I Love the Hill Country

Livestrong Challenge Austin (45 Mile Route)
LiveStrong Ride
Austin
10/25/09

This year Livestrong turned into a brick workout so I had to forgo riding my favorite 90 mile route with its spectacular ride along the river in Wimberley and 12 mile climb over Devil's Backbone into Blanco and back. Instead I took the shorter 45 mile (though equally hilly and beautiful) route so that I could come back and test my legs on a transition run. Despite the previous day's hillacious 12.5 mile run up Scenic and Pecos, the legs felt pretty darned good and I was able to hold my intended pace on the 30 minute transition run afterward. Thank goodness for Tough Cookie friends, because this day seemed a lot more like good fun than it did a "workout."

Some highlights from the day:
-Rode with Lance for a few milliseconds. Unfortunately I thought the "woop woop" sound behind me was an EMS vehicle, so I slowed to get out of the way ... and it was on a stretch that I usually like to go screaming fast ... downhill. Lance...you so ruined my avg mph (right)
-Saw the little boy and his dad made famous in Lance's TdF training YouTube. Funny, because I recognized the little boy's riding style first. Didn't get to say anything to him because our routes split just as I came on them.
-Met Eldon, aka FatCyclist.com. It's so fun to put a real person with a web persona.

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Livestrong Challenge Austin 10-25-09