Wednesday, May 27, 2009

5/23 400k Pre-Ride: the Lefthand Pour Down

Last Saturday, May 23, Catherine Shenk and I pre-rode the 400k course.

Here is Catherine making sure that the final grade into Ward had not gotten any shallower. (Photos courtesy of Catherine except for this one and the glowering Indian Peaks.)











On the way up Lefthand Canyon, we came upon this sneaky fox, who'd made off with a sandwich no doubt from Memorial Day weekend pinickers.
Despite dark clouds west of the Peak-to-Peak (and fresh snow on Niwot Ridge!), we stayed dry. Here is Mt. Toll obscured by a low cloud ceiling:
After brighter overcast on the plains, more ominous foothill conditions returned over Carter Lake:Brightening the scene, a regatta with colorful sails was making their turn as we passed, a couple with spinnakers unfurled to catch some wind:
Coming into Wellington, we'd ridden over lots of wet pavement and through puddles, but had eluded actual storms (by following the prescribed route!). Here we are heading homeward (south), spying sun in the direction of the finish:
And yet all too soon fortunes seem likely to change, along with the direction of storm cells as we ride into the storm:
Taking refuge from a deluging downpour (or "pour down" in the local parlance) and, more to the point, electrical activity, were minutes well spent, despite our declining the offer of free burritos:
The optimistic theory is that our threatening-then-soggy 400k ride will be an inoculation to riders on the actual event date! Here are the soggy cyclists:Have a wonderful on-the-date 400k!
-jle and catherine

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