As we were looking at the weather and taking stock of our legs, common sense prevailed. As much as I wanted to and was mentally prepared to ride 711 tomorrow in the rain, I started to remember how much I don't enjoy riding in 40 degrees and rain. Since the plan was to ride around 120 miles, we'd have to leave no later than 9a which is where that whole 40 degrees comes from.
The group took a vote and decided it was best to cut the ride to 70 miles, which meant driving to a nearby town and leaving from there. While it was not the epic day we all wanted, we still got in around 7000ft of climbing and just over 72 miles. The two big payoffs were the Fire Service road 711 and the 5% false flat down to finish the ride which provided for 12 miles of 25 mph at a measly 175W.
The ride to 711 provided some great views, including a great lodge
several crossings of a breathtaking stream,
and a random roadside grazing meadow
Especially since there were about a dozen fly fishers, I could not get the
movie "A River Runs Through It" out of my head. That movie has some seriously powerful scenes (thinking only of the river, not the city stuff).
After we finished up the ride, we headed to what every ride should end with: Mexican. This time it was El Pacifico Restraunte. Mmmmm, enchiladas. They started out with some really sweet chips and, when asked, brought some killer spicy salsa. It was perfect for me - not too spicy but still had kick and had a nice smokey flavor to finish it off. An enchilada and a burrito, plus some spanish rice topped of my belly for the drive home.
All is not lost, though. The weather is supposed to be in the 40s at 7a so we'll get in a nice hour and a half MTB ride before we head out. It may be a little wuss-like but we still got in about 24 hours of seat time. Not too shabby to jump start the season. If nothing less, I got to put my new MTB rig to the test. It passed.
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