Ride Summary
Experience
I felt slow and the air felt thick. There was a feeling of sadness in the air I couldn’t escape. I felt distracted and it was hard to concentrate on the road.
Strangers came to my rescue. As most drive the loop, pull over at scenic outlooks to take photos or hike a little trail, I found myself in time with a few of the cars. I started to recognize them, and as a solo cyclist I stood out. We began cheerful yet bashful greetings as you do when wearing masks all day. I felt a special connection to a woman driving alone. She just stood out of her jalopy of a car at every pullout and sang. She was friendly and fun, and I felt sad when we got out of sync with each other about 3/4 of the way around.
Weather
Cool and foggy to cool and sunny.
Smoke and haze from summer fires.
Spotted
Pine Martin walked up to me and checked me out!
Roads
Smooth pavement with lots of gravel debris on the edges. Ample turnouts, decent visibility.
Rolling hills.
Mechanicals
none.