4:30 (work) – “Wow, finally. Out of work (somewhat) on time. Time to get my butt moving and get on the bike. Maybe I’ll get my ride in before it gets *totally* dark today. Especially since my light is sitting on the charger at home, and there is no way I’m going to get it…….”

5:00 (schultz trailhead) – “I don’t really need the headband under the helmet today, it’s not that cold…. I’ll just stick with the tights, sleeves, and vest, and take the headband for the way down…..”

5:06 (schultz trailhead) – “Finally moving. It’s not that bad out, and there’s even some patches of actual sun every now and then. Here’s the plan, don’t kill yourself on schultz. Good pace, but save it. You can bust your ass once we hit sunset road. You’ve got another 1000 feet of vertical up the old sunset road to bust out with the ‘kill yourself’ pace.”

“Man, this sun is nice, I wonder if I can make it up to the top of sunset before it’s gone. Let’s see, 5:00 start, sunset around 6 ish, 8-9 miles and about 1800 feet of climbing to go to the top, I think I can make it…..”

“Alright, time to start the real climb, sun’s getting lower, crank it up. Oh man, these patches of snow are really kicking my ass. Slow going. Gotta keep ahead of the sunset. Nice! Another patch of sun! It’s getting a really deep gold color now. Man, that is gorgeous. The forest is just painted with those patches of sun.”

“I can see a big patch of sun through the trees ahead, maybe 400 feet. Turn it up, hit the patch…. Dang, missed it, it snuck out from under me. Oh wait, here comes another one up ahead. Nice! Caught this one! Gotta keep cranking, another mile or two to go, and we’ll be at the top……”

“This coloring is turning a bright shade of orange. Contrasted off the green from the pines, that is one of the most amazing patchwork of colors I’ve ever seen on a ride. I almost feel guilty for experiencing this. There’s one other track going up through the patches of snow. I wonder who the other lucky soul was who got to see this?? Chances are, it was in the middle of the day, so they didn’t catch this light, but then again, maybe it was yesterday at this time….or even just a few minutes ago, I guess I’ll never know….”

“Almost to the top, and it’s starting to fade now. Just hints of orange. I can see the line of where the day meets the night moving up the trees as I keep going. I don’t think I’ll catch any more patches of light on the ground tonight. Time to get up, tag the top, and get out of here before the night closes in completely around me.”

Sometime around 6:00 (viewpoint at the summit above the dry lakes on sunset trail) – “Wow, just made it. The last bits of fire are retreating below the horizon, almost like it was waiting for me to see it before it finally turned in for the night. Grab the headband, zip the zippers, make sure the shirt is tucked in…. this is going to be a cold ride down, because I gotta make it fast. I don’t really want to have to pull out that LED headlamp in my camelbak…..”

“Man, I’m flying. I think this is one of the fastest I’ve ever rocked down sunset. It’s like everything is just flowing, around a rock here . . . . over a log there . . . . flat spot, crank a couple times . . . . gotta make it to the parking lot before it gets too dark. . . .”

“I can see it getting darker, and my face tells me that the temperature is dropping. I’m still comfortable, but I don’t have the nite rider and the really warm clothing on. That means there’s just one way to keep warm, and that’s push harder. Now’s the time. You got to warm up on schultz, you got your main workout up sunset, now it’s time to sprint for the finish……”

“The upper parking lot is behind me, and it’s too dark already to do schultz without a light. I’m not bothering with that, I’ll just take the road down, but make it quick. You have no excuse to coast if you’re riding the road…… I’ve ridden this road more in the dark than the light… That’s probably how it should be.”

6:22 pm (schultz creek trailhead, back at the car) – “Wow. That is how a ride should be. You know, there are a lot of people right now who are sitting on their couch, thinking how cold it is out. There are even some people sitting on their road bike on a trainer inside as well, thinking how cold it is out, and how early it’s getting dark. I don’t envy them…. Maybe that’s why I don’t have a trainer….. I guess the mountain is kinda my trainer. Or maybe I don’t really train at all? Maybe I just ride? Either way, that ride was amazing.”

Just something for a little inspiration out there. Happy trails to everyone. I’m headed up to SLC for another weekend of skiing, then it’s back down here to chase the sun for another couple weeks before old pueblo. Keep the rubber rolling…..