Report by Erica
The weather was ominous with dark clouds to the south and northwest. As we gathered at Mushers Hall they shifted some to the northeast. Corrine, Mallory, Olivia, Maria, Jordan, Heidi and I showed up to ride. We packed rain gear and headed off, hoping for no rain!
Heidi led the charge at the start, by the time we got to Skyline we split up for the climb. Mallory and Olivia powered up in the lead. Maria and I trying to chase, those ladies are tough hill climbers! I felt a few light sprinkles but no significant rain. We paused at the top and when Heidi and Corrine caught up they blasted down Skyridge. At the bottom we stopped, and Heidi was troubleshooting her front wheel, which had been wobbling on the down (scary)! She opted out of the group ride at that point and based on Strava rode 15 miles.
The rest of us lined up and pacelined our way to Pedro Monument. The winds were strong but we are tough WOW! We took short pulls to prevent the fatigue. Made it to Pedro, still no rain! We zipped back, rode Steese up to Hagelbarger. There was junk in the shoulder of the Steese but I thought it was clearer than it has been. We regrouped at Hagelbarger before blasting down to Farmers Loop taking McGrath.
On McGrath, Maria, Mallory and Olivia all blasted by, I grabbed on to Olivia’s wheel and we all whizzed by Corrine who thought she was going fast, but not fast enough! Corrine was able to catch back up before Farmers Loop. We got into a “who can push the hardest” battle, which was a lot of fun!
We regrouped on Farmers Loop before the final push back to Mushers. And still, no rain! We lucked out with our route! I heard it rained and got the roads wet on Gilmore. It was a bummer to lose Heidi a few miles in.
Distance: 28 miles, Speed: 17-18 mph.
Another excellent ride with awesome company!
(Photos by Corrine).
