Smoked...

I woke up to some crazy white stuff - damn snow squalls. As I was getting ready to meet a few of the SV Bikes crew at Lehigh for some riding - my wife was complaining about the fact that I didn't let the dogs out or feed them right away. Apparently Doug didn't think it was too cold - wearing shorts??

I met everyone up top and did about 7 or so miles with them before heading over to Salisbury to meet Ian "The Crazy Brit" and a few newer / non-technical but fit riders. Ian was trying out his new bike and brought along a friend of his that he sold his old bike to.

We started at Dodson St. and headed toward St Lukes, with lots of regrouping along the way (and a few mechanical issues). One guy had and open front wheel skewer and a loose rear skewer. We were passed by a local fast racer - Vegan Rob, who greeted everyone while chasing his dog Dakota. Everyone did very well, especially the guy who hadn't been on a bike in 5 years.

Once we got to Constitution St, I sent those guys up the road to avoid the switchback climb. Gennady and I headed up the Spanky to catch up to some French Creek riders that were also enjoying the great trails. We headed back to Dodson - through the boulder trail and suffered up the Three Bitches climb.

Back at the car I called Rob to see if he was going out for another loop, so he hightailed it back to drop off Dakota and we went back out. As soon as we started the wind really kicked up and started snowing again. It was funny how quickly the trails were covered with snow in some spots. As I chase Rob towards St Lukes and down the red trail - I imagined how the newer riders must have felt earlier in the day, although I did stop and wait for them every once in awhile (hint, hint, Rob).

I bailed at the Spanky bypass - I was really starting to cramp. I took the road back to the car and succeeded in getting in the time I wanted - at least 3 hours. Now I'm vegging out with some recovery food (if you can call it that) ------>

Ride Details.

Ride Time: 3:29:24
Mileage: 20.80 miles
Totl Ascent: 3239 feet
Avg Speed: 6.0 mph
Avg HR: 149 bpm
Max HR: 187 bpm (when I was sprinting away from Vegan Rob - yeah right)

-matt