We had a great ride this year. Nothing too strenuous, no serious injuries like last year, and no death march like the year before.
This year we started off at my house, as usual, took a 6 mile road ride to Skyline, stopping at Steve's house on the way. We went up Skyline, traversed the Main Divide, and descended Eagle Road. Here is the ride profile on Geoladders.
The ride stared (and ended) with 11 of us:
Dave (me)
Joe
Bob
John (quickly recovering from breaking his leg on last year's tour)
Adrian
Patrick
Steve
Skippy
Brian
Frank
Dalton
People started showing up at about 11:30am with the goal of taking off around noon. We didn't get out until about 12:20, which was a good hint at the leisurely pace that was in front of us.
I started out by giving everyone an option on the road portion... a quick, steep climb or a long, easy climb. Everyone voted for "quick and steep" to get it over with, accept for Joe. Sorry Joe... and up we went.
We get to Steve's house and he's lounging in the garage, shoes off, working on his laptop. So we cracked open a few of his beers while he finished up.
Going up Skyline and the Main Divide was very uneventful, except for the heat, which was in the upper 80's until we reached the Main Divide. It seriously felt like it was July. John, Brian and Adrian were always in the front, I was a usually a couple minutes behind by myself, and everyone else was scattered behind me. After a while, Brian and I noticed that John would effortlessly suck you into his conversation, and before you know it your lungs are on fire. Luckily, I noticed it pretty early and dropped back.
We thought for sure that Dalton wasn't going to make it because he kept walking his bike. With his full-faced helmet and skater shoes, he definitely didn't know what to expect on this ride. But, he held his own and finished with only a few problems.
Going down Eagle was a blast. Eagle is a closed fire road, so it's somewhat over grown with a single track blazing down it. You get up to some pretty high speeds (I clocked 28mph at one point), with little jumps mixed in, and a pretty sketchy cliff on one side. It was a lot of fun to say the least.
Dalton crashed twice on Eagle. Once just flipping into the brush, another bending his big chain ring on a boulder. Steve and Adrian helped him remove the chain ring so that he could at least get home.
Then we took the road back to my house. And that's it! Like I said, pretty uneventful... but I have to say that I had a blast and can't wait to do it again.
The party back at my house was great as well. A bunch of other riders and neighbors showed up for the burgers, dogs, beer and UFC 90. It was great to hang out and catch up with everyone. Other than the disappointing Silva vs Cote fight (Cote blew out his knee in the 3rd), this turned out to be the best Tour de Corona so far. It's going to be tough to beat this one.
Stats...
Distance: 24.12 miles
Lowest Point: 889' (my house)
Highest Point: 3804'
Total Elevation Gain: 6155'
Ride Time: 3 hours, 22 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours, 15 minutes
Flat Tires: 0!
Crashes: 2 (by the same person)
Mechanicals: Bent chain ring
Can't wait to do it next year! Here are some Google Earth photos of the ride...
Overview of the ride.
Overview of the ride, facing South-West.
Overview of the ride, facing South-East.
Overview of the ride, facing West.
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