There are some tired puppies in the motel tonight.  To say today was a tough day would be a gross understatement.  Every ride has to have a "signature day," and this was ours.  A century plus with plenty of altitude gain to keep us all entertained.  The scenery was awesome most of the time, but we definitely had to work for it.  Another factor that made today a tough, tough day was the temperature.  I told everyone last week that when they got here they would be wishing they had some of the cool temperatures they had then.  But everyone agreed the terrain was the biggest factor today.

We started out with a gentle climb for the first 12 miles.  That was our warm up for the "gradual" climb that lay before us at mile 13.  There the road rose to the tune of 10% in one spot and shallowed out at about 7% until the SAG at 18.1 miles.  The temperature was on the cool side so the climbing wasn't a problem in the early morning...plus, we had a 12 mile warm up climb before the tough stuff. 

After the SAG, we continued to climb for another mile and we were really looking forward to the obligatory down hill on the other side.  It wasn't a descent that you could just let it go.  The switchback descent was highly technical but everyone descended with aplomb.  The scenery was breathtaking but focus had to be kept on the road.

After crossing the mountain, we again entered the valley farmland where crops were in various stages of growth...pumpkins, Brussels sprouts, green beans, broccoli, and I even saw some corn...just like home.  The ride to the second SAG was pretty uneventful but nice to get into some flatter terrain for a moment...but it was only a tease as we still had lots of climbing to do.  Right out of the gate after the second SAG, we were treated to a mile and a half climb that included another 10% pitch near the top.  That climb overheated a couple people so we were busy from then on picking up a few riders and hustling to keep water available for everyone.

There sure wasn't much on our route today as far as towns or stores.  Our SAG stops used both of the stores that were open along the route...and a third at about the 89 mile point served as an oasis that saved us all...ice cream and cold drinks...just what everyone needed before another big climb over a mountain and then down to a lake...and that climb was probably the biggest of the day and coupled with the time of day that it happened seemed to take the remaining energy out of everyone's legs.  After the lake, we weren't through as the terrain continued to roll all the way to the motel.  We had some great down hills, but it seemed to keep popping up just as we were starting to enjoy the free ride.

Tomorrow's ride is no picnic either.  It wouldn't be as tough if we hadn't had today...I'm sure the tired legs from today's ride will be talking to them when they start out tomorrow.  I'm going to give them a sleep-in tomorrow morning to give them a little more time to recover.  I think everyone is looking forward to the day after tomorrow...it's only 38 miles!

I'm typing this as I'm sitting on the side of the road at the last turn before town.  I'm 8 miles from the end and it's 5:50.  The last rider is just coming up the road, maybe he'll make it in before dark.  I'll stay with him to make sure.  Getting hungry and am ready for this day to be over.  Tough day...good day...we'll do it again tomorrow. 

ED Note:  Yeah, I know I talked about dinner two paragraphs before I signed off while still on the road...don't email me.