Mine was July last year. If time riding MTB with a guy I had met when I saw him loading up from a ride near where I worked. We had mutual friends and soon after I started following him on Stava he invited me to come ride with him and a couple others. He had also followed me on Strava and was well aware he was well advanced of my fitness and abilities. He is there waiting when I pull in where we are to meet all but one other guy had failed to show that day.
Out of the parking lot we hit a pull that's about 3 miles and maybe 400' of elevation gain on a fire access road. I did OK, kept both the guys in sight until about the last 1/4 mile. From there the knext mile or so was little ups and downs going across the top of the mountain. Then it was time to desend, 45+ MPH down the switch backs, yes at that point the vastly different skill levels was well evident. By the second set they had checked out, I'd occasionally come to a clear section and see them on down the mountain.
That decent was about 5 miles long then we dropped out of the mountain on to a gravel road that runs along the river and is pretty flat. They kept a leasured pace on the flat that I easily kept up with. I was winded where they were able to converse between themselves without being out of breath. Then we got to the end of that road and turn on to a paved 3 lane rd that goes to the top of the mountain. The next 6 miles took me over an hour, on paved road. Then we went back off road which was pretty good for the first mile or so but the it turned into climbing and started raining.
The next hour or so was climbing in the rain. While I stayed to the main fire road going up the mountain the other 2 guys were cutting off on trails and doing single track that would periodically come back to the road so they could check on me. I was slow but still pedaling. About this time my phone got so wet it stopped working (I use it for my Strava). When I got to the top of the mountain they were waiting.
My phone had started drying out and was working but the touch screen wasn't responding. I put it in the mount and start down the mountain with confidence as I had written this section before on dirt bike (motor cycle) and way to that point when you get to tired to hold back. They took off and I took off trying to keep up. Maybe a mile later phone came out of the cradle and bounced about 30' down the road, broken display but the water must have leaked out the cracked glass because the touch screen was now responding. Came out of that section of mountain onto a paved road that I knew well and we took it easy headed back down to the river.
It was at this point it sank in that that 5 mile set of switchbacks down the mountain would be how we had to get back across that mountain. I know now that it's 1200' in 4.6 miles and after the rain had stopped the sun had come back out pushing the temp into the 90's at about 98% humidity. This is also the point I realized that i should have refilled my bottles when I had the chance. This was just going to be a 50 mile ride and I do that on road bike all the time and never have to refill.
I told the guys to go on I would be fine getting back and I didn't want to hold them. I did OK, considering, for about the first 2.5-3 miles. Not even having to stop and rest but that was all I had. From there I started riding and walking, then mostly just walking it and then I pushed for a solid mile to the top. They had done some more single track out the ridge of the mountain but were waiting me when I got to the top. The last 3 miles was a fun down hill, or would have been had I not been completely spent.
I made it back to the parking lot, where they both a cold water in coolers which I did accept their generosity at that point. We talked for awhile, I had pretty much recovered and they kindly invited my to go back in with them, they were going to hit some more single track that went off the other side of the mountain, Of course, I wasn't that crazy so I loaded up and headed home.
Apparently my phone stopped recording my ride when it go wet but restarted after the busted screen let all of the water out. I lost about a 5 mile section of mostly climbing, though not many miles. Trying to piece together what Strava recorded and information from the other's ride the day left me with about 46 miles and 5400' of climbing over the course of almost 6 hours. It was a brutal ride for me at that point. I've since rode all of it again, just not at the time. It breaks down to about 3 really fun rides.