So this sunday we did our traditional sunday calabasas ride starting with Yoga…This ride is the ride with the dreaded merreau climb!! I only mastered this climb ONCE my first time ever yet I still had to stop once or twice in between in order to get up and at a slooowww barely moving pace…The first time I did it I had a Training ride leader and her husband cheering me up behind me and motivating me to keep going..I felt so bad becuase they are MUCH faster then me especially at that time when it was my first ride since  I broke my leg…they were scrambling not to run me down and stay behind me….today since it was the last ride and it was only 25 miles of it STARTING with the Merreau decent and over to West Lake Coffee Bean Vince and I decided to be the last riders out and just coast and enjoy our last ride…..we pretty much did just that…we coasted at a nice leisurely pace and were the last two riders just chillin and catchin up since I had been away for a little over a month and this  was my first time seeing him again…

We get to the lunch pit and get some teas and just lounge on the grass for a good 45 minutes..again we let everyone go ahead and we were the last riders out…actually we werent there were two riders whom I had the pleasure of meeting earlier for the first time after months of email correspondence (Haley and Jose!!) who were missing from the ride..turns out they went two miles ahead and hit up a burger king instead of the coffee bean…So on our way back getting ready mentally to tackle the dreadeded Merreau climb a few miles ahead who comes up speeding past us but Haley and Jose!!!  We all rode together the rest of the way singing songs and joking  and telling funny stories of past calabasas rides…pretty much taking it in and taking a trip down memory lane throughout the year of training…

Come Merreau we let them go ahead of us becuase we HAD TO DO IT…these two can do it no problem..but with Vince's heart rate having to be paced nice and slow and my struggles with climbs we HHHHHAAAADDDD to take a break and make sure we were prepared to defeat the deamon wich is Merreau..the last time I attempted to conquer said deamon I ended up getting dehydrated just .5 miles from the top and had to be revived and I had to walk it wich put me to shame in my own mind…THIS TIME I WAS GONNA DO IT AND DO IT ALL..NO STOPPING NO RESTING I WAS GONNA DO IT NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TOOK…

Let me tell you the mentally preparedness we set aside before beginning our ascent was well worth it..we started in our lowest gear and just coasted along with no effort a mile BEFORE the hill even started to climb so that we wouldnt be exhausted for it…as soon as the ascent started I just kept looking at my wheel move and i phased out didnt think about anything not a single thought but the motion of my wheel going round and round and seeing new bits of pavement being crossed by it…in no time I was at the top of the hill having used little to no effort to get up it…I turned around in shock that it was so effortless and this  whole time I couldnt do it and when I really really wanted to I did with not a single issue or doubt in my mind that i wouldnt and couldnt!! I turned around and I said loud and clear..TAKE THAT BITCH!!! and rode off cheering and throwing my fist into the air at cars passing and smiling at them like a crazy person the whole way back to the finish meeting spot where we had lunch and our new team kits (jersey, shorts, t-shirt and socks) waiting for us!!  I was the last one in and I rode in with pride cheering on my own…Vince and I had such a sense of accomplishment after that ride we still talk about it today..we are now looking forward to the infamous Quadbuster on day 3 that sent me to medical with dehydration for a day last year wich I HAVE TO CONQUER THIS YEAR..I am so ready for it..and we are upset that the 10 mile climb to heaven and back down the other side is taken out on day 1..we were so ready for it!!

So we got our team kits they are very sexy..I will take pictures on day 1 ride out and post them for you all to see..I am not wearing mine until then and it will stay in its packaging until 3am that morning when I get up to leave my hotel!!  Thank you to Haley, Vince and Jose for being my motivation and inspiration on my last important  ride of the training season you all helped me conquer my dreaded deamon of the year…and thank you to Haley and another generous rider for offering me their extra checks if need be..

On the ride home from this ride Vince and I were so victorious we sang classic rock songs and oldies at the top of our lungs on the highway home!!