numbers

Have I mentioned that the Col de Porte is my favorite climb? According to my notes, I've done it about 15 times in the last year and a half, and then a few more times in my first year here. I clearly remember the first time in the spring of 2005. It was harder than anything I'd done before, but conquering it primed me for my best summer of cycling. I have never been in better shape.

I'm far from that glorious state this year, but I'm still hopeful to unsloth myself for the Dolomites marathon, two weeks from tomorrow. Since I haven't ridden at all in the two weeks since the Challenge Dauphiné, I felt drastic measures were necessary. So today I decided to test my mettle against the Col de Porte, just this climb, nothing else, going as hard as I could, my personal mountain time trial if you will.

The climb gains 1073 meters over 15.3 kilometers, for an average gradient of exactly seven per cent. I felt sluggish at the bottom but felt better with every turn in the road, working myself into the zone. My brain had bitten into the climb like a pitbull terrier and wasn't gonna let go. The pain in lung and legs faded away like details on the roadside. I reached the pass an instant after my right calf locked up with a cramp, after exactly 54 minutes and 22 seconds.

With this ride I could rest assured of calm ride in two weeks if the marathon only included one or two climbs. It has about seven, though, and my biggest weakness is endurance. Maybe I shouldn't just hammer up the same climb over and over again, getting high on numbers, but do a few more hundred-mile rides to get my legs to understand the concept of distance.