2011/09/24

Lolo Pass on the last 80-degree day of the year

Today was probably the last day of the year that we will reach 80 degrees. It also was very sunny, so I decided to do a ride with great scenery. Larch Mtn was my other option, but I haven't done Lolo pass as often and there would be less traffic.

I initially planned on going out and back on the exact same route, but I haven't been on the bike for a few weeks so the legs weren't up to it. I did the easier route back which is partially on US26 so of course there's lots of traffic.

The scenery was beautiful of course. The weather was warm but it certainly cooled off by the time I got to the top of the pass. On the way down I ran into a few light sprinkles too; for a while there I was shivering.

Due to a fire, the road down to the east was closed, but this didn't affect me. Other than the general haze, I couldn't see any signs of the forest fire.

I wasn't going to set any records on this ride, so I took a few more pictures than I usually do:

Mt. Hood as seen from 'little Switzerland'

Mt. Hood as seen from 'Little Switzerland'

the Hood

"the Hood"

One thing I did differently on this ride from the last Lolo Pass ride is that I didn't use the handlebar bag. Everything went in the jersey pockets, and this worked out well for me. On the last Lolo Pass ride I noticed that the steering was a little sluggish; I presume that this was due to the weight of the full-loaded handlebar bag.

I started going pretty slow on the way back. I've only done two short rides in the last two weeks so I was really hurting by the end.