Happy Easter! With all the Dogwood's going nuts last week, this was one heckuva beautiful day. After chowing down on lunch, I was feeling really sleepy and in need of a nap. I usually take a nap on Sunday afternoon, but I'm rarely so woozy. I laid down on the couch listening to the Sox game and rested for about 45 mintues. After that, I was time to ride.


I met George Milinkovic and Jon Woodward (?) at Bicycle Pro Shop in Georgetown at 4p. They both work there and so I waited around inside the shop while everyone closed things up for the day. We eventually go things rolling and headed out in to Montgomery County via Canal Rd. and Clara Barton Parkway. From there it was basically the Sunday group ride done backwards.

I think George, not unlike myself, can be prone to pushing the pace in a group. And from the gun, we were riding at about 25 mph in a tight paceline of three. My legs were feeling a bit sluggish at first, but after a few turns on the front, they loosened up and I was feeling strong. Resting behind the other two gave plenty of respite and the pace felt wonderful.

We made our way onto River Rd. and as soon as we hit the hill up to Great Falls, I lit 'em up. No one I've ridden with seems to hit the bottom of a hill hard enough and I constantly find myself hammering past and then settling in. I can't stand to slow up and waste such valuable momentum at the foot of a long climb. Being on the third wheel at the base, I moved by and the gap only got larger. I pushed the pace all the way to the top for a nice hard effort. I waited for the guys at the top.

After that, I think George wanted to prove himself a bit so Jon and I took to covering a few of his random surges. We never really got back into the nicely drilled paceline that we'd had along the river but instead rode up the hills at a good clip and never relaxed much--that is unless George had to answer his cell or take a leak!

My legs continued to feel incredibly strong and I floated up most hills and turned the big ring up some. With such smooth roads out in Montgomery County, it makes for excellent riding. The weather in the late afternoon was equally as good.

About the time we started to head back into the district, George and John dropped back on a few hills and since we weren't all ending together I just kept on rolling. I hammered one hill absolutely full throttle and blew by another rider as fast as I could. On a long, but not so steep descent, I was turning 53X12 as hard as I could and hit 42 mph. I continued down Massachusetts Ave. and past all the embassies and into Dupont Circle. I rode out along New Hampshire and eventually made my way onto M Street and back through Georgetown. I crossed at Key Bridge and rode the Custis Trail home for a cooldown.

My legs today were surprisingly strong. I continue to be amazed at the amount of energy I can expend without losing significant strength. Yesterday allowed me to work on endurance and sustained power and today gave me more of the same with some excellent hillwork to boot. This was a great way to end an epic weekend of riding.

I registered tonight for the Poolesville Road Race on May 6th. It's contested on a ten mile loop of which one mile is a gravel road. It's the closest thing around to Paris-Roubaix for us and I'm really excited. I'm more excited by the fact that it will be my MABRA debut as a Cat. 4 racer. I will be contesting the Cat. 3/4 race and the competition should be the stiffest I've faced to date. It will be greater challenge to keep my streak of four straight podium finishes alive.

Dist / Time / Avg / Max / Odo
44.98 / 2:16:06 / 19.8 / 42.1 / 1315.3