Chilly Enchanted Forest Ride

Odessa and I left at sunrise (7:35am) on Saturday. We decided to practice climbing, so we headed out to Pine Flat Road. We both smoked up Chalk Hill and can't believe this was once considered a challenge. Our brisk pace up and warm clothing (yes, even I wore Underarmour and full-fingered biking gloves) helped us get to our destination in no time. The climb up Pine Flat was beautiful today. As we ascended, we broke through multiple layers of low clouds and the views were spectacular. We took a short break at the "Pine Flat Forest" plateau enjoying the quiet isolation and the sounds of nature. After hitting the 10 mile marker, we headed back down for a freezing descent and rode to the Jimtown Store. We enjoyed homestyle sandwiches, latte's, cookies and the company of other cyclists "refueling". Our alternate route home included the "rougher and tougher" side of Chalk Hill, which really kicks butt after 10 miles of Pine Flat. In any case, we made it home with total ride climbing distance of 3,012 feet. We're expecting Leslie to join us again very soon!