Ride Update

So I am all done with my cycling adventure. I regret to report that I failed to complete all 200 miles. I made it through 132 miles, and approx. 12500 feet of climbing before calling it a day. I still spent a solid 12 hours in the saddle, and both the mileage and vertical are personal bests for me, and when you throw in the fact that the whole ride was above 6000 feet in elevation, its not too bad right?

Over the course of the ride I summited 4 mountain passes, 3 of which were blessed with a nice rain/sleet/snow mix, along with some nasty headwind. The wind was a real morale killer, as just when you thought the top was in sight it was like an invisible hand (not the economic type) came out of the sky to push you back and make your life just a bit more painful.

All in all it was a great experience, especially since it was a real grind for me to get through the last two climbs. The last one especially, where every pedal stroke was a battle, and I had to be up out of the saddle for a great majority of it. All that notwithstanding, the area that the ride was in was beautiful, and the ride was organized well enough, so no complaints really. I think, however, that I am enjoying the memory of it more than I was enjoying it at the time.... But I'm happy I gave it a shot. I'll probably go back one of these years and try to get the whole thing done, but for now I'm glad to be off my bike and not even thinking about riding up an hills for a while.

Here is a link to the route I ended up riding. There are two passes that I cut out of my ride that would have comprised the whole 200 had I done them.

View in Google Earth

http://www.mapmyride.com/kml?r=19d39e11e0ce113356969b51b46acd2f

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/markleeville/947124508108725587