me last week : I rode up to Pink Lake
lookout in the Gatineau Park for the first time! I had my usual Monday night
skills training with the Cyclefit Chicks and it was a tough workout: we
practiced gearing and keeping a high cadence on flat terrain. My legs felt
pretty tired after the training intervals and I considered not doing the group
ride. However, it’s not like me to give up without a good reason, so I decided to
give it a try and see how it felt.
Riding up the warm-up hill was challenging, but I stayed at
the back and took my time. I made it to the top of the hill and met up with the
group again at the bottom of Pink. The group leader said she knew that I could
climb Pink and insisted that I give it a try. Another girl from the
club, Christine, was willing to give it a try too, so off we went. I had heard so many
stories about how hard this climb was that I was expecting it to be way tougher
than it really was. Don’t get me wrong, it is a tough climb, but it is totally
doable. I thought the climb up to the Champlain Lookout on my mountain bike a
few weeks ago was way harder than this was.
There was a deer by the side of the road on the way up and I
was afraid I would hit it on the way down. Fortunately, it stayed by the side
of the road both times I saw it. Christine and I stopped by the side of the
road at some point, thinking we could not go on. A man rode by and told
Christine we were almost there, so she said she would like to try to make it. I
agreed and we started off again. I’m glad we did not turn around because we
really were almost there. We were so proud once we made it to the top!
The descent was a little scary. I reached my fastest speed
on my road bike so far, at 49.3 km/h. I had to use my breaks because I didn’t
feel like I was much in control of my bike on the way down. What a thrill!
Another accomplishment that fills me with joy. Yay for new
milestones!
