Ride Report Skyline (Corona)-Main Divide-Bedford...Perfect Day for a Ride!

So I went for a "training" ride. Don't exactly have a reason to train, but so what? The weather was about as perfect for a ride as you could ever want - cool, with just a hint of a chill in the shade at 8 am, beautiful blue sky with the occasional white puffy cloud.

It was great meeting Jaime out there. Jaime showed up to ride with me, and he was already warmed up having ridden 4 miles or so to get to the trail head. We started out slow, but Jaime seemed to be approaching his limit and decided to head back after a couple miles.

I continued on, taking it easy up Skyline as I knew Main Divide would hurt. Along the way I met a lot of people – mostly bikers, but a lot of hikers as well. The dirt was just slightly damp, and in great shape. Main Divide was in similar condition – no ruts worth mentioning, only small mud puddles due to the recent rains.

The bike was working perfectly, as usual. At times I was thinking how a hardtail would be better on this ride, but the VPP pedals so well I left propedal off the entire time. With all of the climbing, the oversized contact patch on my 29er tires definitely made a difference! Not sure how I feel about the rolling resistance tho.

My goal had been to go all the way to Four Corners, but as I rolled up to the top of Motorway, I was feeling more tired than I anticipated. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t make it to my goal, but I didn’t know what to do at first. I knew one option was to turn back and descend Eagle road. I wasn’t liking the idea of just giving up, so I sat there a few more minutes. While there, I was talking to a couple others, and learned that Bedford was less than a couple miles further up. I decided to continue on, at least to find where Bedford was, and I’m glad I did. Bedford ended up being just over 16 miles into my ride, and by the time I got there my legs had that burning-that-doesn’t-go-away feeling of having been worked hard. I could look up and see Main Divide continue on to what looked like a brutal climbing section. I knew I was done. Even with that, I pretty much met my mileage goal, and got a lot of climbing along with it.

http://www.strava.com/activities/96909862#

Pics:


What did the Fox say?




"Ouch!"

 

Wish i could've made it. Or maybe not, lol. That was some elevation you put in there, Pat. Especially considering most of it was in the first 9 miles. I want to try Skyline again, but, its certainly more challenging than the B* start. And the Main Divide is more challenging than ppl expect after the sustained climb.

Good ride there.

 

Hey pat nice meeting you !!! Thank for the tips you gave me !! And 30miles? Woww awesome

 

That's a big friggin' ride! Nice work.

 

Nice ride.....have been thinking about doing it the other way. Up Maple, down Bedford, up Eagle, down Motorway.

 

Good job, Pat! Way to keep at it, Jaime. Thanks for the share...looks like a sweet ride on a perfect day.

 

Enjoyed your RR Pat! (Don't know why I'm training??...you funny!)

BTW: Shitty totally killed it on the FLoop yesterday ... I'm so very proud of him! ; p

 

Awesome Pat. Hope you had a couple of coldies :beer:

Jamie - great job:bang: Keep it up it.

 

Thanks everyone! It was weird in a way...I used to go on rides like this all the time, but over the past few months I've been doing more all-mountain stuff with what I'd technical riding thrown in. On one hand, this ride was boring for it's 99% fire road & pavement, but on the other this kind of ride provides me with a workout and quality/depth of fatigue and the test mental toughness I don't get with the more fun & exciting rides.

Yeah, there were beverages afterward, along with a whole lotta food...I ate a pasta meal when I got home (maybe 2:30 pm), and still felt hungry all afternoon. Ended up eating an early dinner from In-N-Out: 2 double-doubles and fries (all animal style of course!) Finally felt satisfied.

@ Rox - You know sumpthin' I don't? Glad the Floop was kind to you guys!