I've been in California for a week and a half. I didn't ride the Heartbreak 100 due to the early morning weather. At the start the chill factor was 16 degrees and I didn't have any riding clothes for that type of weather. The forecast the week before had been for a low in the 60s and high of 94. I did however ride Memorial Day from Pine Mountain Club to the top of Mt Able and back. That's a climb of 4,500 feet in nine and a half miles. It was tough but well worth the ride.

I left for Lake Tahoe and "America's Most Beautiful Ride" on Saturday the 3rd of June with the ride at 6:30am Sunday, June 4th. I figured that if I could do the Mt. Able climb then I wouldn't have any trouble with Lake Tahoe. Wrong... It was an incredibly beautiful day and the weather was perfect! We started at 6:20 and the ride to the first climb was nice and easy. The morning climb was about 600' in about three miles but starting at over 6,000' made it a little tougher but it wasn't too bad. We were slowed about a half hour or more due to several crashes on the decent, three requiring ambulances and one a life flight helicopter. From what I saw, two of the accidents were very serious. After the decent, the ride was nice and relaxing for about 40 miles before the second ascent of the day. This one was about 1000' and very long. It proved very difficult but taking my time I made it. I had cramps in my quads for about the last 20 miles and had to take it very slow on the climbs to keep from cramping completely. From the summit to the finish was another nice decent.

Riding near the south end of Lake Tahoe

This ride is truely one of the great rides anyone who is a serious cyclist should take and Sunday was just spectacular! Next on the list is probably a ride from Pine Mountain Club to Taft or Bakersfield, down Cerro Noroeste to Hwy 166. I may also ride part of the day Thursday with Alison and the group riding in the Aids/Lifecycle ride on Highway 1. Just have to see how timing works.

Upon returning to Texas it will be the Katy Flatland and maybe one more ride before the Midland MS150 in mid July.