Think.Remember.Ride – March 2023

Wasn’t really sure I was going to roll out to this one. After yesterday’s big ride I was even more unsure. For sure there was no way I was going to ride over to the start at Centennial Subaru. When I heard that my boy Caleb was going to be riding over from Pahrump and a few others were starting from the DFH Dunkin I figured why not.

Didn’t sleep worth a darn. Woke up a few times throughout the night. The worst was around 3:00 a.m. when I laid there in bed with my mind racing for 10-15 minutes. Got frustrated enough to turn on the TV and fire up some YouTube videos. Just something, other than music or brown noise, for my mind to focus on. I did fall back asleep before my alarm went off at 5:00. Rolled out of bed, gathered up all my stuff, and hit the road.

Made it to Dunkin with more than enough time to get finish getting ready. Left the house with only my bibs on as far as riding gear was concerned. Put everything else on in the parking lot while I waited for everyone else to roll up. It didn’t take long for Robert and Kant to show up. Then a few minutes later Deryck, Henry, and Dave. Unfortunately, Caleb didn’t make it due to a headlight failing on the ride over. After Robert and Kant finished up their snacks we rolled out.

On the ride over we split up. Robert, Deryck, and Kant stayed with the beltway trail while Dave, Henry and I went over to Reverance after Lake Mead Blvd to avoid the narrow and steep descent along the trail. We rolled over to Lone Mountain where I had to make a quick stop to return the kiddo’s phone call. Thankfully it was a quick one and we rolled on. Funny thing is what did we spy down the way? The other three popping out from the trail. The three of us put our heads down to catch them at Fort Apache where we all made a left to go north to Centennial Pkwy. From there we all stayed together until we rolled into the Subaru dealership.

Rolling into the dealership I was surprised how many riders showed up. A few more Adobos had either ridden or driven to the dealership to start from there. Was happy to see John, Anna, Stan, Al, and a few others had all showed up to ride. Thankfully we arrived with just about perfect timing. We weren’t waiting around long before the speeches were made and Subaru presented Three Feet for Pete with a $10,000 check to help support their program. Shortly after we were off.

Things started off casual. Faster riders started floating towards the front almost straight away. I made some moves along Centennial to catch up with Dave and a few others before we joined the trail. From there I kept moving up and did my best to stick with Dave’s wheel all the way until the Ghost Bike on Charleston. Pretty happy that I was able to stick with him, and the other hammers, considering yesterday’s ride. I ended up nabbing some PRs on several segments along the trail to boot.

We stopped at the Ghost Bike and were hanging out and chatting while waiting for everyone else to roll up. Several people came and went. There were several riders who simply doubled back to the Subaru dealership to call it a day. Dave, Kant, Deryck, Henry, and I all agreed that we didn’t want to descend back to Subaru for the “official” ride just to climb back to where we were. Dave got to talking to one of his west side buddies and we decided to go do some climbing in the new construction areas west of the beltway. Lots and lots of climbing and the winds were making the descents tricky as well. We all stuck it out and rode back to the start. It was only then I realized that the battery in my power meter bit the dust. All that climbing and no power data to show for it. At least my Garmin didn’t crash because then I’d have to do it again! On the bright side, while noodling back we all decided to hang out and have some breakfast.

Back at the truck I took some time to get changed into street clothes. While I was doing that Henry and Deryck got their bikes loaded up and Dave and Kant got us a table at Babystacks. By the time I was ready they’d just been seated. We hung out for what I’d guess was an hour or so just yammering away and enjoying the fruits of our labor. Sadly all good things must come to an end and all of us had other things that needed tending to.

7.21 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
Sunny-Partly sunny, 41°F-54°F, Feels like 43°F-60°F, Humidity 69%-41%, Wind N 2mph-SE 4mph – by Klimat.app
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact: 5.6%
Headwind: 45% @ 5.2-19.1mph
Longest Headwind: 51m 22s
Air Speed: 15.6mph
Temp: 38.4-49.5°F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
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