So with the horseshoe conquered once I was feeling cocky last Saturday and decided to do the Pass again from home this time. I picked out a route which returned over a road nr the Horseshoe. I was a little worried as I didn't know this road and couldn't remember ever passing the turning before, even in my motorbiking days. Still, it couldn't be harder than the horseshoe could it?
Lesson 1 - Never trust a map. It looked like the road followed the valley. Oh how I wish I had used an OS map and not a road map. Half way up this killer climb on the return journey I started to realise that this was easily the hardest ride I had done to date by a huge margin.
Lesson 2 - Never assume the hard bit is done. Once at the Ponderosa at the top of the horseshoe I had thought I had done all the really hard climbing. Little did I realise that I was about to lose most of the altitude in a 5 min high speed descent only to have to climb it all again on a single track road!
Attached a pic of offending return climb for anyone who fancies a go. The ride was planned to be 55 miles but turned out to be 58 by after an unplanned deviation from the route! Whoops
Still, the weather was fantastic and the road to Minera was completely empty. Despite the fact I was completely "cream crackered" it was very enjoyable. I even managed a quick ride on Tuesday morning without too much of that weak leg feeling I normally get for a few days after a big ride.
The rest of this week is a bit of a write off in terms of training. I am commissioning some equipment this week and on a stag weekend. Next week its back to Somerset and Blagdon Hill. Let's see if it's any easier. Surely a doddle after the horseshoe? Maybe not.
ALSO A BIG BIG THANKS TO MY RECENT SPONSORS. KEEP IT COMING I NEED ALL THE SPONSORSHIP I CAN GET
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