DOUBT... 1,125 m

Rapha rising day 15, This was a very interesting day for myself. It has seem that all this riding has finally caught up to me because since the time of waking up to watch the tour all the way up to about 30 minutes of riding i just seem to be in a very hazy mindset, pretty much i just didn't want to ride but i still forced myself to. I noticed the lactic acid in my legs built up ride away, here i knew it was going to be a long day so instead of trying to speed up the climb as fast as I'm capable of i decided to pace my self & that seem to be the best thing i could of done because with this slower pace i realized that i shouldn't get caught up with the obsession to see constant results and always try to beat my last time. I almost forgot about the true beauty of biking, it's to enjoy yourself and the beauty around you, & if i have to pull over to take a break then i will because i deserve to enjoy the beautiful view that i worked so hard to reach. So what started out as a morning full of doubt soon turned out to be one of the best things i learned.

Rapha Rising day 15 by thewolverine33 at Garmin Connect - Details

Mt. baldy round 2. 969 m

Another ride on Mt. baldy, the one that always pushes me both mentally and physically. On this ride i acutally climbed up with my best time so far. It was a very tough ride like always & still was unable to get past the infamous switchbacks but still got close to 1000 meters.

                                               The rest area right before the switchbacks, my usual checkpoint

                                                                  Peanut butter jelly time!

Rapha rising day 14 by thewolverine33 at Garmin Connect - Detail

A cloudy day isn't always a sad day. 852 m

Day 13 for the rapha rising was a good ride for myself not the most feet/meters climbed but a great ride for myself. As i get more used to the roads i know what gears to push, today i pushed bigger gears than i usually do & it was so far the fastest i reached the top of what the locals call GMR. The weather defiantly played a big roll in my ride, since it was mostly cloudy the temp was around 75 degrees compared to the brutally summer heat of 110 degrees on day 1. I was really surprised how little watter i needed when it's not as hot so less water weight was a little help on the climb.

Rapha rising day 13 by thewolverine33 at Garmin Connect - Details

Tuning It Up. 1,038 m

Tuned up the bike & tuned up the hair, feeling a little fresher i was ready to tackle my 1000 meters. I started off feeling great really good into about a hour in my ride i got some of the most worst  knee pain I've experienced yet. Now i have no idea what's going on here i was almost sure that i have adjusted my bikes saddle and seat post enough, my only guess could be my cleats might possibly be off? well almost turning back i decided to finish of the ride since i got past most of the hard part.

Rapha rising day 12 by thewolverine33 at Garmin Connect - Details

Going to battle with the beast. 954 m

Day 11 of the rapha rising & i went to war with the toughest local climb ,Mt baldy road. This is the climb that always gets the best of me no matter how good i feel. It's definitely a Cat 1 maybe even a HC with grades reaching around 12% or more. Although she got the best of me i still pushed hard and long in the zone that i only experience with cycling. Also i passed the two spots were my mind seems to always crack on the previous rides. Now ill give Mt baldy the win since i didn't get passed the switchbacks but i do plan on completing the switchbacks before July 22.

Rapha rising day 11 by thewolverine33 at Garmin Connect - Details

Rapha Rising day 10- 640 m

rode one of my favorite climbing courses  today it's not as elevated as my other routes probably a category 2-3 so didn't get to many meters in but i am happy to notice much better results, i felt much stronger and better in shape. today's ride really felt effort less compared to how i use to feel before i stated the rapha rising so very happy to see results. Also there is now 483 competitors i am currently ranked 144, i really hope to move up to at least top 100 before the week is over.

Rapha rising day 10 by thewolverine33 at Garmin Connect - Details

Losing my focus to the DARK SIDE. Rapha rising day 7,8,9-513 m :(

 It was Friday morning coming off a great ride the day before & really focused to move up the rankings of the rapha rising i knew Friday & Saturday would be crucial days to put work in.... Well i find out that it's my friends birth day and all the boys are going to celebrate by going camping in the mountains that i usually ride. So i had a tough decision but decided to let loose a little which turned into a lot. Since we were camping in the mountains were i ride i tried to get a little ride in which only came out to 513 M but that was not the upset for me, the real upset was how i indulged myself in alcohol all night with the guys acting like a teenager again into i finally passed out then waking up with the usual hang over that comes with the punishment of acting like a fool, i new my Saturday ride was doomed. Now as for Sunday... another soccer game for me so no ride. so three days lost, & let me not forget to mention that two riders have officially finished so winning this thing has been long out of reached but i will still be happy to see how far i could go just for myself so not giving up.

Rapha rising day 7 by thewolverine33 at Garmin Connect - Details