The last few weeks leading up to this weekend I had been looking around the city for a sweet little hill I could practice on. Watching the chatter on the forum led to some good options but nothing to prepare me for the weekend of the Horrible Hilly Hundred followed by the Fox River Grove Cycling Challenge.

After a terrible nights sleep on the oak floor of the Mount Horeb High School with nothing more than a yoga mat for comfort, I slogged out of my sleeping bag at 4:30 in the morning to grab some breakfast and head up to the top Blue Mounds State Park. The hills were gruelling. I lost count but since I opted for the 100k route, maybe 6 or 7 hills lasting between 3 and 15 minutes took its toll on my legs. The final climb back up to the top of the park was the toughest and the ice cold shower and a dip in the pool never felt so good.

Fast forward 22 hours to Fox River Grove...

I was signed up for two races back to back [Masters 30+ and the 4's] with a juniors race in between to rest my legs and just enough time to fuel up. I knew that I needed to be up front from the start because it would string out super fast. My placement at the start of the Masters race was less than ideal (near the back). The short, steep hill was so much more grueling today, Why? For one, I was racing up it with everything I had rather than taking my time and pacing myself as I had the day before. Near the top of every climb, just as I was beginning to fade and pull back on the reins, there were teammates cheering us on. Good rhythm! Dig Deeper! Catch that wheel! I appreciate that kind of encouragement. I needed it.

During the 4's race I again was not able to keep up with the pack and fell behind by 10-15 seconds from the chase group. I got the "pulled rider" signal as I came around with two to go and although I was a little bummed, I think I got enough hill practice for one weekend.

Thanks to RDS Cycling for putting the race together it was great fun and hope to be back next year.