I Ride, I Write

Yep. I still suffer from CCFSS — otherwise known as Can’t Climb For Sh!+ Syndrome.

I like to blame my disease on my 190-pound frame. Truth is, I can’t climb well because I don’t climb often.

That’s gotta change.

Tonight, I got the urge, put on the fancy clothes and pointed the bike toward a mountain and started pedaling.

I eventually got to Big Cottonwood Canyon and up I went — slowly.

I didn’t go all the way to the top and actually only went a few miles past Storm Mountain. But it was good to get out and climb again. It was actually my second attempt at a climbing ride in four days. Saturday I did a similar ride but pointed the bike a little more south and ended up in Draper where I made the brutal climb up to the new temple, then swung back to go past South Mountain Golf Course and back again up to Suncrest and down the other side.

Today, I saw a pair of cyclists wearing Rock Racing kits going up BCC while I was descending. Not sure if it was actually a pair of Rock Racing athletes or a couple of Freds like me all decked out in sweat gear.

In any case, after leaving the canyon I opened up the throttle and bombed it down Old Mill to Cotton Bottom. I love that little stretch of road and pushed the pace up to 47mph at one point — at least that’s what the Garmin showed when I dared take my eyes off the road for a split second.

This is something I said I’d never do, but I’m contemplating a climb up Butterfield Canyon again. I’ll need a climbing partner because if I’m alone, it’s too easy to wuss out and cut the ride short. After bailing on a few uphill rides with friends in the past, I’ve promised myself to never do that again.

So I need to have that person there in front of me — or, gasp, behind me — keeping me motivated.

In other news, I’m tempted to register for the Bear Lake Classic 70.3 triathlon on August 29 instead of the Olympic distance race. LOTOJA is just two weeks later and a 70.3 might actually be better endurance training than a triathlon that’s less than half that distance.