Dodging rain drops

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II was sure we would get soaked when we left the house for the ProCycling Tuesday mountain bike ride. The clouds loomed dark and grey over the mountains and a small shower had already blown through. The set up was classic for a monster thunderstorm and a super soaking. Many of the regulars bailed on the ride because of the weather, but Jen, Leah, Craig, Nick and I pushed on. If anything, the trails would be quiet and in awesome shape if it started raining! We met in Stratton this week for a change of pace. A nice meander up Chamberlin - avoiding climbing up the Chutes and we found ourselves on Gold Camp. There was a large group of riders waiting at the top - some to descend, others for riders still climbing. So far, the clouds were holding off and although muggy for Colorado, it was a perfect night for riding. Everyone was in a good mood and the pedaling was awesome. Jen planned on dropping Spring Creek to Columbine, then descending down to the canyon. Haven't done that trail in a while, so was looking forward to something different. And some sand surfing! Without any recent rain, I knew Columbine would be deep as loose gravel. Sand surfing around those switchbacks is always fun - and I'm getting better at controlling the bike at speeds down that trail. (Although I'm still not fast on that kind of surface. Then it was back into Stratton. Since Jen didn't know the trails in Stratton well, I took over the lead. The next 30 minutes turned into "how to get lost five minutes from the parking lot" as we wandered around on the main trails and the fun side trails. Because I do a lot of my workouts in Stratton, I know most of the fun trails and the best ways to connect the loops. I could spend two hours in Stratton and maybe hit the same trails twice. 

And the rain held off. We had some wind and the clouds never lifted, but we stayed dry the entire ride. It was a really good afternoon for a fun time on two wheels - and a perfect example of fickle Colorado weather! Instead of skipping the ride, just bring a rain coat. Chances are, nothing will happen and the rain won't materialize. But stay close to home in case it does!

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