Whatever age you are is the new thirty!

It was windy this morning when I started riding. The forecast called for 12 to 16 mile wind speeds from the northeast. I decided to ride alone today and brave the wind with no drafting. I started at around 7:15AM. The sun was already up and it was gorgeous outside with trees gently swaying in what was a seemingly gentle breeze. Until I got to the uphill climb at Hidden Hills, I was in pretty good spirits. The uphill was brutal with the wind dead against me. My speed dropped to below 10MPH on this gentle incline with the wind directly in my face. Atop the hill, I took in my first stinger waffle and got a burst of energy going down and with the wind. I was going down fast and loving it.

I rode back towards my house north on Hayden towards Pinnacle Peak and onwards to Pima before taking a right to climb the 3-mile hill on Dynamite Blvd. It was a tough climb once again with the wind blowing from the east as I climbed towards the west. There was a speed limit gauge to measure car speed limits. Cars were clocking in at somewhere between 45 and 55 MPH. A woman bicyclist was struggling getting up the hill in front of me, and her speed read 5. She was pedaling hard and only going 5MPH. I knew I was faster than her, but not by much. As I passed by, the sign read 9. Ouch. My legs were burning and I was doing 9MPH.

This is where Jerry caught me. Jerry is my friend who is also doing Ironman AZ with me. He is a much faster biker. We talked for a couple of minutes and then he took off. We met up at the top of the hill at the gas station to fuel up. He was riding with his friend Elissa (who is also doing Ironman AZ).

After a ten minute pit-stop, we restarted. The first step was to go down nine-mile hill. The wind would be against us, but it is staright downhill. On a calm day, we would average 28 to 30MPH, but today we averaged 23 to 25MPH. I was in my aero position for the final few miles but the wind was whipping up some strong currents. Jerry was in front, I was behind him and Elissa was behind me.

77+ miles – Hidden Hills + Fountain Hills

The ride from the bottom of nine-mile to Fountain Hills was quite uneventful. We had a slight breeze at our backs making it easy to ride into town. Soon we were climbing the hill on Shea Blvd that ends at Palisades. This is where Elissa passed me. I tried to keep up with her but she is younger, stronger and faster. She is in her 30s. I told her that I just hit the big five-o to which she said, “Whatever age you are, is the new thirty.” Love her!! Elissa just went up two notches in my eyes and I barely know her. I will use that for the rest of my life, “Whatever age you are is the new thirty!” Love it!

We rode back smoothly and briskly. I did a total of 77+ miles. Jerry and Elissa did 100+. It was a good ride!