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09-25-07, 06:20 PM
Ok, NYGirl (aka Asia) is on my butt about not writing up a ride report from this past weekend, so here goes . . .
Once again, Asia the ultimate organizer set up a really great social ride with SAG support and everything. The rain the night before and in the early morning scared some people away, but we had 13 hearty souls willing to tackle the climb up towards Mt. Charleston (or Mt. Chucky as we were calling it). Even Gene (JustMe) made it from Cali to ride with us foolish folks in Vegas.
Early morning group photo
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/groupatstart.jpg
We gathered at 7:30am and parked our cars at the bottom of Kyle Canyon. After saying our hellos and making small talk we rolled out in a double paceline to the bottom of Lee Canyon. The rain had stopped, but the road was wet and covered everyone in lovely road splatter (sorry Stacy!).
Flat!!
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/earlyflat.jpg
We had one early flat tire that was quickly repaired and we were rolling again at a nice clip. 12 miles later we made the turn onto Lee Canyon road and began our ascent towards the top. For anyone who's never been up to the Mt. Charleston area, Lee Canyon road is a steady, consistent climb for about 12 miles up to roughly 7000' elevation. It's a challenge to say the least on a calm day, but the winds this morning were quick brisk . . . ok, for me they were down-right brutal. There were a few strong climbers in the group (you know who you are) who took off and left the rest of us in their dust. You guys and gal are awesome! Asia rode with Serriah to help her improve her riding skills and she did great. Woo-hoo! Hollywood was kind enough to not bring his bike (read "I don't want to get it wet") and instead offered to drive the SAG vehicle all day with Mama Sue riding shotgun. Thank you, thank you!! BTW, Mama Sue's homemade jerkey and wontons (?) were dee-lish! The clouds hung around until mile 9 or so and then gave way to sunny skies the rest of the day.
Hollywood the SAG-man
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/HollywooddrivingSAG.jpg
Doc, Stacy and George on the climb
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/rollingagain.jpg
After a brief rest stop we hit a small descent which brought us to the turn for Deer Creek. The climbing looked really tough, but it was actually fairly easy. Maybe that was because I had downed a handful of mini-Snickers bars at the rest stop. :D Stacy and Mike kept rolling over the top while Asia, myself and Marc stopped to see if Charina and Serriah were coming up behind us. After a brief wait the downhill beckoned and we rolled on - thankful to finally be going DOWN instead of up.
Regroup before descent from Deer Creek
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/beforefinaldescent.jpg
At the top of Deer Creek pass we re-grouped one final time and Hollywood gave us his "safety speech" about being careful descending with the strong winds. What an understatement that was . . . the winds were absolutely fierce coming down from the top. Marc, of course, bombed down like a crazy-man while Asia, Stacy, Mike and myself literally were blowing all over the road. I will admit that by the time I got to the bottom of the pass my fingers were cramped up from holding the brake levers so tight and my legs were shaking from the cold and from pressing against my top tube to steady the bike. :eek:
On the homestretch down Kyle Canyon road Marc blew his tire from braking to allow the rest of us to catch up with him. A bit of a sacrifice since his spare tire was in the SAG vehicle still up on the mountain. Just at that time, Cyn and Doc showed up in their car. (yes, they were done that soon ahead of us) Being the ever-so-clever bicyclists that we were, we suggested Marc switch wheels with someone who was done riding. Stacy quickly volunteered as she had had enough of the cold and wind. What makes this little part funny is that Stacy has a custom-built Orbea that is completely decked out in pink components - right down to her pink wheels! Well, all vanity aside . . . the pink wheel goes on the bike and he's off down the road again.
A new bike is born
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/newbike.jpg
A few near-misses from stupid drivers, but we all made it back to the parking lot safe and sound. What a great ride! It was tough enough to make you feel good about the day, but not so hard that you wouldn't want to do it again. A huge thank you to Asia for organizing another terrific event, thank you to Hollywood for his great SAG support (I know you were dying to get out and ride!), and thanks to everyone who showed up to have fun!!
