First Time This Year for Fireoak

Today I turned my bike's wheel toward one of the neighborhood's bigger hills, Fireoak. In just a four-tenths of a mile, the road first drops by 60 feet and then retakes every foot back up, plus a few more. The ends of the road make for steep climbing, but I managed to stay out of the smallest front chain ring, the kind of bravado some cyclists trade after a hard hill. I've heard my friend Ron calling out "No granny, no granny" while climbing up a steep hill in Burnet County, meaning he was trying to stay out of the little ring that leads to the easiest "granny" gear. (He managed it, but I didn't on that day.) Fireoak reminds me today of the kind I will need to get accustomed to along that Burnet County Road 303, the hardest stretch of this year's ride. One month from today, I'll be done with that stretch.

I'm making an 87-mile effort over three days this week, with 10 today, 24 on the Rosedale Ride on Saturday, and then the 53 of Dripping Springs. 87 miles in three days is not 120 in two, but it's getting closer.