OK, so I forgot my camera this weekend, doh! The picture above is the original, 1922 Cedro Peak lookout tower, courtesy the U.S. Forest Service.
Last week was a whirlwind. Had to go up for a public meeting in Santa Fe on Tuesday evening. Got home late, so decided to comp some time and go turkey hunting way south early on Wednesday. Great day and to make a long story short, I got a nice Merrriams gobbler with my bow. Looking forward to cooking him up in a week or two with some friends. Wild turkey is one of my favorite game meats.

With the hunt over, I could get back on the bike again. Got a couple of road rides in and the one on Friday turned out to be more of a hammer session than I planned, especially battling the wind, but I got about 2200 feet of climbing in during my lunch hour and the grade was nice for staying in the big ring too. Ann had to work Saturday morning, so I planned a ride with Carl and Patrick. With the previous nights rain and other commitments later in the day, we opted for a north foothills ride. As usual, I left from the house on the singlespeed and climbed up to just below the water tanks, then headed south on the 365 trail and met the guys coming over from the Spain lot. After a quick prayer, we looped back and made the nice climb up to Pino at a good clip. They had me lead, and I was putting out a good steady effort with the guys right behind, and Patrick hugging my rear wheel the whole time on his cross bike. It was probably a reasonable pace for them, since they are racing in California this coming weekend and didn't want to hammer too hard. After Pino, we looped back south to Embudito, then down Bear Canyon arroyo, then climbed back up to Spain. I left the guys at Spain and headed back home via 365 at a medium fast pace. When all was said and done, the computer indicated 16 plus miles, (1 hour, 23 minutes) with an average speed of 11.55 mph and a not too serious 2,500 feet of climbing. For me, a really nice workout, and fun as always to go with riders that are stronger than I am.

Sunday was beautiful and Ann and I decided to hit Cedro. I was on the SS again and I think we were both a bit dehydrated because my legs just had no zip and I could tell Ann wasn't feeling her normal self. Seems we both also have a bit of a sore throat and decided to cut the ride a little short, but still great to be out there. Need to get a lot of good rest this week so we don't get sick. Next weekend I'm hoping to do a big ride (for me) on the SS. Need to decide on a route and try to find some company. G3 is this weekend and it will be the first one I've missed. It's always a blast hanging out with bomb folks from across the globe, but Moab just does not spark my interest anymore. I love Fruita, but there's something about being in Moab, that makes me uneasy, and I've never been able to feel relaxed and at ease there. Wierd, huh? Anyone else ever feel that way about Moab or any other place for that matter? Enough rambling. Grace and Peace.