After two days of trying to locate this ride, I finally did after spending way too much gas doing so. And I discovered, to my initial dismay, that the trail was closed.
As I tried to drive in I saw a cyclist ride in and thought I would do that too! So back I went a mile or so away to see if I could park at the Boca Negra Dam. I saw a car parked on the side of the road and did not see any places to park...so I did the same....but I was not comfortable doing so. Suddenly I saw a cop and flagged him down and asked if there was an alternative place to park. He got out of his squad car and stood next to me and all I did was look up! That man must have been 6 for 7! He agreed that the place I parked was not ideal and suggested I pull to the curb in the neighborhood up the road a bit.
As I packed up my bike and gear, he came back around and pulled a U Turn and told me that he thought I could drive in......even tho we both saw cement pylons blocking the way in. So drive in I did and sure enough... way down at the bottom of the dam was a black volcano rocked parking lot!
Off I went and took a ride around the damn...then went onto the highway to get to the Hidden Trail. The barricades were still up so I went though them like only a walker or cyclist could...crossed the parking lot only to find the path was closed with yellow hazard tape. It looked like the path was closed because they had just resurfaced the road. No worries. The paving was dry and off I went!
And this began my uphill odyssey! Oh! The memories came flooding back. As I rode up, up up I thought ...this is good practice for the Chile Harvest Triathlon! Along the way I dealt with 3 and 4% grades that you climbed to and then flattened out...climbed to and then flattened out. But up, up , up I went.
A man flagged me down to tell me there was an angry badger up ahead on the right. I was in the middle of another climb that was getting steeper by the minute. I looked up and told the man, "Well maybe that will prevent me from doing this climb!" I waited a few moments to catch my breath and up I went.
This is how the whole ride went until I decided I had had enough...Obviously my map was wrong about the mileage because I had already ridden more than the map said...so I turned around and rode back.
The rollers going out turned into short steep climbs back down and this turned out to be equally hard, if not more so, than the climb up. This is when the cursing and the talking out loud began. I was so glad I was on the high Mesa with only mean badgers around me!
First day climbing and all I could think of is how much more hard work I have to do!
Finally I got to the top of the initial climb and this became the best part of the ride...flying down hill! Oh how I enjoyed that vs the misery I had endured...have I mentioned I do not like to climb? The wind in my face was a wonderful diversion from the suffering of the climbing and I was thankful for this part of the ride.
Going back to my car, I had to be in traffic, cross highways, stop at red lights and cross over several lanes of highway to make a left turn....so the ride ended up having all the elements of a great and challenging day on the bike...where it was me, my bike and the road!
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