Solvang Camp Day 3

John Ruskin wrote:

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”

Following that logic, we have had many different kinds of good weather this week.  My favorite kind of good weather showed up today meaning that we had plenty of sunshine.  The day dawned clear and stayed that way.  It almost made the kind of good weather we had the last two days seem worthwhile!

Mt Figueroa is tough no matter which side you approach it from.  Normally we go from the back part, through a small gate, over a gravel section, down a steep bit and through some washes, before the real climbing begins.  This year, there is snow at the top, so we did an out-and-back up the front side.  The climb was 55 minutes long and just as uneven and difficult to hold a rhythm on as the back side.

We climbed beyond the snow line, and into the thin fresh air.  Check out the view:

The view from Mt Figueroa

The descent from Figueroa towards Los Olivos is technical and difficult, with some gravel, rough pavement and the occasional pothole.  Still, it is loads of fun and the front group made the most of it.  Everyone came down safely, and we cruised back to Solvang for cornering clinic:

Cruising with Carl

Tomorrow we ride the Solvang TT course for the Tour of California which arrives on Friday.  I wish I could actually "race" it with the campers, but my duties usually mean I am holding a stopwatch or pointing people in the right direction.  That's okay, I suppose - my legs are toast!