Bonus Ride

Last night the weather man said we would wake up to 2-4" of snow on the ground. I figured a ride on Saturday was out of the question.

About 7:30am the kids wake me up. I lay in bed and don't hear any rain/snow. Just a lot of wind. I start to think maybe a ride is possible before the snow hits. I get up, make breakfast for the kids (which was basically a donut run down to the local Suncrest market). As I come out of the market, I can see a lot of dark clouds rolling in from the north. It's really cold, really windy, and really dark.

At about 8:00am, I still don't see any rain. I check on Rachelle to see if she is up yet. She is. I tell her "what if I tried to get a quick ride in....just drop down Clarks and back up?" She's all for it and decides to take the kids to the gym. Perfect, I now have 2 hours to get as much riding in as I can before the rain hits. It takes me 15 seconds to throw my gear on, top off the tires, and grab a water bottle and roll out.

This is the first ride of the season that requires leg warmers, a long sleeve jersey and a vest.

I drop Clarks and regret not having my camera. The trail is covered in bright yellow leaves and is in perfect shape. The temp is cold but I know a climb will warm me up. Towards the bottom of Clarks, I see two other riders on their way up....These are my carrots.

I continue down to the bridge, turn around and start the climb. About half way up, I catch the first carrot. One more left. At the top of Clarks, I don't see the other rider. I decide to head up towards Jacob's since the rain hasn't hit yet. On the first grunt, I see the other rider. It takes me another 10 min before I catch him but eventually I catch and pass.

Jacob's (the downhill) is in the best shape of the season. It always puts a huge smile on my face.

As I climb back home, the storm is pretty much here. I get sprinkled on just as I hit the pavement.

What started out as a no ride day, turned into a bonus ride.