Back to Fountain Hills
While I might normally not create a post for a simple local ride, my riding season this year has been sparse.
I’m riding weekdays with friends and neighbors, good for about 60 miles per week, but that’s about it. Last week Jesse suggested we resurrect the Fountain Hills ride, so I jumped onto the trusty Surly and stretched it out one Sunday morning.
Since last spring, I’d really forgotten that this is a tough ride. It seemed easier then. The hills out by the lake are moderately challenging.
This winter and spring have been unusually dry – we are under our normal rainfall by some 3″ already. The wildflower bloom hardly happened this year. Still, a few hardy regulars appeared: brilliant yellow brittlebush, golden yellow creosotes, desert marigolds, cobalt blue lupines. One of the really showy bushes right now are the chuparosas, dressed in fiery orange-red.
I met Jesse up near the fountain at the European Pizza place – which serves breakfast, too. Some kind of running race was finishing up there, with contestants milling all around, food stalls, and an iff-y cowboy karaoke singer.
Return trip down the Beeline to McKellips, then east back home. In this stretch I began to feel weary – made me realize how far out of shape I’d slipped. Today’s ride was almost 60 miles. Wow, I spent the rest of the day and part of Monday recovering.