Molt

53 Miles

I met up with some fellow riders from the Conoco Phillips MS team today and rode out to Molt and back.  I was pretty tired starting out and my knees were really bothering me to the point that I questioned being able to make it up the hills.  I rode out 10 miles to meet up with the team and get myself warmed up before we started.  By the time I got to the starting point I was feeling much better although I did take two Aleve and a Claritin when I got there just to be sure.  We started out pretty slow but I was patient knowing everyone else was starting out cold and I was already warmed up.  I tried to stay with the group and even hung back to talk to one of the riders but once we hit the hills I attacked.  Hills are kind of my thing and I hate to creep up them no matter how painful it might be, unless it's the endless "hill" we call the Beartooth Highway.  I quickly moved from the back of the pack to the front leaving everyone else behind.

We stopped at the top to wait for everyone else.  While stopped a mountain biker passed us.  We watched him ride off in the distance.  Then I mentioned to Don, "We can't let a mountain biker beat us to Molt!" and Don and I took off charging towards the mountain bike.  We kept a 20+ mph pace and at one point hit 34 mph.  We saw the mountain biker up ahead.  He was stopped at the side of the road waiting for someone.  We whizzed by, pretty anti-climatic if you ask me.  Here we thought we were racing and this guy just pulls over and lets us take it.  Oh well, it was kind of fun anyway.

We rode Molt Road to Buffalo Trail and took Buffalo Trail down the canyon.  We fought a headwind down the canyon so we had to work even on the downhill.  We got to the bottom of the canyon and in no time, we were back at our start point.  I said my good byes and cranked back home to meet Sarah and the girls in the front yard working in the flower beds.  My bike computer read 49.5 miles and I really wanted to get 50 in today so I pedaled with Sydney around the block a couple of times.  Tara got jealous so I they both followed me around the neighborhood for awhile.  I must have looked pretty silly all decked out in my cycling gear putting along at 6 mph with my two girls riding their bikes right behind me in dresses and no helmets.  (Spur of the moment thing.  We forgot the helmets.)  I had finally had enough and took the girls back home with 3-1/2 more miles on the bike.