Getting back on track.......
RR:
It is starting to become a thing....these rides are more than just myself and
@Faust29 . Starting the ride at 6:15(roll time was 6:00
) with 6 people. It was dark.....it was cold. Garmin said 37*
However, once we started climbing....which on Harding is immediately it warmed up. Within 10 mins it was light enough to see clearly. It was also warming up....kinda. The group splintered up a little bit. Charles was out front, Amy,
@HBkites and myself were a little behind him...while
@BonsaiNut and
@Faust29 were back a little ways. We didn't push the pace, but were social, so the climb went by kinda quick. At 5 mile turn it was a little breezy and cold. I decided to wait there for the other 2 rather than freeze at 4 Corners where I knew the wind would be blowing.....which turns out i was right. Just after 5 mile turn another rider caught us.....he asked if we were doing the Death March today......
How did he know. Turns out it was
@MegaLurker . He hung with us up to 4 Corners then continued on towards the peak. It was nice to catch up.
At 4 Corners we picked up
@singlespeedrider who came up Maple Springs. Turns out our delayed start worked out perfect....it didn't have to wait long for us to get there. We quickly started across Main Divide. It is loose...it is dry...it is getting very rocky and chunky. Somehow the 4 SS's were out in front on the DH's while the FS's were out the back.
Sharone kept asking if we had reached the first of the 3 big climbs before the Motorway. We made quick work of the ride to Motorway. :41 from 4C to Motorway, only a few mins slower than my PR.
We said adios to Greg and Sharone at the top of Motorway while the 5 of us continued on our way. Fast, fun, loose DH before the ball buster climb to Eagle. Again Amy and Charles took off out front....damn geared people. The 3 SS's made it up a ways before giving in. It was pretty loose and I knew I was gonna need my legs for later. Got to the top and dropped into Eagle. Amy and Charles had already rolled. Sweet....
meant I had some rabbits to chase down Eagle. I would catch Amy about 2/3rd's the way down and Charles just before the bottom. Eagle has grown back into a true singletrack, however it is getting loose in some places. Mark turned around before we dropped the final chute and climbed back up.
The final chute was loose, and steep, and rutted....but it is a fun challenge. The only one without a dropper post rode it.
Short roadie over to Skyline. Quick water refill then up we went. Bottom of Skyline was bordering on hot....no shade. About 1/2 way up the breeze kicked in. Up near the top the winds started howling and the temps dropped. At Beeks' we said adios to Charles as the remain 3 of us began out assault on Main Divide. Had hoped for a tailwind to push us across. We would get one from time to time. Lots of Jeep traffic on MD today...and they were all driving way too fast. At Hagador we were just getting blown around. Put my sunsleeves on because of the cold. Amy was long gone. Main Divide is getting really loose. Now I didn't remember this til we were passed Pleasant's Peak(where I later learned that winds were blowing 45-55 mph). We had done B* / Motorway a week ago and we commented on how loose and slippery the road had become. Had I remembered this before I created this route, we may have done something different. It was a slow traverse of Main Divide. Walked some areas I normally don't. However, eventually we made it to the top of Motorway....only to find that Amy kept going. We got rolling quickly.
Again, Motorway is Motorway.....I like it. I like the variety. I was tired, but not burnt. Just kept moving today. No issues on Motorway and we all made it down cleanly. Amy was waiting at the bottom. We had already decided at Beeks' that the climb back up Maple Springs wasn't going to happen. It would have been a 3 hr climb back up to 4C. So we roadied it down Silverado....again hoping for a tailwind....not sure we got one or not.
Back on out Santiago Canyon it was easy spin back to Modjeska Canyon.
Fun day on the bike. Good group and good company. It's a good route....a difficult route. I enjoyed it.
https://www.relive.cc/view/1378603126
52 / 9000'
Though that includes my snack break before the climb and numerous stops due to vehicle traffic. I stopped at three of the switchbacks just to take a breath as well. I didn't feel like I was riding the trail as much as limping up it 
