Today was a good day on the bike.  28 miles and 2,900+ feet of climbing at altitude.

The local mountain bike club up here at Mammoth Lakes puts on a yearly ride this time of year, the “Big Friggin’ Loop”… the long distance guys go 50+ miles, I opted for the mini at 27 miles.  

As with any XC ride, there seems to be a lot of climbing… the first ~11 miles.  Between the altitude and the shear amount of climbing, my legs were NOT happy with me (and, in fact, bargaining with me after 20 miles to skip the last part of the ride and just go home).

On the other hand, I met a lot of really nice people and got to ride with a friend that wasn’t doing the group ride, but rode with me for a part of the course so that I didn’t get lost.  🙂

I was even treated to rounding out around a lake to see my dog and friend waiting to say hello.  What a joy to see by fur-baby excited to see me during a long ride.  It was a much needed ‘happiness’ boost near the top of a very long climb.  

For a lot of the ride, I was really focused on the dirt in front of me… but once in a while, I’d look up and get great views.  

Tomorrow, it’s back to San Diego to hit the beach!