Good friends don’t let you do stupid things alone.

Remember kids, when you ride with Paul it’s all go and no woah.

All day Thursday I struggled to muster up the motivation to commit to a ride. I had a couple ideas floating about but I just couldn’t get my mind to settle in on anything. PnP would be doing the loop starting at 7, Paul invited me along to Sandy Valley starting from PnP at 8, and I could always go solo. Winter is always tough with the colder temperatures. I always forget that once I get outside and start moving I warm up quick enough that I forget about ever being cold.

I settled on riding to Scrambled for breakfast and attempting to rendezvous with Paul around M Casino and Las Vegas Blvd. I invited both Joy and Moose to join me for breakfast and the ride as well.

Breakfast was my typical fare and I enjoyed it despite having it just the day before. I kept an eye on Joy’s progress to Scrambled via her LiveTrack and finished up just before she arrived. By the time she did pull in I was already in the process of getting ready to leave.

We rode south on St Rose to meet up with Paul, Kant, and Moose. Thankfully Kant had shared their intended route the night before so I knew which way they were riding. Joy and I would simply ride that route in reverse until we met up with them. It didn’t take long and we picked them up just west of Valley View along Southern Highlands Pkwy.

The ride to Goodsprings was a strong one. The highlight of the trip though came as we approached the Seven Magic Mountains. We looked off to the east and saw the entire valley behind the Seven Magic Mountains blanketed by a thick layer of fog. It was a complete inversion as the surrounding mountains were clearly visible. It was really cool to see something like that in our typically desert environment.

We all took turns on the front and Paul pulled us straight through Jean without even considering a stop. As I said “All go, no woah”. I had already considered an out the night before and opted to bail out and ride in to Goodsprings with Joy versus continuing on to Sandy Valley with Kant and Paul. I know I could have opted to ride at my own pace and I don’t have to hold their wheels, but when you’re on the bike watching someone pull away it is demoralizing. Joy and I made the loop through Goodsprings and the climb to Columbia Pass before descending back to Jean.

After our rest, refreshments, and people watching at the Jean Terribles we made a run out to the quarry for some extra miles. Along the way back we checked the LiveTrack and saw that Kant and Paul were already on the descent so we opted to wait for them at NV-161 and Las Vegas Blvd. We kept checking on Kant’s progress and noticed he peeled off and stopped at the Terribles. Looking at the big American flag doing some dancing we decided to go meet up with the pair so we could all work together against the minor headwinds we’d soon face.

The ride back into town went about as well as you could have expected. Once again we all took pulls and made decent progress. We stuck to Kant’s route and eventually Joy, Paul, and I would call it a day and say our goodbyes to Kant at the corner of Cactus and Fort Apache. Next, Joy and I would say so long to Paul at Southern Highlands Pkwy. and St. Rose. This would leave just the two of us for the remainder of the ride to the Bicentennial Starbucks and a much deserved coffee stop.

Great day on the bike and start of the new year with some folks I don’t get to ride with nearly enough.

New bike fund: $118.33 (+$0.47), €1.52, ₱10.00, ֏10.00, CA$0.01
0.33 new miles — From Wandrer
617 total shifts, 35 front, 582 rear. 88.2% of the ride in the big ring, 11.8% in the small ring. Most time spent in 52×19, 22.7% — by di2stats
483 vehicles @ 4.1 per mile, 1.2 per minute, Speeds: 39.7 mph (avg), 70.5 mph (max) — by MyBikeTraffic
Give your activities the names they deserve. — by Bandok
Mostly cloudy-Partly sunny, 45°F-55°F, Feels like 47°F-58°F, Humidity 95%-70%, Wind W 2mph-NE 4mph — by Klimat
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact™: 4.7%
Headwind: 55% @ 2.2-7.6mph
Longest Headwind: 01h 27m 33s
Air Speed: 12.9 mph
Temp: 43.7-55.2°F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
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