Day Six - Honkytonk Badonkadonk

Today was the Monarch Crest Trail.  35 miles of riding, 3,500 ft of climbing with most of the climbing above 11,000ft and almost 7,000ft of descending!  It's a really gorgeous ride with some phenominal views and even a little East-Coast style riding.  One of these days I'll tally my observations between Colorado and Virginia riding but for now I'll just say it was nice to ride in the trees a little bit and railing corners.  I was quite surprised that a good bit of the ride was actually shaded. It didn't feel like hot, exposed CO riding until the very end.

If you are thinking about doing this ride I have a few thoughts.

• It's awesome, do it. 
• It's quite fun with a group.
• Even though there's 3,500ft of climbing it's all very mellow.  Nothing too steep until you reach the last 10 miles where there's some short gut busters.
• Get on the trail early to beat the heat and afternoon thunderstorms.
• A shuttle is necessary, plan accordingly.
• A map is a good idea.  Absolute Bikes in Salida has an excellent map.

My recap from a non-trail perspective

1. The King hub performed flawlessly, even missing a ball in one of the bearings
2. I overpacked.
3. I do not like Ergon grips at all.  My hands were both numb and in pain at the bottom of a 5 mile descent.  

Oh, if you've gotten this far and you are wondering what the hell the title is about.  This song was playing when I went into the restroom before the ride.