I was on the Sugar for this ride, mainly because Michelle didn't want to get stuck riding in the dark again (even with lights!). I had to take a picture of the Sugar for Scott since he always comments on it being too clean--I haven't cleaned it since KoTR!
The car could use a wash too!
We took our time on the ride up, but eventually it became clear that it was going to get dark before we got down. We split into a few groups; Chris, Bill, and I cruised up past the gazebo on the Castle Trail to hit Ute Trail. I remembered to bring my Niterider 15W headlamp this time, and I was happy to have some light on the descent. Towards the bottom I tried to hop around a switchback instead of rolling it, and that's when I discovered that a headlamp doesn't light the ground immediately beneath the rider. *ahem*
After picking myself up and dusting myself off, I learned another lesson--an 8-year old NiCd battery has a limited capacity, and trying to stretch the charge across two rides instead of taking the time to fully discharge and recharge it after Michelle used it on the previous week's ride meant that I was going to be riding in the dark soon. Fortunately we were nearly at the bottom, and I made it back to the car without incident.
Dinner at the Morrison Inn hit the spot as usual, and we learned that Chris was once a calculator-programming geek extraordinaire! If only I could find a link!
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