Morgan Hill
Route Review:
Biking around the town of Morgan Hill was a joy. In Morgan Hill proper, there were wide bike lanes for the most part. When there wasn’t, all the cars were really nice in giving me a wide berth, where I never felt in danger due to cars.
There was little shade throughout the ride.
The views of the hills, canyons, and reservoirs were nice. Uvas Reservoir was very low and Chesbro Reservoir was completely empty.
What I Learned:
Cleaning the bike right before going on a trip is nice because the tires are exactly to spec and the gears are clean, but it does add time. I think I should try to perform maintenance the night before the ride.
Not carrying the locking chain was the right choice. That extra 10 lbs would have been for nothing.
Carrying 2 bananas and eating a small breakfast was also the right choice. It fueled me up well and I felt great throughout most of the ride (I did feel tired when I went up hill in the last 10 miles).
Fears Overcome
Not fit enough to bike uphill—I thought I’d die or hate myself, but I gained 1500+ft of elevation without depleting myself. Actually until about the 30 mile mark, I didn’t even feel that tired.
Media Consumed:
One Hundred Years of Solitude
What Happened?
36.2 miles, 3 hr 22 min, 1559 ft of ascent
I wanted to go for a ride with elevation gain and surprised myself by doing well on a ride with the most amount of elevation gain I’ve ever ridden. For the future, I won’t be scared of rides below 2000 ft elevation gain as I think I can do them with my current fitness level.
My bike performed well through out the ride, though by the end of it, my front derailleur wouldn’t shift into first. I think I need to get that fixed.
I rode with a moving average of 12mph, which is I think my fastest yet, so I felt great about that.
Lastly, when going down some of the steep descents, I felt that my brakes would not save me if I were to meet a car going uphill in the wrong lane. I may want to think about upgrading my brakes to a larger type if I keep riding routes with steep descents.
