Rob, I vote that it counts if you drive around the closed section, and since I'm leaving you before this, it's easy for me to say this. While 22 miles of the BRP might be closed, it looks as if the detour might be some 30-40 miles in order to get back on track. Don't risk the trip by off BRP riding.

Getting back to our dear RobbieTunes: The problem we will face is that his fresh legs will be spinning a 23 tooth cog while mine might be spinning a 34 tooth cog. My guess is he will still wait for us to catch up at the top of climbs!

Good for you for training into the wind and that the wind cooperated and continuously blew in your face. It does that to me as well. Or was it just because I was riding forwards?