Ride with John, starting and ending at the little cafe across the highway from Lake Henshaw. We headed out west on the 76, which is downhill for awhile before it starts climbing. There are a couple of little climbs before you get to the South Grade road, S6. It was cool at the beginning, maybe even a little chilly. But once we got onto the climb, the temperature was good. I started out strong, making the first half in 7-8 mph. I slowed down on the second half, which felt steeper. My lower back was acting up a bit, but I was able to work through it by standing up in the pedals every so often. I got to the top in under 55 min for the climb, and the summit came before I thought it would, which was a pleasant surprise. John was about 20 min behind me, and we rested when he got to Mother's Kitchen. Then we headed up to the observatory. I was slow on the downhill, then I kept pace with John for most of the climb up, only pushing the pace within the last half mile or so. On the downhill section returning, John again got out ahead, as I was really cautious on the downhill curves. We headed down the East Grade Rd, S7, and I did better here on the downhill sections, still really cautious on the curves, particularly the ones to the left. We finished in under 2:40 riding time for me, feeling good about my pace and the accomplishment.
Avg speed = 14.5 mph. Total mileage = 38.0 mi
Avg heartrate = 150 bpm
Total elevation gain = 4660'
