Thursday, November 18
Today, after sunrise, we were going to venture to Artist Drive. I would ride my bike there, while Laura would drive and meet me there a little later. She would go to an overlook there and paint for a while. I would catch up with her at the overlook, and we would then ride a loop of the scenic road together.
This ride is a challenger, as it has a 3+ mile stretch with grades averaging over 10%, going as high as 14% at times. I would ride that stretch twice, once going up to meet Laura at the overlook, then again with her on the loop we did.
We had another synchronous moment! I had ridden an hour or so and had reached the turn-off into the Scenic Drive. I stopped and was going to text her to let her know, and as I did, I turned around and she was there, coming down in her 4Runner to make the turn herself. Can’t make this stuff up! I stopped texting and said “Hi!” We talked just a couple minutes, then she drove off and I started climbing the hill. It took me 37 minutes to do the 4.4 miles to the overlook. It was a hard ride, too! I wondered to myself, “Can Laura do this?” When I met up with her, she was all ready to go! No stopping her. She was enthusiastic and energetic. She possesses a strong, “can do, will do” attitude. She also showed me the painting she had done, in such a short time, I was very impressed!
We took off, starting on a downhill section, before the first of the two big climbs begins, then a long downhill. Here, the narrow road winds among sandstone and mud caked walls. Most of the first several miles were steep downhills, and we would pay for this later in the ride. This first section was fast. Once we reached the bottom, we turn south and ride a few miles to the entrance again, where we had met at the synchronous texting incident. And uphill we started. It took us 63 minutes. It was hard, fantastic. I think Laura felt really wonderful, too. She’s a strong rider, and she’s a good athlete, but she does not ride regularly, as do I, and it was quite an accomplishment. You can see the smile on her face! I was so happy for her, too.
Comments