After 10 hours in the car yesterday, Jeff and I arrived in San Horhay(George)… which of course, in German, means… … but I think scholars lost the translation years ago.
I woke up this morning to Jeff staring out the window, lamenting, “NOOO!!!!” I knew what he was seeing because I could hear the cars driving on the wet roads. Yes, it was raining which is apparently a Kerkove curse. That is, coming to St. George and having to ride in the rain. No matter, at least it was warm out with temps in the 50s. I don’t mind riding in the rain if it’s warm. The only bummer is we couldn’t ride all of the trail because the soil turns into clay when wet.
Day 1 bitches. Let’s roll.
I was doing some product testing for a new Ergon pack that will eventually be available to the market – the BC3. Given that the pack is waterproof and it was currently raining, it seemed like the perfect pack to use for the day. I loaded it up with warmer clothes in case things got worse, plenty of bike tools, an extra water bottle, and FOOOOD.
Out of that pile, I ended up eating 1 cherry pop tart, the rice krispie treat, 1 Gu, 1 Larabar, and 2.5 bottles of Cytomax.
The ride started from a Starbucks, and a lot of really cool peeps showed up.
Lynda and I were the only girls there.
I was riding with the really fast boys for awhile, but my heart rate hit 206 on the first climb and I decided that was probably a little too much. I decided to back it off, and also to strip off a layer or two.
Just then, Lynda and a few guys rolled by, so I stuck with them for the rest of the day.
The rain would sprinkle on and off, and it was most certainly wet and red desert muddy. I had to loose the sunglasses. It was like a sauna between my eyes and lenses.
It was awesome riding with Lynda. She definitely pushed me and I was riding in zone 4 and 5 most of the ride… and mind you, she was on a singlespeed. I think she has super powers…
More photos:
The wet desert. Wow, that is an oxymoron.
My bike got pretty dirty and my drive train sounded like a cement mixer. We cleaned it up though.
People were pretty psyched up at the end of the ride. WEEE!
I also got throttled by Brad Keyes during the ride. He’s another singlespeed hammer. He hurt his ear somehow… said it was from his wife giving him an earful, but that sounds like an excuse to me! 😉
Me and Heffay.
Some bike rides will “put hair on your chest.” In this case, it put mango shaped boobs on Jeff’s.
Love the manzzire model pic
Poptarts are one of my ride staples too! Have fun on Day 2!
Mint Chocolate GU kicks ass.
Wonderful articles & Nice a site. 36