Second ride of the weekend and second time out with the crew from Bulls-Eye Bike Club.
The day started off weird. As I came out the front door of my house at 6:45am, I was met by a young man in a hoody wandering off my neighbor's front porch and towards my door. I asked if I could help him with something, he muttered "It's all good" and wandered off between our houses. The odd thing is... all of the houses have fenced in back yards. Where he went from there or what he wanted at that early hour, I can only guess. Nothing appears to be amiss in either back yard and houses were locked up tight so no foul at this point. Next up, I got all the way to the meet up point (on time, I might add) only to realize that I'd forgotten my helmet. Back home I went and managed to arrive only 15 minutes late, thankfully the group waited for me. :)
There were 9 of us today and I quickly learned that we would be riding Shaun's FNR route. I've seen the markings on the road in various locations but I've never purposefully followed them. FNR in 18" tall yellow paint on the road, accompanied by an arrow. Turns out this is a 70 km, September ride officially known as the Frozen Nipple Ride which I can only imagine is due to the brisk weather in Alberta that time of year. Guess I'll find out this fall.
The FNR heads North out of Spruce Grove on Jennifer Heil Way towards the infamous Massive Hill of Death. Fortunately this was not to be my fate today though little did I know something more sinister was lurking in the shadows. I haven't got a map to show for it as I neglected to start my Nike Running app before we left so you'll need to take my word on this one. If I had to find the route again, I might get lost doing it. While it is marked FNR, I can't even recall the first turn direction (I think it was right) as the FNR has the magical skill of numbing your mind through the constant application of hills. Here is the account to the best of my recollection:
It was a beautiful day with fluffy white clouds and large patches of blue. I always enjoy a new route and this one started uphill almost from the gate. Heading north out of town I believe we took a right. The sun warmed the air enough that I shed my fleece by the top of the first hill. The FNR is beautiful! Rolling green fields, miles and miles of sky, and hills, everywhere you look, there are hills. After heading East (that was the right we took), we turned left and headed North again, further info the hills. It seemed that they were never ending. Even taking another left to head West (strong headwind coming at us), there were hills. Now, even with new street slicks and clip in shoes, my little hybrid is no match for the giant street bikes which which I was riding. So, coming to an intersection, Herb and I headed straight through, continuing West while the rest of the pack had taken a Northern route to loop out around us and catch up at the next intersection. It was a HUGE uphill climb when Herb and I turned North again. Meeting up with the group, we turned around and to my delight, Herb let me know that, "It's downhill from here". Keep in mind that the original working title for this post was Herb is a Liar! :) What he meant was, we are now going downhill before we start going back uphill.
We were now heading South and turned right to head further West. At some point we crossed RT 779 North of Stony Plain and the usual road that I turn onto to head to Chickakoo. Yes, we were in the Glory Hills and heading up still. I don't know how Shaun managed to do it but the FNR route is uphill the whole way. Not just part of the way but the whole way. Herb had the kindness to ride up beside me to check in and let me know that "By the way, there is one more killer hill ahead. I just think that you should prepare for it.". Thanks, Herb, thanks a lot... I think. One more killer hill ahead. How bad could it be? Do you recall The Massive Hill of Death from 2 weeks ago? Yeah, it has an evil twin, The Rolling Hill of Death. I encountered The Rolling Hill of Death about 2 hours into the ride. It goes uphill in waves. Steep up, small flat, steep up, small flat, repeat until you lose count and are actually at the top of the world, in the clouds, as high up as an airplane... I exaggerate. Let's just say it is a BIG hill. Like it's evil twin, I refused to stop and dismount and did make it to the top in super slow motion. I think I could have walked that hill faster! It was BIG I tell you!
We now turned and rode around a loop that took us uphill and then back around to the bottom of The Rolling Hill of Death. That's right folks, I did not even have the pleasure of riding down the hill. No, no, it was uphill to the bottom of the hill... I haven't figured that out yet but I'm tellin' ya, the FNR is tricky! Here it began to spit drizzle at us, the sky clouded over, and the wind picked up with a chill. I think The Rolling Hill of Death was angry that I hadn't walked. Honestly, some hills have such bad attitudes!
The rest of the ride is a bit of a blur, one of the roads gave me my first taste of "bone jarring" rough riding. I'm pretty sure that if I were made of glass, my arms would have shattered. :D So good thing I am not made of glass.
It was a fantastic ride with a great bunch of people. Tanis & Dana who rode back for me several times (did I mention that my bike is slow?), Herb who amuses me to no end with his stories of riding downhill. It isn't true, Herb, it is never true, but thank you for trying. Lucas who wiped out and lived to tell about it. Ron and Shaun who made a great story of Lucas' wipe-out, Corey, and that one guy in yellow who I don't recall his name who were all so very encouraging! :)
See you on the roads soon!
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