Lefthand Canyon

Long ride today. Set out for Jamestown mid-morning with Clare and EP. Did the section from the turnoff to the Merc in 41min, but lost about 10min because I got a goathead in my tire and had to stop to change a tube. Mom and Mollie drove up (see Mollie and I gleefully doing the wave for Clare's arrival in the pic above) and we all had a big pancake breakfast at the Merc. Then EP drove the van down, the girls rode back home, and I set off down the hill to the turnoff for Ward. The climb is gentle but constant until Indian Gulch where the road suddenly turns straight up to meet the peak-to-peak highway on the other end of town. I made it up the hill--it wasn't pretty--and then rolled back down 16mi of downhill back to Rt 36. Came home (exhausted) by Nelson Rd. 56mi total, more than a vertical mile on the two climbs.