After Stuhlmiller Rd we were back on Hwy 28 to the Palisades turn-off. Hwy 28 has perhaps the smoothest shoulder in the known universe. I felt like I could ride on it all day.
I forgot about this one bridge - not much room on the shoulder so I slowed down to let some cars pass by before I got to it.
The one imperfection of the Hwy 28 shoulder - a barely felt crack.
Maybe 5 miles of smooth rolling on Hwy 28 to the turn onto the Palisades Rd and the rest stop. There was one guy here with a squeaky chain - we'd passed each other a few times - I thought it was too bad I didn't bring any chain lube as I would've offered him some.
On the rougher no shoulder Palisades Rd.
The peloton passed me by. I was hoping they could carry me to the finish, but their pace was a few mph's faster than mine. I saw the blue team off and on the first half of the ride as they would stop and regroup, riding in the grand fondo spirit.
They soon disappeared from view.
There was another biker along here just ahead of me. I'd passed him on the downhill, but he left the pit stop before me. Thought I would catch up and ride with him, but I couldn't reel him in.
I kinda like this picture. Hope you're not on dial-up.
The Palisades Schoolhouse. Not registering on the your speed sign.
After 17 miles or so, the pavement ends. Perhaps the smoothest dirt road in the known universe.
The Billingsley Ranch.
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| One Devil |
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| Two Devil |
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| Three Devil |
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| wait…Four Devil? |
I think I counted Five Devils on this Three Devils Hill.
The last 18 miles or so on Roads 24, 23 and Sheep Canyon Rd were a mixture of gravel and pavement, and slight ups and downs compared to the Three Devils climb.
By now I might have been getting a little delirious, as I waved to the cows as we road by. Bit of a commuter habit.
Your basic far from assistance Sagebrush Flats area pic.
This was the greatest sign to see on Sheep Canyon Rd - just beyond it is a steep, fast drop from 2,130' elevation to 1,300' in just a few miles.
The gopro died here. At the Bottom of Sheep Canyon we turned right into a headwind and it dashed my hopes of finishing under 6 hours.
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Great job, Scott. I kinda like the picture you kinda like.
ReplyDeleteCows are not that expressive, but I have it on good authority that they dig bikes, just like horses. I'm sure they appreciated the wave. Like, how often does that even happen for them? They're probably still talking about it.
Thanks, Pat. For some reason the cows now remind me of the motto of a beef company that was at the Public Market, I think Susie and David's Cattle Co. http://susiedavidsfarm.com. it was "A happy cow is a tasty cow" or something like that. Which always made me stop and think.
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