About a Mile

I should know better. I really should.

A short hike, my friend promised. “Keep it under three hours, and I'll join you; I have other things to get done today. And my body got a workout yesterday.”

I haven't hiked the full length of this trail in many years. We passed the spot where we'd turned back on our last trek.

“How much farther?” I'd ask. “About a mile,” he'd reply. [I knew better.]

There's a flowering plant I've not seen before. That's the thing about visiting a trail in different seasons, there are always surprises.

This trail has some wickedly steep sections. It's popular with mountain bikers; we kindly yielded the way as they dodged the rocks and ruts.

To the junction, he'd said. [Of course this would take more than three hours. I knew that.] “Look how close we were, a year ago—an easy 1.6 miles away!” [And another 4.1 miles down to the road, with no car waiting at this end.]

Round trip: 8.2 miles, ascending approximatley 1,900 feet. I should know better. I really should.

Chillin'

Back to the scene of the flat ... this time, with my eyes peeled for puncture-perfect debris.

What a nice, social group assembled today—including some new faces! I had a good time chatting with one guy who slowed to my pace. He's scheduled to leave on a trip to Italy [uh-oh] that starts with a cruise [uh, no] and then some cycling. Earlier this month, I had been researching options for a European cycling adventure; no longer a viable option, this year.

Off the back as usual, I snapped only one photo when we regrouped on San Felipe.

I expected an easy ride today; instead, it felt hard. Less climbing, more distance, and ... a cold headwind. Those 36 miles (and 2,475 feet of climbing) wore me down, more so than last week's taxing climb. [Headwind, I tell you. Headwind.]