WAY better bike ride today!

R and I rode the bike course one time around (36 miles) and R doesn't have a problem with the hills on the bike course as he can power up the hills no problem. I, on the other hand, am working pretty darned hard the entire course. And I was just told at the bicycle shop that women are supposed to better going up the hills. NOT this woman!

So here are the things I did in the past 3 days to help myself:

1)
I changed out my handlebars (not for the hills, but for a better fit on the bike)

2)
Changed out the multiple teeth near the back tire (don't know what it's called). The point of changing this part is to help me pedal faster with less resistance while going up a hill.

3)
Decided to eat more while on the trail. I don't really like chewing while I'm huffing and puffing and feeling like I'm going to die, but they told me I need to, so I did.

So with all these things combined, I made it up the multiple hills and it was much better then the 1st time. I didn't want to cry on the last hill and that was a miracle in and of itself. I still zig-zagged up 2 hills, but I think I might leave enough time for our runner to run 13 miles afterall.
Only time will tell, but I felt better and that's a start.

Oh and on another good note: Rick swam the entire 1.2 miles the other day and felt really good, so he's pretty happy. It was the first time he swam the entire distance, so was pleasantly surprised when he completed the 1.2 miles in a time he was really happy with.