Arrogant fool

"When I was a little boy, (when I was just a boy)

And the Devil would call my name (when I was just a boy)

I'd say "now who do, Who do you think you're fooling?" (when I was just a boy)"

- Paul Simon

Let's cut to the chase: I walked up part of a hill, continued on and wound up turning around before the top on my ride today admitting defeat.

I started my ride not knowing the course but conceptually realizing it would be hilly. Shortly into my ride, I did 6 miles of a hill that averaged a little over 4% incline. My Garmin says where I walked topped out at 27%. During this hill I averaged a blistering 6.2 mph and my power averaged 238w (250 NP) for the 30 minutes even after I walked. My legs were quivering and I still couldn't see where it ended. I turned around and went down the hill. Rather than go and curl up in a corner like my body wanted to, I added on another 25 miles to get me over the 40 mile mark for today's ride. This turned this ride into a real training ride totaling a little over 4200ft of climbing.

Perhaps I'm arrogant since I didn't "know" these hills but I'm disappointed with my performance. I thought the improvement in my fitness would be enough for this ride but perhaps I am only fooling myself. There is more work to do, obviously. Carrying my weight up the hill didn't help either. I got beat. I got humbled.

Luckily there is more hill work this week to redeem myself in my mind with a true rock star performance.