quasigeostrophy | Part 5: Wheeeeeee!!!

Compare this: It took me one hour and fifty-four minutes to get from Ashford Mill to Jubilee Pass, seven miles. It took me eleven minutes to get back down, seven miles. The math for this exercise in relative speeds I will leave to the reader. Suffice it to say I did not look down at my speedometer much, for fear of missing a pothole in the lousy road and killing myself. But, oh, was it better than any amusement park thrill ride I have ever been on!!!

I started out behind R from Jubilee Pass with trepidation. I had been watching downhill-bound riders for the last two hours. When I was still coming up, the road was wet, and many of them did not look like they were having fun. As I started down, the sun came out, and the road had dried very quickly (typical of a desert to hide any evidence of rain very soon afterward). R disappeared ahead of me in no time. Not to worry - he's done the ride before. I got down into the drop position and put a death grip on my rear brake. They were applied as hard as I could apply them. I kept my fingers away from the front brake lever. There would be no going over the handlebars for me today. The most concern I had during the descent was on certain areas of rough road. From above, at speed, I thought I saw patches of gravel, and tried to steer clear. After the first couple of encounters, I was convinced it was just the pavement, but remained vigilant. As I rounded the last big turn toward the Ashford Mill rest stop, I felt pretty good. I saw R already there taking a break, and heard the cheers of the volunteers waiting. Now, if I can only stop in time.

Next: Part 6 - Ashford Mill to Furnace Creek, 45 miles