preRA: Fountain Hills #3

Another loaded spin up by Saguaro Lake, then down the Beeline to Fountain Hills.  When the weather behaves we get NE winds in the mornings, and it makes the hills out by the lake interesting.   At Beeline and Bush I spied this outrageous orange-red cactus in bloom in the desert and trudged out for a photo.

Rolling down the Beeline is almost always fun, and this morning I did so for about 7 miles at 24 mph.  Approaching Fountain Hills, I watched the end of the fountain’s cycle, realizing that it was actually the 9AM cycle I was watching, with a plan to meet up at Jesse at 10:30AM.   Either I am getting stronger or maybe just more used to this route, knowing where the hills are.

Egg McMuffins and decaf at McDonald’s, then PB&J sandwiches and a  nice lounge by the fountain with Jesse.   This kind of meet-up for a bite to eat seems inconsequential, but as Jesse says, it makes all the difference for these conditioning rides.  Gives you a reason to put in the miles and take that first step out the door.

Returned by the shortcut Gilbert Road, about 51 miles total.  The winds stayed steady out of the east and I didn’t feel like fighting them back home any more than necessary.