March 11, 2011 GMR plus bennies

Chuck shows up and plays bartender on GMR Shot from just before the shack on GMR

Me on top, waiting for refreshments.

Got home from work and thought I would try and talk Chuck into a ride up GMR. Knowing that anytime I call him about going up, he has a time delay of a couple hours it seems, I told him I would meet him at the top and for him to bring a beer along. Well, it was a good call on my part, as I had the few hours I needed to get ready and ride the bike up to the summit before I would expect him to show up. I left the house about 11:30 AM , telling him I would be on top around 1:30 to 1:45 PM . I had a great ride up, taking my time without pushing it too hard. Weather was a little warm on the bottom half, but it cooled off half way up. Hit the top at about 1:20PM, and figured I had some waiting to do for Chuck. While hanging out at the top, 2 riders topped out and talked for a little. I forget their names, but not their bikes. The bigger of the two riders was on a real nice Cervelo, and even had the same rims as I have. The other guy was on an older Litespeed, but it was in nice condition. After they headed down, I waited on Chuck until 2:15 PM before figuring he ran into problems or just blew me off. I headed down and after about a mile, saw his jeep coming up the road. We met right at the top of the 8% section, about .8 miles below the shack. While it had been almost warm for me on the top, Where we met and were having a beer or two was exposed to the wind, making it a little cool out for me. Not bad, just had to hide from the breeze now and then. After being there almost 2 hours, having a brew and shooting the shit, we headed down. And it was a great downhill for me. I took it a little faster than normal, but having Chuck right behind me boosted my confidence a little I guess. All in all, a great day int he mountains with great views, a great ride, and a great friend.