The annual tradition of Cycling from Albion City Park to Mt. Harrison was again completed! Got up at 5:30am and got everything ready to go up there. I packed snowshoes this time because I knew that the snowpack up there was going to be insane! I was right on, cause they were definitely needed.
I left at 6am exactly from the park and the sun was just coming up as I got to the turn off the highway up to Mt. Harrison. Took several breaks for pictures. When I got about 2 hours into the ride, the smell of the air was extremely refreshing! That alone was worth the trip! If I could can that air I'd be a millionaire. Loved it!
Once I got past Pomerelle, I hit my first snowbank on the road that required carrying my bike. Then I got past the gate on the road and crossed over a couple more snow bank patches on the road. Then I got up to Lake Cleveland and from there I stashed my bike and hiked/snowshoed the rest of the way. I did about 3 miles of hiking/snowshoeing.
I was nervous about seeing a bear up there. Then when I get about 1/4 mile from the top. I saw a big hole in the snow with tracks coming from it. Man was that thought enough to pump my blood even faster! I got to the outlook and noticed that this time, they had locked the deck around the building. I took pics, but no vid from that point since my camera battery was dying and wouldn't let me take vid from that point on. It was a perfect day. No clouds, not very windy, and I left early enough in the morning that it wasn't hot. Plus it wasn't that cold despite the snow.
On the way back down I saw a hole in the snow that was filled with ants. It was amazing. Red/Black ants crawling all over the snow and inside this hole. Awesome!
Absolutely perfect ride! The last time my butt sat on that saddle was last year when I did this ride. I've been focusing so much on my swimming that I really had to blow off the dust on my bike and get it oiled up for this ride. I was sure I could make it, but I knew it would take time. It sure did! And most of it was because of the detour in my planned trip. I back country'd a good portion of it. What an adventure!
Here's all the pics/video in Picasa:
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