We'll Be Comin' Round South Mountain When We Come

Today's Pretty-Good Tracking

I determined to start the week out right, for once, and saddled up the bike for a ride.  Jacque had previously scheduled sewing engagement and did not ride with me but told me she was going to leave "one" of our doggies at home to reduce her confusion level at her sewing klatch.  Which meant Jazzie, our noisy hyper-active Yappy Pappy.  I told her I'd take the little miscreant with me on my bike ride.
She is a fun companion even if she does get a bit out of bounds occasionally.   I carry her in our little papoose-style belly pack, which makes for a bit more warmth on a sunny day like today, but it calms her down and keeps her from whining and yapping as we ride along.
I'm currently striving for 20-something mile rides to help lower my A1C readings and calm my endocrinologist down,  but like most riders I would love to be able to do different rides to keep the boredom factor down.  I've been to Beautiful Downtown Edgewood (That's a Joke, Son) several times recently, so today I thought maybe I'd just ride Frost Road all the way to the intersection at 344 just north of Edgewood, whereupon it turns abruptly into State Road 472 the rest of its length into downtown Stanley, NM (Another New Mexico Joke).
As we neared this intersection on this very lovely morning, I noticed the prominence of South Mountain off to our left and recalled I had not taken THAT route in almost a year or so. 

I didn't remember the mileage exactly but knew it would exceed 20 miles handily.  For many miles there is no shoulder and the pavement is not smooth much of the way but the motorized traffic is sparse.  So I turned north on 344 at Cedar Grove and took the loop around South Mountain.  Going the direction WE rode today is a much easier proposition than riding it the OTHER direction:  Just up 344 from North-14 at Golden is a 15% grade hill that is a strain on a motorized vehicle and bloody murder on a bike, aptly earning the name "Heartbreak Hill".  Going the difficult direction involves me dismounting  the bike after about the first quarter mile and walking it the next couple miles uphill.  I just plain don't have the legs for it, though the hardcore riders in the area all despise it, many make it all the way without having to get off and push, unlike Yours Truly.
Thus the easy direction I took today:  Gradual hills up to the top of Heartbreak Hill, then SMOKIN' downhill curves all the way down to 344 just south of Golden.  You may note my max speed today was 43+ MPH, and that would have been exceeded had I not ridden the brakes part-way down.  Much faster than I'm used to OR comfortable with.  When I was younger and bulletproof it would have been fun to let'er rip all the way down to see how fast the machine could achieve without my help (My max pedaling speed is between 20 and 24 MPH).  Now that I'm old and wishing to get older and all too aware of the limitations of my frame, brakes, tires, and lack of smoothness of the pavement.... I use the brakes.  Sorry.
Jazzy did herself proud today.  She did not bark, yap, or whine at all today, and mostly laid her head on my arm trying to relax while we rode:

Ya have to look close, she's partly shaded in the crook of my arm

All in all a very satisfactory riding companion.  We stopped several times for shade, pee, food, and water breaks.  Each time she happily took the leash, poked around, drank offered water out of my cupped hand, and generally made herself lovable.

Ride Started:  9:16 AM    Ride Ended:  2:28 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:  14.0       Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp  78 F      Highest Temp:  98 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  33.08
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  6.3 MPH                               9.1 MPH                    43.3 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
5 Hours 12 mins                    3 Hours 37 mins          1 Hour 3 minutes