One more to cross off my bucket list

Janae drinking her Morir Sonando at the bottom of the mountain back in Sept.

       So about the middle of Sept. Janae and I rode to La Vega which is not that far (12 miles) but the elevation change makes it a challenge. Leaving Jarabacoa at 1700 ft and the mountain top is about 2250 then back down the other side to 400 ft. Of course you can figure out the ride down is great but you have to come back up sometime. When we did make it back up, I told Janae that I would like to ride to Santiago sometime but I am not sure that I could make it back up the mountain once I rode that far first. Well..... today I found out I was right :)

Proof that I did make it!

         Leaving the house at 6:00 I was riding back down the other side by 6:45 and enjoying every bit of it. (50+ mph). Once I reached the bottom I started the next  17 miles of the trip to the statue. I guess old age had stunted my memory as to the number of and the intensity of "hill" between La Vega and Santiago. I rode with some other bikers for about 4-5 miles until they got tired of riding so slow and then took off. I made it to the monument before 9:00 and I was aiming for 9:45 so I felt good about that and it felt good to finally get off the bike seat. 30 miles there and by 9:15 I was heading back home. The trip back to LaVega went pretty much with out incident except again I didn't remember the hills this steep and long before. As I turned off the AutoPista to the Jarabacao Highway, the next three miles went less than well. I kept thinking that once I actually started up the mountain, it would be 4 miles of no letting up until the first flat spot, and as my mind kept saying yes, my legs, arms, heart, and actually my whole body was saying NO!!!!!!!!  So my body won. I called Karen and told her that if she would come get me I would buy everyone a Morir Sonando (Orange Julius). 40 minutes later she was there. 52 miles on the odometer of the bike, Bike in the back of the car, Morir Sonando's in our stomachs, we headed back up the mountain to our home. After 1/2 hr nap I was getting ready for our afternoon Spanish church service where I worshiped like any other Sunday (You will need to come down to see what that looks like).

        Janae and I have both really enjoyed riding more since we moved. OK, Maybe that was a stretch to say that Janae has enjoyed it. What about it Greg, Abby, Rachel, Fred. Did you ever really enjoy it? :) HA. It  makes for great memories though, right?