Once again, Asia the ultimate organizer set up a really great social ride with SAG support and everything. The rain the night before and in the early morning scared some people away, but we had 13 hearty souls willing to tackle the climb up towards Mt. Charleston (or Mt. Chucky as we were calling it). Even Gene (JustMe) made it from Cali to ride with us foolish folks in Vegas.
Early morning group photo
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/groupatstart.jpg
We gathered at 7:30am and parked our cars at the bottom of Kyle Canyon. After saying our hellos and making small talk we rolled out in a double paceline to the bottom of Lee Canyon. The rain had stopped, but the road was wet and covered everyone in lovely road splatter (sorry Stacy!).
Flat!!
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/earlyflat.jpg
We had one early flat tire that was quickly repaired and we were rolling again at a nice clip. 12 miles later we made the turn onto Lee Canyon road and began our ascent towards the top. For anyone who's never been up to the Mt. Charleston area, Lee Canyon road is a steady, consistent climb for about 12 miles up to roughly 7000' elevation. It's a challenge to say the least on a calm day, but the winds this morning were quick brisk . . . ok, for me they were down-right brutal. There were a few strong climbers in the group (you know who you are) who took off and left the rest of us in their dust. You guys and gal are awesome! Asia rode with Serriah to help her improve her riding skills and she did great. Woo-hoo! Hollywood was kind enough to not bring his bike (read "I don't want to get it wet") and instead offered to drive the SAG vehicle all day with Mama Sue riding shotgun. Thank you, thank you!! BTW, Mama Sue's homemade jerkey and wontons (?) were dee-lish! The clouds hung around until mile 9 or so and then gave way to sunny skies the rest of the day.
Hollywood the SAG-man
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/HollywooddrivingSAG.jpg
Doc, Stacy and George on the climb
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/rollingagain.jpg
After a brief rest stop we hit a small descent which brought us to the turn for Deer Creek. The climbing looked really tough, but it was actually fairly easy. Maybe that was because I had downed a handful of mini-Snickers bars at the rest stop. :D Stacy and Mike kept rolling over the top while Asia, myself and Marc stopped to see if Charina and Serriah were coming up behind us. After a brief wait the downhill beckoned and we rolled on - thankful to finally be going DOWN instead of up.
Regroup before descent from Deer Creek
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/beforefinaldescent.jpg
At the top of Deer Creek pass we re-grouped one final time and Hollywood gave us his "safety speech" about being careful descending with the strong winds. What an understatement that was . . . the winds were absolutely fierce coming down from the top. Marc, of course, bombed down like a crazy-man while Asia, Stacy, Mike and myself literally were blowing all over the road. I will admit that by the time I got to the bottom of the pass my fingers were cramped up from holding the brake levers so tight and my legs were shaking from the cold and from pressing against my top tube to steady the bike. :eek:
On the homestretch down Kyle Canyon road Marc blew his tire from braking to allow the rest of us to catch up with him. A bit of a sacrifice since his spare tire was in the SAG vehicle still up on the mountain. Just at that time, Cyn and Doc showed up in their car. (yes, they were done that soon ahead of us) Being the ever-so-clever bicyclists that we were, we suggested Marc switch wheels with someone who was done riding. Stacy quickly volunteered as she had had enough of the cold and wind. What makes this little part funny is that Stacy has a custom-built Orbea that is completely decked out in pink components - right down to her pink wheels! Well, all vanity aside . . . the pink wheel goes on the bike and he's off down the road again.
A new bike is born
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb260/wi_girl/Mt%20Charleston%209-22-07/newbike.jpg
A few near-misses from stupid drivers, but we all made it back to the parking lot safe and sound. What a great ride! It was tough enough to make you feel good about the day, but not so hard that you wouldn't want to do it again. A huge thank you to Asia for organizing another terrific event, thank you to Hollywood for his great SAG support (I know you were dying to get out and ride!), and thanks to everyone who showed up to have fun!!