The original is a classic, no question about it. But the remake Sweeter, bolder, better.

An absolute banger of a day to ride. The day started early with cool temperatures and the long sleeve summer jersey and wool baselayer were perfect for the conditions. Thankfully, the entire day remained cool or the wool baselayer may have ended up being a little too much. Overall, happy with today’s clothing choices.

I picked up Boots at our usual location and we rode the same 25-mile pre-ride route we did a few weeks back. The headwinds we fought against along Las Vegas Blvd had me a little worried we would be late to the start. I think we made up some of that lost time with a tailwind up Green Valley Pkwy. As we approached Horizon Ridge I saw that we were still very early for the start so we made a right onto Horizon Ridge in order to make a small loop and burn some time. That extra loop was perfect and added the extra time we needed to arrive perfectly on time.

The roll out from PTs was a little different with the route taking us down Green Valley Pkwy versus Horizon Ridge. Absolutely no complaint there from me. It seems Horizon Ridge is worse every time I ride it. I wish the City of Henderson would repave the entire stretch already.

The ride up the UPRR was an absolute blast. I traded the lead with Josh and Joe a few times. They were both keeping up a hard steady pace. It felt like we would swap out at each of the road crossings. Once we crossed Arrowhead Trail, I was back up front and really put in a monster of a pull. I was feeling particularly good and just kept pushing the pace all the way to Nevada State Dr.

After crossing Nevada State Dr I felt kinda smoked and let someone else come around and take over. Josh responded in kind and we were back at it after crossing Paradise Hills. As we approached Dawson, Josh called back asking if we were continuing on the trail or road. I messed up and said trail when in fact the route called for the road. We just stuck with it and proceeded along the trail and detouring down to Railroad Pass when we could.

While we hung out at Railroad Pass for the regroup I fired a text over to Robert letting him know we were there. A short time later he called me and said to go ahead and ride on as he was hanging back with some other riders. With the all clear to push on I gathered up the troops and we rolled out.

The descent to the cemetery was a quick one. There were a couple times I almost pulled off and allowed the group to go by. The winds had started to pick up out of the north and a few gusts caught me off guard. They were strong enough to grab my attention while also making me nervous. Not terribly fond of high crosswinds especially with my deep wheels.

The Georgia climb was tough. A small lead pack got away from me shortly after the stop sign and I couldn’t find a wheel to hold on to. If I had really dug deep I might have held on, but I would have sacrificed having stronger legs near the end. Somewhat frustrating to watch the first four riders go up the road, and then as the climb progresses watch the gap remain virtually the same.

Taking the group through Boulder City and up over the top, I reminded them to take it easy on the Nevada Way descent. Be damned if there weren’t a pair of solid gusts shortly after rounding the corner to start the descent. I slowed up to be safe and a few others followed suit. As we approached Quartzite, I watched Rick blow right past the turn, but thankfully everyone else made the right. Then as we approached Red Rock Rd, I spotted a few who were ahead that weren’t certain of which direction to go. I yelled out to go right and proceeded to do so myself.

Crossing old US-93, I spotted a cyclist in hi-vis green rolling towards the dam. Recognizing Rick, I yelled out trying to get his attention. Then a few other riders joined and I eventually saw him turn around to rejoin us.

Making our way up Marina, I noticed Boots falling back. I checked in to see how she was doing, and she relayed that the battery in her front derailleur was dead, locking her into the large ring. Pretty impressed that she stuck it out and finished the climb anyway when she could have bailed out.

The ride back to PTs was a quick one. Not as fast as it could have been on account of the headwinds along the UPRR. As we made our way through Henderson, the legs started feeling heavier and heavier with the climbs certainly not helping things. I did my best to stick with everyone, but making the turn onto Desert Shadow Trail I didn’t have enough to hang on. I watched as the lightweights pushed on up the road and onto Green Valley Pkwy and out of sight. I would catch them at Horizon Ridge but only with the help of a red light.

After spending an hour and a half at PTs eating and visiting it was time to get moving. Checking the Garmin I found we needed about 30 miles to end the day with a century. Not sure where to go, Robert suggested Horizon Ridge to Gibson and on to somewhere else I can’t recall. I looked at a map and decided we could take Warm Springs to Las Vegas Blvd and then south. With that, Joy and I set off for home.

As we approached Arroyo Grande, I apologized to Boots for making her do more climbing while locked in her large chainring. I told her I’d help spread the pain and stay in the large ring too. That’s how the two of us rolled until Starbucks at the Bicentennial dog bone. Along the way, around Pecos, I told Joy we were doing an audible and instead of riding Las Vegas Blvd we would continue past it to Valley View instead. In hindsight this feels like the better call as Valley View was much quieter than Las Vegas Blvd would have been at that time of day.

Overall great spicy ride today which is just what the legs needed. The past two weeks have been kinda light even with the two DCs mixed in. Nice recovery ride tomorrow and then hopefully back to commutes with some intervals mixed in.

New bike fund: $74.48 (+$0.00)
0.37 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
453 vehicles @ 4.3 per mile, 1.3 per minute, Speeds: 35.3 mph (avg), 60.0 mph (max) — by MyBikeTraffic.com
Give your activities the names they deserve. — by Bandok.com
Mostly cloudy-Mostly cloudy, 60°F-74°F, Feels like 57°F-77°F, Humidity 27%-22%, Wind NW 8mph-N 7mph — by Klimat.app
— myWindsock.com Report —
Weather Impact™: 5%
Headwind: 48% @ 8.6 – 32 mph
Longest Headwind: 40m 14s
Air Speed: 18.2 mph
Temp: 58.9-71.6 °F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
— END –‍