Sunday 2/13/2005 – Maple Valley and Cougar Mountain

Today crew chief Ben and I met up a little after 11:00 AM to put in some good base miles. We both wanted to get some good miles in but since we both had ridden fairly hard the previous day didn’t want to push the tempo too much. We ended up riding out to Maple Valley, a staple route with decent climbing. It was a largely uneventful ride, with a decent amount of climbing. On the way back we modified our route slightly and instead of heading back on our standard gradual climb through Issaquah we turned and took the route over Cougar Mountain.

While only a little over a thousand feet high, cougar definitely is one of the toughest extended climbs close to Seattle. Climbing up Cougar always seems easier in the summer. At some points on the climb it feels like you have to weight the front wheel to keep it grounded to the pavement. On reaching the top, it was back down over Mercer Island and back home. I ended up walking in the apartment a little before 5. Total ride distance, a little over 80 miles.

For recovery, it was more whey, TR, etc, after changing I was back on the road this time in a car to meet a good friend for dinner. Tomorrow I will take a well earned rest day.