2018 SMR 44

Well after almost two weeks of being scared to take a deep breath, I was *really* looking forward to this morning's ride.  A couple days of rain cleared the smoke out of the air and it was glorious.  I dug out my rain jacket and neoprene booties last night and mentally prepared myself for a January kind of morning, but the rain stopped over night and the sun was coming up into a blue sky so it was just freaking perfect.

The roads were all still pretty wet so we just kind of slogged up at a slower than usual Summit Pace.  A lot of grit on the road too, which stuck to our tires and made for kind a noisy rolling.  I wiped off the tire once but the grit just came right back so I gave up.  Also, grit got on my water bottle nozzles so of course it got in my teeth and lips as well.

Wildlife Encounter:  a mangy coyote below Clavicle Cracker.

From Junction to Juniper, we went through a pretty dense cloud bank and the wind kind of picked up - but it was still some good bike riding and I was breathing deep and thankful for clean air and good health.  Above Juniper the fog started to thin out a little.  At Muir it looked like they maybe had a small brush fire sometime since my last ride.  Finally after Devil's Elbow, we popped up above the fog layer and had a clear approach to The Summit.

Not a lot of riders on The Mountain this morning - some of the ones I did see were wearing shorts.  Every one of them had a big smile on their face though.

2018 SMR 43

Yes, there is a huge fire in Paradise and all of NorCal is choking with smoke.  But it's Saturday morning and there's bike riding to do.

Also... it's cold.

Sunrise through smoke

It looks like we're riding straight UP INTO HELL!  (actually not that bad)

It got a tiny bit better at altitude.

North Peak from the observation deck.  

My favorite perspective... 

No rain in the forecast... but I'd give up a SMR for some fire relief.

2018 SMR 42

High wind.  Fire danger.  Bike danger.

Tall fast guy passes us fastly.

Dark today, light tomorrow.

Talk at Junction was about how windy it was.

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Yeah... I'm going home.

2018 SMR 41

I felt grand.
The weather was grand.
Chatted with some nice people enjoying The Mountain.
It was quiet today - few cars, no wind.
No fires around, no smog, no work to do when I got home.
JB set a slow pace and everything was grand.
Still would've been nice to win the PowerBall Lottery but today's ride was a close second.

Tarantella Tally:  One guy near The Bump, late to the party.

This guy was fast and smooth.  Talked to him a little at the Junction.  Rob recently got out of the USMC and moved to the Bay Area and landed a good job and today was his virgin trip up The Mountain.

2018 WNR 15

Felt great.  Went early, went hard.  Had my best ever Strava time to Junction.  Made it home before dark.

Wildlife Encounter:  turkeys on The Approach

This chart shows that I was spanking the monkey for 2 minutes and could've had a faster time.

Hey, it's Mike and his NEW BIKE!

Chainbuster sometimes looks steeper than real, in photographs.

2018 SMR 40

Cold this morning - first day of the season in tights and I was glad I had them on.

Wildlife Encounter - a solo deer past The Bump.

I probably write this every year about this time, but there are some places on the way up where the sun is right in your eyes and it's really hard to see the road or any oncoming traffic; Thank you, axial tilt.

I noticed this thing at Junction that looked like a bamboo wind chime or something.  JB said it was a moisture detector and he's seen the rangers take it in the shack and weigh it.  He said it was made of a special wood that absorbs moisture and indicates how much the trees are at risk for catching on fire.  Interesting, and I was surprised I'd never noticed it before.

FuelMoistureSticks

Jackets came off at The Junction though.