Day 4!

Day four on the road saw the SkAvery Crew climbing over Cottonwood Pass and descending fourteen miles on DIRT roads to the shores of Taylor Reservoir, where we regrouped and continued to race down Taylor Canyon until meeting up with several riders from The Brick Oven racing team. The plan was for the Brick Oven guys to serve as a wind break and pull us into Crested Butte over the final 30 miles. But, as plans often do, it went slightly awry: somehow all the SkAver riders had a bit of energy left in the legs and it turned into a fast, 30mph paceline ride the whole way into Almont. Tons of fun but it sucked up every last bit of our energy. After a bit of regrouping and catching of breath, the guys got back on the bikes and headed UP the final 15 miles to CB in what was a decidedly slower--and might I say more painful (looking)--pace.

While the ride definitely sapped a lot out of all the guys, it was nothing that the mountain eden of Crested Butte couldn't fix. The Brick Oven Restaurant (which, I must add, pours a prime and educated selection of craft beer from its 20+ taps) was the perfect place for us to recharge. Surrounded by a mix of jagged peaks while sitting under a towering Spruce tree and its ample shade, we were treated to pitchers of our Karma Ale by our friends Dan, Andy and Ben from the Brick Oven Cycling team. The combination of brews, food and friends was so energizing (note that I use that descriptor with some amount of forboding and irony!) that many of us stayed right there until long past sunset. Come on, everyone knows that an Avery brewer can't resist a fresh keg of Maharaja...

CB crew, thanks for everything!

And please rest assured that after our evening there we've got our priorities straight....................RIDE > TALK!!!!