Well, it was Chris’s last ride, so we made it count. We’d always been talking about a big hill to the Northeast of Cheonan, so I set up the route and he was up for it. He’s always up for it. That’s one of the things I’m going to miss most about having him around. I never lacked for someone to ride with — rain or shine (although I never voluntarily went out in the rain, and the two times it started after I was out I was with Chris). He was even a frequent partner on a lot of my 4:30 AM BCFBs.
Today’s ride was a fantastic ride. Parts of it most certainly the best riding I’ve ever done. There even came a point in the ride when I looked at Chris and said, “this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.” We had just descended into a beautiful valley after that killer climb — 1,600 feet in 3 miles with a grade reaching 15% at times — and it was entirely worth it. It was one of the most quiet and peaceful places I’d experienced in Korea (maybe even a place for my cabin?). Even on the home stretch, when the legs were feeling a bit rubbery, I still thought it was one of the best rides I’d ever had.
A good day. A great memory.
Interesting story: as we were climbing up the second valley on the way home (the valley of the cherry blossoms in the picture above), I pulled over to take a picture near an Italian restaurant and some guy standing up the hill in a ball cap says, “Yo.” I didn’t recognize him at first until I started in his direction. It was Shawn — a guy who works right down the hall from me. We’re always talking about good restaurants, and apparently the Italian restaurant out of which he’d just come was one such place. I’ll have to get the full report from him tomorrow.
And here’s the Relive video for you.
Yay. Excellent way to spend a birthday! Looks like it was a beautiful day for a ride.