In lieu of pictures, I have video of my Saturday ride posted earlier. This was a 77-mile (124km) ride with about 10,300 feet (3100m) of climbing done expressly for the purpose of riding a 4.2-mile pavement-to-gravel section nearly smack in the middle of the ride. Temps were generally mid-80s F to upper 90s (30-37C), though the first 5mi and last 10mi or so was low-80s to upper-70s (25-28C). Humorously (Humourously), instead of waiting for a cattle drive at a critical junction, I tried to bypass it by going and ultimately to an unexpected dead-end. This meant my effort to improve my then-Strava Top 10 (now #21) ended as I went off-segment. Even with my accidental off-segment detour up a steep climb, I was >15min faster this time than my May 2020 go, putting about #14th. Excluding the detour, maybe I would’ve regained 10th, but… In May 2020, my approach was from the north that included a lot more gravel and trails (the outbound of my normal 5hr trail ride), included a steep descent into the valley before the climb facing the Stoos Bahn (the steepest funicular in the world), and included a lot of flat en route to a finish in Luzern (via a brutal & unexpected “stair” climb of logs and roots and rarely stone… from 2020) for 90mi and 11,700’ of climbing. Last year, my attempt was thwarted by a long winter (and a never that never really came).
Here’s the video, with some text narration. The 4k is processing as I type this, so check your settings because the scenes are better in high-res. And, there are plenty of cowbells, some goats, and free-range horses.
