Buko Haus again without stopping!

Not big news anymore but I'll have to admit I was wondering if I could actually do it twice. That is to make it up Cardiac Hill without stopping for a rest again. I wasn't even sure I'd be able to try it again so soon after my Thursday crash. But to my surprise the twisted and scraped knee and bumped tail bone were feeling pretty good so I took off for the Saturday Sabak Bike Ride.

I'll admit there was a little extra incentive to go because one of the Brent teachers wanted to go. But never again! At the top of Cardiac Hill I announced to her in front of the group that I wasn't bringing her again cuz she didn't follow the rules! Rule #1: Don't pass someone older than you, Rule #2: Especially don't make it look that easy!

And though I did make it to Buko Haus again without a rest, just as Triumphant Thursday, there was a let-down today also. Not a crash type of let-down like before but this time one of the young whipper-snappers I was talking to over sipping my fresh coconut juice through a straw, said he had just done Cardiac Hill 6 times that morning. Since it was a hot morning he hadn't done his regular 8 times. Oh well. That's his problem not mine.

Then there was a pat-on-the-back as one of the Sabak owners, Edwin, told me that I was an inspiration to them all when they see me puffing up the mountain. Actually I'm not in it to show anyone up. My ticker needs the exercise. It keeps me feeling good and attentive to the surroundings as I try to keep my front tire out of the rut. And they're a good bunch of guys and gals to be with. They watch out for each other on the trail. We stopped once when one of the experts heard an unusual noise coming from Jeannie's bike. Found her rear wheel was loose and her rear derailer mis-adjusted so fixed it on the spot. Later when another rider's chain broke there was Edwin sitting in the middle of the road with his chain tool putting it back together. They also noticed Kelly's front tire was pretty hard and so reduced it to about 30 PSI so she would have more traction for the type of trail we were on. When one rider got way behind and didn't show up for one 'stop to re-gather', they blew their whistles and contacted him on his cell and directed him on in. Like I say, a good group to bike with. Come and join us. That's an invite.

Milestone Bike Ride Today!

I met one of my riding goals this morning. I went on a ride on the Santa Rosa trails pretty much as usual and with a group of 5 or so. The Ride was a total of 25 miles - not astounding in its own right. The milestone ocurred in the first 4.5 miles, which is what it takes to get to the Buko Haus where we usually stop to get refreshed by sipping the juice from a fresh green coconut. The milestone was that I made it all of the way up Cardiac Hill without stopping and in fact all the way to Buko Haus. Up to this point I've either pedaled as far as I could go and walked the bike the rest of the way up, or more lately, pedaled as far as I could go, rested a few minutes then pedaled the rest of the way.

Today I pedaled all the way without stopping!


Here's the Buko Haus Rest Stop (N14 13.874 E121 00.939)

View looking back down Cardiac Hill from the tower. Looks much bigger and steeper when pedaling up.

Here's my GPS track (in yellow) of the days ride with the first 4.5 miles highlighted in light blue. That is the "Triumph" part. The other dotted tracks are some of my previous rides.

I do have one more goal. Don't know when I'll make that one. It is to make it all of the way up to The Palace in The Sky without being assisted. I have ridden that trail and the key part is steeper than Cardiac Hill and the ride is longer with more total elevation change. On that ride I was assisted by another in the group much stronger and more capable than I, who during the steep portion of the assent literally pushed me by putting his hand in the middle of my back and pedaling for both of us thereby boosting me to the peak. Wow! And Thanks.

So stay tuned. I'll keep you posted. The Palace is mentioned in the following link (http://www.tagaytay.com/what2do.htm).

I didn't strike out like Casey taking the joy out of Mudville, but after the triumphant 4.5 miles I did get dumped while on the Liliput Tail portion of the ride resulting in a bloody knee (again), twisting my knee (the bloody one) so it's double sore, and landing hard on my back. But thanks to my Camelbak Lobo hydration pack and helmet only minor discomfort resulted.