Day three looked better from the start. The crew awoke early and walked to breakfast. It was cold. It was clear. It looked real good. We were told they opened at 8? to cook breakfast which was included in the room rate. We were there 3 minutes after so they could open up with out any pressure from us. We were surprised to see a number of other riders already eating. I could feel the positive energy as we planned the days route. I would lead us back to the east and attempt to find the two of the highest summits in the mountain chain. There are a total of five. We planned on climbing two so that we could head back to the city a day early and return to the States on Thursday.
After breakfast we suited up and headed out. (There is a story to insert here. I will let someone else tell it through their video.) The conditions were very good. A solid base and at least two inches of snow dust from the night before. We zipped along comfortably. We even passed a couple of other riders. We took the second right and then first left on pace. The next right took us on a bit of a detour. I didn't mind. We had plenty of snow and blue skies. We were riding. Back out on the main trail to the 1st summit turn off. Up we climbed. Up, up, up...the trail was bumpy, twisty and slick. It was a lot of fun. Here we passed six more riders. Only four of them made it to the top. The summit was awesome. The views were excellent. We hung around a little bit. 900 meters high. This was the second highest of the five summits.
The second stop was at Summit No. 3. This was not quite as high but proved to be a real challenge for No. 5 to climb. It took an attempt or two. Fortunately No. 2 caught it on film. I am told that this video is a must see. We were all very embarrassed that he has our club name plastered on his windshield. In fact, one of the riders we met on the 1st summit said that we shouldn't have any problem with this one since his wife climbed it with out studs. I wanted No.2 to take the sticker back. We should have a minimum standard for ones riding capabilities, shouldn't we? Maybe the new acting Pres can take action on this? In any event, this summit was even better than the first. The views were spectacular. 700 meters high if I remember correctly.
Back to the main trail. Fast and smooth. Turn to the right and it was still ok. We are heading south and the snow dust is now gone. This trail was heavily rutted from our loop the night before. The terrain was super.
The next trail is a left. This put us on the main route towards the Holiday Inn. As we got closer, the snow thinned out. Ten miles from the Hotel and several sleds had cooling issues. These last few miles were tricky. Stay in the middle of the trail on the straights and on the high side around corners and you might have found enough dust to keep the dash lights off.
All in all, it was a good day. After all, we didn't have any mechanical issues to deal with.
