garbage truck hill

for my second training ride, i decided to meet up with the "hollywood east side posse" that meets on thrursday mornings at 6:30 am. that is not a typo. most people would say i am not exactly an early riser, but that seems to be when most of these bike thingies meet, so i added "get up early" to the list of things i am going to try (along with "ride a bike"), even though it's not the way i usually roll.
well, it started off badly because i set my phone alarm but mistakenly left the ringer off, so i woke up waaay too late. i rushed out the door (forgetting my camera, so sorry, no photo) and then i ride halfway to the meeting place (ok maybe to rowena and glendale) and i realize that in my haste i have forgotten my mandatory helmet.
so i turn around and go home, and very nearly crawl right back into bed, especially because now i am so late that i am sure they're going to have left without me. but i decide that even if the others are gone, i can still do some sort of bike training on my own. i throw the bike in the car and head to the coffee bean on hilhurst (which is the meeting place)
i hate driving the bike somewhere for a ride when i can just ride, but i am running so late and i want to at least try to make it. i get there in the middle of the safety speech, but everyone is really nice about my tardiness and not stank at all. i'm the last one to ride out, but i'm off. i'm chatting with one of the ride leaders and trying to be casual, but i am getting nervous about the upcoming hill. if its the one i'm thinking of, i rode it once before with a friend and it was SO STEEP and SO HARD. i had to get off and walk the bike at theh verry end. that time it was pitch black out and we were riding up to the newly opened observatory. i had even less bike experience then, but i am still not looking forward to the same climb.
its still really early and as we ride thru griffith park we see a coyote out for his morning jog. i'm glad rufus isn't with me. i think he'd make a deicious breakfast for a hungry coyote.
as we pass travel town and turn, i realize that we are in fact taking the same route up to the observatory that we took before, but i try to act nonchalant as i start to climb the hill. i am breathing really hard and i feel like my lungs might burst but i make to to the first rest stop where there is already a big group of people hanging out and talking. i am so winded that i cant speak at first, but i made it up and i'm not the last one.
on the next section of the hill i am going so slowly i nearly fall over and get all wobbly, but i make it!!

after that, it's downhill and its so fun to ride so fast after going so slowly. at the bottom i rteat myself to coffee and a danish and bro out with my fellow cyclists, where they drop some science on my about how i NEED $200 cycling shoes to clip into my pedals. biking: i'm in it for the shopping.