Weddings are basically funerals with cake.

Alternative title, “Shoulda made it a double.”

I kinda have a love-hate relationship with the ride to Overton. I love that it’s long and overall uninterrupted; however, I’m convinced it’s cursed, for me at least.

The day started with the typical trip down to Inspirada to meet up with Joy and ride out to the start. I’d been debating riding or driving to Crafthaus for a few days and settled on riding. In all honesty, driving really saves me at most 30 minutes, and that 30 minutes of savings isn’t worth the worry of forgetting something at home. One of the beauties of riding to the start is you never forget any ride must haves.

The ride started off well and I was surprised to see both Derrick and Rick had decided to come out and join us. Neither of the two I had pegged for big days in the saddle. I was disappointed to learn a short time later that they had planned on turning back early and wouldn’t be joining all the way out to Overton.

We stuck together as a group for the most part until the climb immediately after the Lake Mead guard shack. The lightweights crushed it on the climb and that was pretty much the last I saw of them until Redstone. I knew that Derrick and Rick weren’t going to go the full distance so I made no attempt to keep up with the likes of them, Caleb is just at a whole nother level, and Kant is just another lightweight.

Really the entire ride was great despite the legs feeling like absolute garbage. Rolling into each stop along the way; Redstone, McDonalds, Rogers Spring, and Northshore Summit Trailhead, the legs just felt terrible. The power was there, but they just felt odd and it’s hard to describe. The closest analogy I can come up with is like they were on the verge of falling asleep or tingly. Each time I stopped I’d get off my feet, eat something, relax, and then get back on the bike. They would feel better for a spell and then progressively get worse and worse. They really only started feeling ‘normal’ after our extended break at Crafthaus before the final leg home.

The stop at Crafthaus was great. We had a great time just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company for a spell while enjoying some good food. We joked about the fact that Joy and I would end up at around 160 miles and we should just keep going and make it a double. Of course that joke continued on to include extending to Jean, the quarry, Goodsprings, and even Sandy Valley. I will admit the idea of going all the way south to the quarry was certainly tempting; however, I knew we would end up home much much later than we had bargained for.

I did take Joy on a trip through the neighborhood directly west of Acacia Park for some Wandrer miles before we set off for home. I feel like this leg of the trip is the only one where the legs felt normal. It is the oddest thing.

Anyway, another great ride out to Overton in the books. It was a great time made greater by our SAG guys Tony and Dave! They did a tremendous job of keeping us well fed and taken care of the entire day.

I’ll conclude with, someday I want to extend this ride all the way north up through Moapa to Coyote Springs before returning to Las Vegas via US-93. Not sure when, or if, this will ever happen, but it is certainly on my radar.

New bike fund: $76.24 (+$0.00)
1.6 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
431 vehicles @ 2.6 per mile, 0.7 per minute, Speeds: 40.1 mph (avg), 67.1 mph (max) — by MyBikeTraffic.com
Give your activities the names they deserve. — by Bandok.com
Mostly clear-Mostly clear, 47°F-56°F, Feels like 48°F-58°F, Humidity 53%-25%, Wind NW 3mph-NW 4mph — by Klimat.app
— myWindsock.com Report —
Weather Impact™: 3.6%
Headwind: 51% @ 4.4 – 28.1 mph
Longest Headwind: 01h 59m 41s
Air Speed: 14 mph
Temp: 39-59.1 °F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
— END —