Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year to everyone!!! Amazing.... 2009! Can you believe it?!?! I can't! Where did 2008 go? Now it is really time to set some goals and get back in the saddle again to make my 40th year one of my best ever!

I started the new year one day early with an epic ride up the infamous Mt. Lemmon! Absolutely breath taking! I set out from Grandma and Grandpa's house at around 12:30 pm with a tank bike jersery as it was 25' C and feeling hot on my back. Of course the local roadies to this area were wearing long sleaves and leggings. I didn't really have a plan to tackle the mountain today as Shawn also wanted to do the climb and he decided to stay back and swim in the pool with the guys.

After just under and hour of exploring the wide open bike friendly roadways here, I found myself at the bottom of Mt. Lemmon at mile 0. I thought, I will just climb for 5 miles until the toll, and see if I have to pay the $5 fee to get to the top. The road climbed through more cactus forests and several switch backs later, I found myself at the toll. At this point, I had already counted 25 cyclists doing the same route. I had one roadie fly by me, yelling "Way to go girl, you rock"! Ya right, he went by me like I was standing still. The Cervelo is not a climbing bike. I was missing my Specialized compact gearing big time! I asked the fellow if we needed to pay to climb this thing... Nope, just giver to the top, free of charge! The sign said 20 miles to Palisades, 26 miles to Summerhaven, and 32 miles to the ski hill. If I had to climb the next 15 miles at a whopping 8.5 minute per mile, that was going to put me at the first destination in like a couple of hours! OMG!! I decided to take it one mile at a time. After getting past the cactus forest, the terrain started to change and I was entering into Hoodoo country! So amazing, I just had to keep going!

I made it to mile 12 and decided I had to get to at least mile 15! When I saw the highway at the top of the picture, I didn't think I was going to make it.
This was what I saw when I looked up along the roadside! So cool! There were signs everywhere saying "Watch for Falling Rock" Yikes!

More Hoodoos! The pictures do no justice to the real deal!

Mile 15!!!! I did it. I was so exhilarated from the view, I wanted to keep going, but this is where I started to feel a bit of altitude sickness. I was getting dizzy and nauseated and so I thought it would be best to start heading down. Now, this is where a smart cyclist would have been more prepared. Yah, remember that tank top I was wearing.... I now had to go screaming back down, and all the cyclist were putting on jackets and arm warmers. It was freezing. There was snow on the side of the road in parts.

I had to stop and get some tourists from Jersey to take my picture. They were laughing at me and my lack of clothing and they new why I wanted the photo.... To prove I really did it!! Just after leaving this point, I saw a sign that said 6000 ft elevation! So, I figure I was up to around 6500 at the Hoodoo Vista Point. It took me 2.5 hours to get to my mile 15 mark, and then just one hour to get back to Grandma's! So, so, amazing! I recommend it to everyone! It was the best way to see the mountain. I will have to do it again one day!.... Shawn still wants to go!... Maybe tomorrow? Ha Ha! Oh yeah, the count for cyclist doing the climb was 45!! Including me! This place is a cyclist's heaven!