Heading towards the mountains once again

I am just back from another good road spin and since I have to admit I having difficulties to keep my hillclimb demand under control I decided to head towards the mountains this morning. The plan was to get over the Sally Gap 'cause I haven't been there for a long time. I left at 9 am from Milltown and crossed Stepaside, Enniskerry to start the climb up towards the Sally Gap.

After I got shocked (in the good meaning of the word) how many mountain bikers were up in the Ballinastoe carpark, I settled into a steady pace as I climbed next to the fantastic looking Lough Tay. That place always amazes me! :)

I just simply can't cycle by this without stopping for a second

Now at this point the weather started to turn into a bit more serious, the temperature has dropped a good bit and the whole place got more and more savage as I got closer to the top. Once I crossed the junction I started my super fast downhill towards Blessington and the N81 that leads back to Dublin.

The road surface was wet and the rain started to fall as well, so I was very careful on the way down. Now, of course I was very tempted too to get some nice speed going where I had a chance to do it safely. So I let the bike go couple of times and as a result I got the maximum speed as high as 67,3 km/hour. Sweet! ;)

Bend after bend and I was getting closer and closer to the main road that I wanted to use as my route to get back home. Thankfully the rain has stopped not long after I started my descent and of course the temperature got more friendly too.

Excellent view, isn't it?

After I hit the busy N81 I settled into some noce and steady pace and I got back to Dublin in no time. I got throuh Tallaght and Tempelogue and got home just for lunch what I really needed at this point indeed. 

Elevation and speed graph

Today's spin was excellent, I really enjoyed myself on the bike. I have done 75 km under 2 hours and 50 minutes with avarage speed of 26,6 km/hour. I am happy for this though 'cause it is good pace for me considering all the climbs along the way.

Now, I am ready to have a very relaxed afternoon at home with my wife Anett. Will watch some movies and have some gorgeous pastry that she made earlier on. What a way to spend my Saturday, hah?! I certenly can't complain! :)