Spaghetti Legs 

Nice bike Horace!

Today was the day to get some distance, climbing, and gravel in on the Basso. Great riding weather although there was one wind at the end. I have 3 bikes to choose from (and one on the stocks) for Eroica and the Basso is the middle choice. If legs were strong today, I’d thought I might take the Paletti with the 53-42 crank. If legs were soft, it would be the Masi with ghettoed drive train. Legs were so so, so Basso it will be. 54 miles, a little shorter than I’d hoped, but the other option was 70 and I’d still be out there, and 5700 feet of climbing which is more than I’d planned.

Just before I stopped for the pic, the calves were in full on sprint and Mama cow was running behind to keep them from wandering too far. They eyed me warily when I stopped but went back to horseplay (cowplay?) when I got back in the bike.

Mission Home. This is a Mennonite orphanage and adult group home. Top of a steep climb, on the way up there were Mennonite kids in traditional outfits playing disc golf in a field.

1/3 way up Simmons Gap Road on the way to Skyline Drive. This is a close approximation of the Cypress climb.

Skyline Drive, looking back at where I just clumb.

Looking southwest across the Shenandoah Valley

This is the connector trail to Jarman Gap Rd. Today I just realized it’s a close approximation of the first pitch of Kiler Canyon .

Forced rest at the bottom of Jarman Gap. This is a descent that’s actually dicier than the Cypress one. 1500 feet in 3 miles!