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Monster Commute


Decided to do the early morning Monster Commute again. Got out the door just before sunrise and headed through the Preserve up to Mt Herman Road. Stopped for a quick stretch and found a funny little sign that says "NEED RIDE UP THE MOUNTAIN" on one side and "NEED RIDE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN" on the other side.


Cruised up Mt Herman Rd in the cool morning air. Way up high on a slight downhill, I heard some crashing through the woods. Looked over and saw 2 elk flying through the trees! I have never seen elk on Mt Herman Rd, so I was not sure I had really seen elk. About a half a mile later, what crosses the road directly in front of me? Another elk! Wow, very cool.


Hit Rampart Range Rd and headed south towards Woodland Park. I almost took the wrong turn again, descending to Woodland Park, but realized my mistake and headed the correct way.


Cruised past Rampart Reservoir, enjoying the magnificent views of Pikes Peak and then descended all the way to Garden of the Gods. The descent was surprisingly devoid of washboard, but did have some extra chunky gravel in places.

Had an enjoyable spin through Garden of the Gods, where a roadie passed and commented on all the stuff on my bike. "Yeah, I'm on a long ride." Not wanting to wear a camelback today, I had everything on the bike:
- pump strapped to frame
- gps on handlebar
- light on handlebar
- handlebar bag with phone, id, and 2 bottles of Perpetuem inside
- 2 Mountain Feedbags holding a Spot Messenger, snacks, rain jacket, endurolytes, and camera inside
- seat wedge carrying work clothes
- tools and tube strapped to frame with an Awesome Strap
- 3rd water bottle in cage
- climbing shoes strapped to top tube with an Awesome Strap

Looks like I'll hit almost 170 miles for the week after tonight's commute home. Sweet! That's about what I'd like to do at 24 Hours of Colorado Springs...in a day. Yikes!

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