How to Make a Zombie

Recipe for Zombie Ryan:

1. Toss and turn all night in anticipation of beating Big Red.
2. Wake up at 6:20AM.
3. Ride for an hour on the singlespeed (making Big Red).
4. Hurry home and go to work.

So that's where the ride this morning has left me. I'm pretty much a zombie. I'm able to get some work done, but it's not my best.

Big Red:


I was excited to finally make it up Big Red on my SS. I remember stopping at the top and when I looked down I saw that my heart rate was hovering around 198 beats per minute. A little high. It took me several minutes to rest and relax before I was ready to continue, but I was pretty happy to finally make it.

I wish I had the right words to describe how draining of a climb it was for me. The best I could think of was imagine that you are perfectly healthy and happy and then in the course of about a minute you go from happy to a really bad flu. You feel very weak all of a sudden, your legs barely hold you up, your chest is tight and you can barely breath. You instinctively put your head down and then get dizzy. The next 10-15 minutes you can't catch your breath and your legs feel like they've been riding all day.

Anyways it was a good ride. Not a lot of climbing, but I'd like to think the climbing I did do was intense. I tried to clear this one section twice and just could not get it.

Tough Section:


I tried the right side first because I thought it was the widest and smoothest way up. The problem is that with the rigid fork I end up approaching the climb at a very slow speed. I have to ramp up really fast at the base of the climb and that never works. I only made it maybe halfway up before having to walk up in the mud. (The mud made it hard to climb as well.)

The second attempt was after I had done Big Red, but I felt like I was warm and could make it. I tried the left side. This approach was way worse than the first attempt. I basically started from a dead stop at the base. The stupid ruts and my rigid fork just don't allow for momentum to be carried.

I made it about 80% up before my foot came out of the pedal causing me to come off. I really think I actually pulled it _straight_ out. Normally you have to turn to the side to get out, but I think I was pulling so hard that I just yanked it out. I was bummed because I was pouring all I had into the climb. It was ugly though. My front wheel was popping up all over the place and I felt like I was doing push-ups trying to use my upper body to help get the cranks around.

All in all it was a good ride. It made me a zombie for a day, but what can you do? I hit my goal of 10mph, but I don't think it counts because there wasn't enough climbing.

(PS. I used GPS Racer on GeoLadders and it looks like I did Big Red in about 54 seconds. Sweet.)