Three Hilly Bike Rides

I completed the first of three rides that I plan to do this summer. The first was the Horribly Hilly Hundreds. I choose and stuck to my plan of doing the 100K route. The course is tough, with ~6,600ft of climbing within that 100k (~66mile) route, with the hardest climb (in my opinion) being the second climb up Mounds Park Rd. Strava says it s Cat 3 climb from the very bottom all the way to the top at the Blue Mounds State Park parking lot.

I felt good going into the ride and had my hydration and nutrition well planned for the route. I had also changed out the standard (11-28) cassette for a 11-32 with a long cage derailleur.  I also tried something new on this ride: arm coolers (for UV protection). The temperatures that day were ideal, in the high 70's to low 80's with light to moderate winds. The arm coolers worked as advertised and I was wearing them even up the last climb to the parking lot.

The toughest part, I'd have to say, is riding passed other riders who have started to walk up the hills. I know that a large part of climbing and endurance is not only physical but mental. I'm happy to say that training and planning allowed me to bike up every hill on the route I selected, but I don't think I could have tackled even the 150k route.

The next ride on the schedule is the Dairyland Dare in Aug. and then the Wright Stuff in Sept.