On the fourth, a local cycling club hosted a sprinting competition. It was a fun, social event. I think it was too early in the morning for my body to work at its optimum level, or I need a lengthy warm-up to get into sprinting well. My heart wasn't really into the competition, but I had a lot of fun.

The stretch of road we used for sprinting is flat. My max speed clocked on my bike was 31.6 mph. I like sprinting because it is fast and exciting. In a race, a lot of times who wins the sprint is the person who has the best strategy. That person catches the wheel of someone else and then sprints around that person at the end for the win. However, if you wait too long or catch a slower wheel, you may not have a decent chance of sprinting around for the front position. All of these decisions happen in an instant, and sometimes choosing the right wheel happens because of luck.

Sprinting favors those with a lot of strength. Also, some very good sprinters are thicker, meatier people rather than the bony, tiny ones. That's because if you are meaty and strong, you can get some momentum going that can propel you forward at a faster rate of speed. Sprinting is usually painful because your heart rate is at its max, but I think it's a good test of fitness. And it doesn't last long, so it does not cause a prolonged feeling of pain like hill climbing.

After the competition, the ladies went on a ride and we climbed a 3.5 mile hill in 95 degree heat. I thought I was going to die. Normal people lay out by the pool on Independence Day. Crazy people, on the other hand, find each other and do nutty things like hill climbing in brutal summer heat.