mid-week semi-epic

Blame it on Lit'l Peppers - went for breakfast yesterday and had a generous pastrami croissant. I was already planing to go for a ride, but after stuffing myself I resolved to do something special. Four and half hours, nearly 40 miles, about 4k of climbing; figure that put me in the black for the day.

GPS track in Google maps

From my house, I rode to the Claremont side of MTRP, out the Rim to e-ticket, over the Fortuna saddle, up Spring Canyon, over the ridge to Sycamore canyon, over the switchbacks, up and around Martha's Grove, and back the way I came (more or less - took a different side canyon into Spring, and took Suycott Wash and switchbacks climb out of MTRP).

A few highlights:

• The ride started and ended at my house, no driving involved. Except for a couple miles getting to and from the trailhead, it was dirt all the way.
• I haven't ridden the eastern side of Fortuna saddle for years, but the fire roads between the saddle and Mast Blvd were one of the first mtb rides I did in SD, back in 1995. Don't think I got any further up the eastern approach to the saddle than I ever did.
• Wildlife count included 3 roadrunners, 2 snakes (racers? looked like garters but without a dorsal stripe), 2 deer (just before the rock garden in Suycott), and of course lots of lizards.