Shasta

Shasta was amazing to ride! Here's my riding buddy, Diane , near the end of our ride. We did the 1/2 metric, and added a 3 mile uphill because her friend and the coordinator of the ride said it was the most beautiful part. He was right!
It was a challenging uphill, and it seemed endless! Finally, my size was an advantage, as I could climb better and passed at least a couple of the big guys huffing up the hill. :)
Getting to the rest stop was like nirvana in paradise! Getting there was reward enough, and I confess feeling my ego chatter about how being there was a privilage open only to us climbers! HA! Of course, I knew what a weenie I truly was, because the real climbers still had 20 miles more to go where it really got steep, not the warm -up I had just done. lol!
And finally a pic of me, sitting at lunch with some of the uber cyclists who went up climb after climb for 134 miles that day! Maybe Diane and I thought we could gain some elevation through osmosis...very nice guys though, and didn't mind socializing with us plebian 1/2 metric gals!