NCGR Late Winter Group Ride

Seven members of the Northern Colorado Grassroots Race team met at Full Cycle bike shop on Saturday for a late winter ride to Eden Valley and back to town. Riding conditions were near perfect until we topped the ridge at the end of Harmony Road. At that point, the wind was strong enough to justify turning around. Probably encouraged by the warm sunshine, all of us pressed-on without a second thought and for the most part enjoyed the circuit of hills and drops between Harmony and Horsetooth Mountain Park. From that point, the descent to Masonville was truly epic: gusts of wind were uprooting vegetation, combining what remained with sand, and throwing it in our faces as we struggled to keep from being blown into the road. Fortunately, everyone arrived at the village store intact and smiling! As we contemplated our options, the wind seemed to intensify, gusts may have exceeded 40-50 mph - not ideal for light carbon road bikes! The decision to abandon a large part of the planned ride was inevitable, we rode through the village and quickly looped back. At the turn-around point, fun resumed in large doses as we were literally blown out of the valley and back towards Horsetooth Reservoir and eventually to Fort Collins. Despite the conditions, it was a great group ride! Thanks to everyone that was able to make it. Brent Beck and I broke off from the pack near the end ... and made our way to Equinox for a perfect conclusion to an awesome day on the bikes.