THE HILLS ARE ALIVE.....blah, blah, blah

Last weekend (I'm getting lazy with this blog thing), we went back to the hills for 3 hour scheduled ride. It was finally not too cold so decided no time is too early to start riding out in the sticks, plus we are getting sick of our local sites, or lack thereof. Anyhow, haven't been to the hills since probably September of last year so this was going to be difficult, for me anyway. We had a nice, small, sane group (I know, hard to believe) so that was nice. I didn't obey my MAHR because this is truly impossible for me going uphill with any speed. I also don't know my way around and it's easy to get lost so getting dropped from the others was not an option. We took a different way back to add on about an hour after about 30-something miles and it was really fun. The wind was howling and the hills were solid with some steady climbs. I was jacked because it reminded me so much of Kona, without the heat. Here, I dropped back from the main group to have, invite if you will, the wind into my face and actually enjoyed it. Riding into the wind is a skill and attitude has everyting to do with how you approach it. It can be very defeating if you let it get into your psyche and taunt you, however, it can be powerful to look at it in a different light and embrace the fact that you are getting stronger just for the wind being there. This will only really make sense (or not) to those who ride and especially to those who have ridden in Hawaii. 20-30 MPH winds here are a "nonwindy" day in Hawaii, in my experience. So, I've gotten into a new place in my psyche (scary) and plan to work on that and embrace the wind with this newfound joy. Wonder how long this will last! I truly feel my experience in Kona last October will strengthen me in many ways. I look forward to our trip to the hills this weekend, weather permitting. Like the Dane says "the wind is your friend".....unless it's in the form of a hurricane, tornado, blizzard, etc!