Covered Bridge Ride (aka Lessons in Humility)

We came, we saw, we conquered.

Kent, Rich, and I (later joined by Bert) took on the famed Covered Bridge ride on Saturday. I had heard stories of the famed ride and in fact lived many, many years ago in the general vicinity of the legendary route, but never turned a pedal onto it's tarmac until yesterday. The day started rather benignly as we rolled from the Paradise Valley floor towards High Ridge. As you can see from the elevation map, those aren't just subdivision or town monikers, but rather aptly named geographic formations. The climb from the valley is a long drawn out climb which doesn't punish you all at once, but slowly extracts it's pain in the form of lactic acid. On this ride, it's not the only climb to do so.

As we got into High Ridge, we began working a series of rollers which were either good for taking at a solid cadence or on the attack. Nothing too severe, but again, more taxing efforts for your legs (catching a theme here?) Kent told me we'd only have 3 stop lights on the ride and we'd already passed 2 of them, so the traffic was light and the scenery was nothing short of amazing. Say what you want about the majesty of the mountains or the beauty of an ocean sunset, but the rolling terrain of Missouri always captures my heart. The heavily wooded countryside, open fields, meandering waterways, and brilliant blue skies let me know this countryside will always be my home.

Riding with Kent and Rich, and me for that matter, there is never a shortage of friendly attacks or jumps to keep the pace from getting too mundane. Early in the ride, I was feeling good, was comfortable on the climbs, so I decided to do a little work at the front. What I didn't know was the terrain to come. Kent and Rich were licking their chops and preparing themselves for the homeward bound climbs. We rolled into Covered Bridge and decided to take a quick break to refuel and answer nature's call. Rich simply couldn't get enough fuel, so even when asked to pose for a picture, kept his chocolate Hammer gel flowing.

Here's Kent and Rich discuss life and it's issues in the shadows of our destination, the Covered Bridge.

After a little refueling, it was time to begin climbing. Now, I'm not making excuses, but I've never been a big fan of stopping during longer rides. I guess it's due to the fact that I warm-up slowly and once I cool back down slightly, I don't feel comfortable on the bike again for 30 minutes or so. Well, that's a bad recipe for what laid before me. As you roll out of Goldman (thriving metropolis which is home to the Covered Bridge) you immediately begin your ascent to the heavens. Over the next 20 miles, you're greeted with seemingly endless climbs. I did okay on the first long climb, but I could feel my left calf cramping ever so slightly. As we neared the top, I eased off a little and tried to stretch out my legs while on the bike.

Rolling down the very fast descent of Old Lemay Ferry Road, we hit a short section of flatter pavement and Kent decided to drop the hammer and when the pace shot north of 30mph, Rich and I decided we'd save a little for the next climb. Kent was flying up the road (later he added that was his plan for being able to take the steep upcoming climb at his pace.) It really didn't matter because the next climb (in Antonia as we crossed Highway M) blew all three of us up pretty good. We looked like climbers strung out across the face of Mt. Everest making our assault on the summit. I cursed my aching legs and back and for the first time in a long, long time actually gave a thought to stopping and walking up the hill. This hill had my number and it was punching it without mercy. I felt like I was pedalling sandbags, as my legs swelled with lactic acid. At one point, I decided to downshift, stand on the pedals and then upshift trying to ease my cadence with a little pain induced speed. This climb makes you suffer and suffer I did.

As we got to the top and turned onto Four Ridge Road, I recall thinking to myself, "well the tough climbs are over, so get into a good cadence and take this ride home." Nice thought, but I couldn't seem to clear my legs of the lactic acid. They continued to feel heavy and when we picked up another ICCC rider, Bert, the pace quickened. I immediately sat-up. We were 2h45m into the ride with another 30-45 mins to go and I thought the downhills won't come soon enough. I wasn't bonking, but my legs were not responding. Rich ended up sitting up and waiting for me and brought me back to the others. Thanks, Rich!

We made one final pit stop in High Ridge where it turns out we saw riders from several other teams rolling through. Here a couple of the Dent Wizards are taking a break from the outbound climbs. Bert, who joined up with up later in the ride is on the left.

After topping off the fuel, we pacelined very quickly down back down to the valley floor. We were rocking and rolling and since there was little to no traffic around us, we were using every square inch of our lane of pavement. This was by far the most enjoyable part of the ride as the pace was quick, my legs were responding, and we all seemed to be having fun. As we neared the bottom of a very fast downhill section, I was following Kent through a sharp corner when we discovered some golf ball sized rocks in the middle of the lane, I barely caught the edge of one and was amazed I didn't end up wadded up on the side of the road. Following the corner, Kent and Bert immediately jumped and at first I decided to let them go, but then decided to chase. I caught up with them and then kept pouring it on. I felt great and was actually going to come around them, but thought we had a little farther to go and eased off. As we rounded the bend fifteen seconds later, I realize we were back near our starting point.

All in all, it was a great ride. Good Christian fellowship and healthy doses of humility and suffering. I'm starting to look forward to my weekend thrashings at the hands of stronger riders. Each week I'm reminded of how far I've progressed but just how much farther the road leads outward and upward. I appreciate the opportunity to ride in those groups and thank each one of them for their teaching, guidance, and support.

Romans 5:3 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance."