Thursday ride was a major one. E has wanted to do this ride for a while and I had not anticipated what it was really going to be. We ride Great Western Loop frequently and we do the Mt Laguna loop as well - but Thursday we linked the rides together. Met at 7 and were rolling- E, P, M, J and myself. A bit chilly and we headed out Great Western as usual, kept going to Descanso (where we usually stop for Double Shot in a can and turn around) but we kept going through the lovely town of Gutay and then to Pine Valley and then we started the 11 mile climb up Mt Laguna. The climb is long but the grade is quite manageable. Conversation lagged a bit around 5000 ft and we chugged along to the top - 6000 + ft and stopped at the store. For the last 8 miles of the climb we talked about how much we desired and could not wait for the Double Shot's.... We dash in the store and to our decimation there are none. Only bottled lattes, NOT what we dreamed of, pedaled for. We had to fall back on Motivator, the wonder natural stimulant. Oh the disappointment.
So here was the turning point, to do the entire loop as planned would get us back to the car at 2:45 and I had to drive to lacrosse at 3:20, not going to make it. So my good friends agreed to sacrifice for the family and we went back the way we came. It is quite shocking to descend in 30 minutes what took over an 1.5 hours to climb. Amazing we were back in Pine Valley before we knew it.
When we approached I8 after Descanso it was like we were home, back on familiar ground. Mind you still over an hour to ride with 3-4 more climbs, but this is the route we know and love :) Mark is still pushing the pace, ugh! Can't we go easy at some point.....please, please
The beautiful thing about parking in the Starbucks parking lot is we know for sure we can get caffeine when we fall off our bikes and peel off our sweaty clothes. And the bonus was Jen, gotta love this girl, brought PB/Honey sandwiches which she make on home baked bread. It was just about the best tasting thing you can have after a ride like that.
Made it home no problem in time for get Riles to practice and all is good.
I am attempting to clean up the house and I cruise by the front door and there it is - huge box in the foyer with KESTREL branded across it. Hooray - my new bike!!!!
Just like a kid on Christmas I tear open the box, carefully inspect it and then realize this is not like putting together a bike out of a travel bike box, this is building the bike......boxes of components, cabling, and pieces I have no clue what they would be used for. John later on starts the process and does a bit but clearly this requires a bike techie....internal cabling and more.
So now the bike is at Moment Cycle and they are working hard to get the fit close to where my Kuota was....I was hoping to get the bike tonight, work on it tomorrow and then ride Sunday. Will have to see if they can get the bike ride ready tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment