I haven’t slept for 10 days… because that would be too long.

Another tough start to the day with the cooler temperatures. It really is a struggle to get out the door when you know it is so cold outside.

The ride over to Pedal & Pour was uneventful. I met up with Boots at our usual spot. Then the two of us met up with Moose near Cactus and the I-15. From there it was your typical ride to the start.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a rather large group had shown up for the day’s ride. All in all, I believe Robert counted 30 riders. I had timed our arrival to Pedal & Pour nearly perfectly. Boots had just enough time to head inside and use the restroom before we were hitting the road.

The ride started great. I had a nice conversation with Dave Burns while we led the group along Grand Canyon. It wasn’t long after we started along the Beltway Trail that I received a call from Robert. He was letting me know that he was hanging back and shortening the route for a couple folks and to go on without him. Hearing that dramatically changed how I was going to ride. I went from being out in the front to bringing up the rear and ensuring everyone made it home safely.

One advantage of this is it allowed me to fall back and ride along with Shannon for most of the ride. It was cool to hang back with her. I did get a few chances to jump out and stretch a little, but ultimately we would end up back together.

That was the case when we got to Villa Ridge. I explained that we’d climb to the top and regroup there. I then set off to really put in a good push on the climb, but just before the steepest part I came across Stuart on the roadside dealing with another flat. I didn’t have the heart to leave him there so I stopped to see if there was anything I could do to help. Honestly it had it mostly handled. I only helped get the last bit of tire over the wheel. Once that was done he got it inflated and rolled on up the remainder of the climb.

I was surprised when we got to the top to find so many still waiting for us. I figured the group would have been long gone by the time we made it to the top. After a brief rest and snack we rolled out for a few more climbs.

I continued to hang out with Shannon for the additional climbing. As we descended Sky Vista and made the turn onto Alto, I looked ahead and spotted a few riders who had missed the turn and gone straight instead. About halfway up the Alta climb, I told her about it. I went on to tell her that she was doing great considering how much climbing was involved and this being her first group ride with us. I went on to say that she can say with confidence that she did the entire thing and didn’t bitch out. “No bitch shit Shannon.”

The ride back to Pedal & Pour and PTs from the top of Alta went quickly. The lead back got out in front and just motored back. I settled in with a solid group of five which included Shannon, June, Anna, and Levi (I think?). We made decent time and arrived well before any festivities began.

After grabbing a coffee and wedding cookie at Pedal & Pour, the next hour and a half was spent hanging out, visiting, and celebrating January birthdays at PTs next door. It was unfortunate that Ferdie was the only January birthday present. Robert had picked up eight pizzas from Carmines for the group to absolutely destroy with reckless abandon. As we sat around and talked I shared that Boots and I would be heading back out to take in a Red Rock Flyby before ultimately heading home. This caught Dave’s and Josh’s attention and both agreed to join us for the extra credit.

Our group of four left from PTs around 12:30 or so. It was especially late, but it’s hard to get back on the bike when you’re having such a great time visiting with your friends. Since I’d had such an easy day on the bike up to this point I wanted to take the opportunity to get some work in. I took the lead and navigated us up along Mesa Park and ultimately up to Charleston. I remember at one point Dave came up at a red light and said, “Elvis is up here riding with purpose.” We all got a kick out of that as it was absolutely true that I was putting in some work and keeping it fast.

The ride out to the Overlook was more of the same. I was out front and stayed there for the duration. I did my best to keep an eye on the group and did spot a couple gaps open up once or twice. When this would happen I would dial back a bit until the gap closed and then continue on. At some point Josh came around Dave and Boots to get on my wheel. Only seeing the one shadow on my wheel I thought everyone was with me as I pulled. As we pulled into the Overlook I’d learn that we’d dropped Dave and Boots at some point and Josh was the only one who had stayed on.

After a brief break at the Overlook we continued our way south. After the brief climb after the Overlook, we really started moving. Eventually Dave, Josh, and I would all start rotating taking turns up front. We would keep the group together all the way to Blue Diamond. As we made the left I shared with Dave that we’d only be going as far as Grand Canyon before making the right. We got lined up again and I led the way along the stretch of Blue Diamond.

Once we were safely on Grand Canyon, I dialed way back and we spread out to take up the entire road to talk back and forth. As we rounded the corner and made it to Fort Apache we checked in with Dave and his mileage and it seemed that he’d be a little short of a century for the day if they went straight back to Pedal & Pour from here. I convinced them to join us over to Buffalo before making a return along Cactus.

I must have missed the memo where Dave and Josh decided to make a turn onto Mountains Edge Pkwy instead of going to Cactus. As I came up on the light at Buffalo and Cactus I pulled over to stop and say my goodbyes only to find Boots coming up alone! I asked her what happened and she shared that the two boys had made the early turn. From there it was a pretty typical return ride from Mountains Edge to the Starbucks near the soon to be removed Bicentennial dog bone.

After our 40 minute coffee break and chat it was time for us to make our final pushes home. Boots made her typical turn at Via Firenze leaving me solo for the Democracy climb. I decided to go ahead and give it the beans and was pleasantly surprised to achieve my 2nd highest 5-minute power. I was one watt of the previous weeks’ 5-minute power record. While I was disappointed to not surpass the previous week’s effort, I’m thrilled the number was so consistent week-to-week.

Once home I had some time to relax and unwind before jumping in the shower and hitting the road with the family. I had dinner and a movie date with my girls. A great meal at Olive Garden followed by Sonic 3 at the Galaxy Green Valley. I couldn’t ask for a better way to top off day.

New bike fund: $81.33 (+$0.26), €0.52 (+€0.00), ₱10.00 (+₱0.00), ֏10.00 (+֏0.00)
0.4 new miles — From Wandrer.earth
556 vehicles @ 5.1 per mile, 1.4 per minute, Speeds: 39.0 mph (avg), 92.6 mph (max) — by MyBikeTraffic.com
Give your activities the names they deserve. — by Bandok.com
Sunny-Sunny, 37°F-56°F, Feels like 39°F-57°F, Humidity 36%-16%, Wind W 3mph-ENE 6mph — by Klimat.app
— myWindsock.com Report —
Weather Impact™: 7.4%
Headwind: 67% @ 10 – 12.9 mph
Longest Headwind: 01h 39m 35s
Air Speed: 13 mph
Temp: 55.3-55.5 °F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
— END —