Friday, March 30, 2012

Wind Warnings

Just saw this forecast for Saturday (Hell's Gate Hundred day):

Mostly sunny and windy. Areas of blowing dust. Highs 71 and 76 in the mountains...around 95 at Furnace Creek. South wind 20 - 30 mph with gusts to around 50 mph.

I know better than to completely rely on the forecast, but this is discouraging. I may alter the plan just a bit, because tomorrow is supposed to be reasonably nice.

Tomorrow's ride - the last before the Hell's Gate Hundred - travels along the same route as for the Century, but doesn't ascend beyond Hell's Gate. If I continued beyond Hell's Gate tomorrow, to Daylight Pass, it's only another 12 miles to Rhyolite. I'm figuring I'm not going to make it to Rhyolite on Saturday, so tomorrow is my only option.

My plan is to start an hour earlier than the rest of the group, in order to take advantage of the planned SAG stops at Hell's Gate, the turnaround point. Other riders have expressed their desire to ride more miles tomorrow, too, so there may be another SAG parked at Daylight Pass, which would help me out a lot.

Wish me luck! I hope to be able to send pictures from Rhyolite tomorrow, if all goes as planned...

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