Our first big climb and boy did I dread it. Deer Creek is just several miles of constant climbing up a canyon. This ride was tough and I ended up stopping 3 times during the climb. It felt miserable having to stop, but I kept getting right back on the road until I made it to the top. The best thing about getting to the top was the ride down. I hadn’t really done any descents before but I knew that the best technique was to relax and trust the bike. It was great just flying down the canyon and hitting 41+ mph. It can be a bit scary hitting those speeds and knowing you don’t have any protection except for a helmet. But it is also thrilling and I wished it would have lasted longer. I felt like I finished this ride a lot stronger. The last few miles were the same as when we rode at Chatfield previously. The first time I struggled to go over 12 mph, but this time I was doing 16 or 17mph and that was after that Deer Creek climb.
