This morning the plan was to ride at 6 AM and do the Hamilton Corner loop with Heather, Ted and a couple neighbors of ours. Well, after no rain for weeks, last night we had a bunch of thunderstorms. As we went to bed Heather and I watched the lightning and it was impressive. The wind was also blowing like crazy. The forecast said it should start to clear up by mid-morning, and last night we left it that we’d meet at 7 AM instead.

Well, the roads were still wet at 7 so we pushed it back to 8 AM. Ted showed up at 7 and decided to go join the charity ride for the blind instead. Then at 8 AM, Heather, Dan, Jeff and I headed out. The road was a little damp but the sky was clearing up. It was unseasonably humid though. It reminded me of riding back in New York in August. We headed out at an easy pace and then the lead group from the charity ride went by. We picked up the pace and tagged on the back of the group for a while. I chatted with Ted for a few minutes, then we let them go off while the four of us took it easy to Purple Sage Golf Course for our first bathroom break.

Then we headed up to Hamilton Corner, then east on Hwy 52 to Emmett. The wind was a crosswind and this is where it was the hardest. Jeff used to be a Cat 2 but took a long hiatus from cycling and is just getting back into it. He was pushing the pace a bit on this stretch. Dan is a recreational rider who decided to take on LoToJa this year so he’s been slowly increasing his mileage. But at one point when Jeff was pulling, Dan couldn’t hold on, so we all decided to slow up. I was actually glad as I wanted to keep this ride easy.

As we headed into Emmett, Heather decided to continue on Hwy 52 to Horseshoe Bend. She needed to get more time in the saddle. Dan, Jeff, and I stopped at Albertsons for some food and water and then headed up Old Freezeout and came down Hwy 16. Most of the ride was pretty easy but I did get up to my TT pace while pulling a couple times. It was a good ride and it was nice to enjoy the company. I was impressed with Dan’s and Jeff’s fitness and they both seem to have a lot of potential.