There are No Donuts In Hell: Part 2

Cece has been climbing lately.  For a big girl on a bike , climbing is hard.  All the skinny girls pass her. She remembers  when Santa Clause , in female form., passed her singing jingle bells while going up hill in full suit and boots...and that really got her mad!

Even so, Cece has been climbing again.....and doing some difficult ones at that...but today she ventured forth with one of those skinny climbing girls and climbed hell's hill.  Why does she call it that? 

Well, there comes a time on the bike when  you meet the devil.  In any sport there is that moment.  In yoga it is when  your teacher tells you, ":Well go ahead and die then...."  in cycling it is when you are going uphill and you wonder if you go much slower whether you will just fall right over.  There is no song in your mind, only the burning of your in breath and the heaviness of your legs trying to turn over the peddles.  This is when you know you have met the devil.  You are tempted to stop...to give up...who cares...and you tell yourself many thoughts....you just want the pain to stop...so what are you going to do?  Will you quit or push through?

 And so Cece organized a ride through what she calls Hells Hill.She rode with her friend Stephanie who when she saw the hill said, AH!! My beloved hill."  See the difference?   It is the hill that approaches the Star Center in Rio Rancho entering  from Paseo Vulcan.  In the pic above she was the she devil a top that hill one year  and encouraged people upward...even one man wanted donuts and she growled,. "There are no donuts in hell!"

Well, just as they made it to the top of Hell's hill and began to come down, Cece started to have a series of difficulties that were almost beyond her control.  First her under seat bag tore a hole in her shorts and skin was exposed. and  each time she pedaled  her inner thigh skin pinched and she yelled,  "OWWWW!"  She quickly discovered that if she did not pedal she would not get pinched...but that only took her so far......so she yelled to Stephanie to pull over.  Cece thought she could take her socks off and put them in her upper inner thigh..,.here forth to be called the crotch area..... but when she discussed this  with  Stephanie, Stephanie suggested she use one of her arm warmers instead,.  Cece said,"You don't want your arm warmer in my crotch do you?"  Stephanie said "Well I do have a washing machine you know!"  What a friend! 

So, in the middle of the highway with all kinds of trucks and equipment drivers going by, Cece stuck her hand down her pants and adjusted the arm warmer into her crotch.  She adjusted and  adjusted it to get it just so...and commented that many passers by were looking....but what can you do ?  Just say "Oh Well."

Off they went..none the worse for wear.  The arm warmer was working perfectly!    Down a nice hill and then up a tricky one....and as Cece arrived on a flat section at last, she realized she had a back flat.  She yelled ahead to Stephanie and she came rolling back.  They tried various cartridges they had to pump the tire up and it carried them a bit farther, but suffice it to say that  the tire would  not hold air.

Stephanie rode ahead to get the car.  Cece asked if she wanted her keys so she could drive her SUV back (Steph has a little Audi) but Stephanie said no and took off.   Cece started walking up the last long hill...with her bike and in her cleats.  There is nothing quite like walking uphill in cleats...you are walking on your heels like a duck.  The sun was hot and the hill was long and Cece walked on! All of a sudden back came Stephanie asking for Cece's keys!  She had forgotten she had her mountain bike in the car too!  So off she went again.  Cece walked on. 

Just as Cece reached the top of the last long hill, Stephanie arrived in Cece's car.  They loaded up , and off they went back to the aquatic center in Rio Rancho, their home base for this ride.

Well, all was well in the long run and the two friends laughed at their unpredictable adventure  in the early morning!  They are already planning their next ride!