The point is, I’m cool, dope, fresh, and smart-brained.

An absolutely gorgeous day for a ride. When Mother Nature gives you days like today it’s hard to not stay out on the bike all day.

The ride over to Pedal and Pour started with shorts, a vest, and long sleeve jersey with arm warmers underneath. The clothing choice was absolutely spot on. My knees were a little chilly to start, but once the sun came up they were fine.

I met up with Boots at our usual corner. We rode on and met up with Trimble and Larry at the corner of Cactus and Las Vegas Blvd. From there we just cruised over to Pedal and Pour. Along the way we passed a few groups going the opposite direction. At the time we weren’t sure if it was the BikeBrain or Giant crew, but looking at the flybys it was probably the Giant gang.

We arrived at Pedal and Pour pretty much right on time, and we were pleasantly surprised with quite a turnout. Always good when we can get a great group together especially for the annual club picture. With Robert opting to skip the ride in order to sag and pick up pizza later, I got tapped to lead the ride and make sure everyone made it home safely.

Leaving Pedal and Pour I was up front with Chanel and we had a chance to talk a bit. As we approached the first round-a-bout she asked which way we were going. This got a chuckle and ribbing out of me so I went ahead and moved up a little to lead us up to Hualapai. As we did I hear Mindy comment on Joy’s hair. This got a chuckle and comment from me of, “Uh oh I think I’m in the wrong place up here with all the ladies.” I went on to add, “Yeah Joy never shares her hair techniques or skin care regime with me.” That got a chuckle out of Chanel, Mindy, Joy, and Kim.

As we waited to make the left onto Tropicana, I looked back and saw we’d left a small group a ways back. After making the turn I rode up to Dave and gave him the plan while explaining I was doubling back for the other group. I’m glad I did because a few of them were considering continuing straight on Hualapai.

Making the left onto Flamingo I spotted Robert and Caleb off on the sidewalk messing with Caleb’s bike. I told our small group to continue on confident they knew where they were going, and I hung back to wait for Caleb. I guess he’d dropped his chain so badly that it required him to remove the left side crank arm in order to get it free. Soon enough he got everything put back together and we raced off to catch up with the group. We caught the tail end of the group shortly before the new parking lot with the Red Rock Canyon rock sign.

After the group picture we set out to finish up a flyby. Once more I hung back to sweep the group, but this time I was joined by Stuart. Along the way we stopped at both the Overlook and the Terribles at the NV-159/NV-160 intersection. Along Blue Diamond we diverted south onto Hualapai to continue east on Serene. From there we continued north on Fort Apache. I find that I like taking this little diversion because it is safer than trying to cross all the traffic on Blue Diamond or fight with cars in the turn lane to make the left onto Fort Apache.

We hung out at Pedal and Pour for a few minutes before migrating over to PTs for food and drink. Before making the short trek over though, Larry let me know that he needed to head home early. After being reassured that he knew how to get back to our side of town I said my goodbye with the promise of riding together again. Those that remained hung out eating fries, tater tots, and wings while waiting for Robert to show up with pizza from Carmine’s.

Having hung out for much longer than expected, Joy and I realized that we were only at 50 or so miles. As the party started to die down I threw out the idea of riding with Dave towards his house via Grand Canyon and the beltway trail. Joy and I would take Alta east and work our way over to do Villa Ridge and Lake Mead, and Dave was welcome to join. We invited Trimble as well, but he wasn’t up for a century day. Before the three of us left I stopped in at Pedal and Pour to get an order in for a replacement saddle. I really hoped they would have one of the new Selle Italias as a loner, but my hopes were dashed. Went with the tried and true SLR Boost Endurance TI 316 Superflow, but this time I went with the narrower version.

Our post-pizza extra credit went really well. Before tackling Villa Ridge we stopped so Boots could shed some layers. Both the Villa Ridge and Lake Mead climbs went great and I felt really good. After Lake Mead, instead of simply going back down we made the right onto North Park Drift Trail to do a little exploring. Seeing a road go up, yup more climbing, me made the right to see what we could see. It was interesting to see that Mountain Run Drive just went up a short distance to a turnaround spot and it is just a little higher than the new guard shack at the end of Lake Mead.

With the major climbing done for the day it was time to head for home. The route we took was pretty standard fare and we skipped over stopping at Pedal and Pour, but made a stop at the Terribles in Southern Highlands for a quick rest and refuel. Sadly Boots and I had to skip our usual post-ride Starbucks because it was getting late. We said our goodbyes at Democracy and Anthem Highlands. After one last quick climb up to Democracy, I was home.

New bike fund: $120.54 (+$0.32), €1.52, ₱10.00, ֏10.00, CA$0.01
1.56 new miles — From Wandrer
701 total shifts, 42 front, 659 rear. 85.6% of the ride in the big ring, 14.4% in the small ring. Most time spent in 52×21, 17.4% — by di2stats
791 vehicles @ 6.6 per mile, 1.9 per minute, Speeds: 39.1 mph (avg), 74.4 mph (max)‍ — by MyBikeTraffic
Give your activities the names they deserve. — by Bandok
Sunny-Sunny, 46°F-67°F, Feels like 46°F-68°F, Humidity 35%-13%, Wind NNW 4mph-NNE 5mph — by Klimat
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact™: 2.6%
Headwind: 35% @ 3.7 – 19 mph
Longest Headwind: 48m 9s
Air Speed: 12.5 mph
Temp: 40.4-68 °F
Precip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr
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