Evolution

Some rides just evolve. I wanted to take Quique to Devon Pass, and we both adore Eden Ridge Road so we rolled out of St Andrews heading East. We warmed up thoroughly, spinning all the way through Ceres; we spun for most of the ride in reality, just relaxing and chatting--a lot about the apparent ticking time bomb that is RadioSchleck-Nissan-Trek-Jingleheimer-Schmidt (Red Kite Prayer shout out for that gem). We hit the bottom of the northern approach to Devon Pass--what I now think is the hardest climb in the area after the Lomond Hills--and we made our way up, not too slowly, but the steep pitches necessitate super low gearing. The climb is beautiful, lots of fun, and it tapers out towards the top: the hardest climbing is really on the lower slopes before the road swings to the right. A fun, fast descent ensued, and we were soon on the Eden Ridge Road, one of the most scenic stretches of tarmac, if also one of the roughest at times. Both of us had good legs, so we decided to take a slight detour and extend our ride, something that we did again, heading towards Peat Inn before veering off again and rolling towards Largoward. We wanted to keep going, the legs and minds felt fresh, it wasn't too cold, and it was still sunny. While I'm always a little wary about extending past a plan (as that's usually when bad stuff happens) the day was just too nice to give up on. Taking more descents to Kingsbarns we just kept talking away the miles, I barely believed what my Garmin was showing me. Turning back towards St Andrews, I realized my legs had never felt this fresh for so long. I felt the miles (its hard not to from my bike), but it didn't affect me as badly. Cooling off along St Andrews, both Enrique and I were surprised at our apparent fitness, always a nice feeling before you enter race season. Some rides just evolve from just a spin with a friend, further, more time, into a great confidence boosting ride that lets you know you may be ready.