Headwinds or Hills ... Which Do You Prefer?

The skies cleared up by mid-morning, so it was time to take advantage of it. So, Chantry Flat was calling me. I was undecided, to do either St. Katherine or Chantry ... I've done St. Katherine many times, so Chantry it is.

Chantry is a nice steady climb ... just sit in the saddle, and just turn those cranks. There weren't too many cars on the road (but then again, it is a Friday early afternoon). What continues to amaze me (and sorry, I didn't get any pictures of them) are skateboarders, descending down the hill. Sure, it is a thrill to go bombing down the hill, but just hope you don't run into some fair sized boulders.

It might just be me, but everyone that passes me in the opposite direction are so friendly. I guess it's just the weekend crowd that makes the confrontation with non-cyclists that abrasive.

As I was climbing Chantry, it just dawned on me ... these hills remind me a lot of the hillsides in the TV show MASH. Now I know that it was filmed somewhere in SF Valley, but not here in the Santa Anita Canyons.






It's a good thing I brought my windbreaker, because it was cold coming down the mountain. As soon as I started on flatter terrain, on comes the headwinds. It's pretty de-moralizing to see yourself go from 20-25 mph, down to 14 mph, on a stretch where you should be sustaining at least 15 mph ... But on the way home, I just could not maintain any sustainable pace. I don't know if it's because all the energy in my legs were left climbing Chantry ... but I was dragging my ass back. Just hope I'll do a little better on my ride tomorrow.

Stay tuned ...