Maurizio Gavardoni // Mini Epic

Since I was already well trained for the distance/elevation I decided to tackle this ride on the very first day of the month. I normally don’t like doing long rides in the heat of summer so I decided not to waste any time in the calendar. I used my ultra-light hardtail bike and I am sure this may have put me at disadvantage toward the riders with gravel bikes. Luckily my hardtail is pretty much as light as gravel bike, however wearing 2-inch tires definitely slows me down on pavement. I started at 8am. At 7:45am the parking lot was almost full with only two car spots left. The start of the ride was pretty brutal because it starts with a moderately long climb. I wish there was an initial flat stretch to warm up more gradually. As a suggestion to the organizer, please consider moving the starting point at Calero County Park (right before the Cinnabar golf course) for future editions. The parking there is bigger and the initial miles on pavement leading to Ranch Canada allow for a better warm up. Not to mention that those miles can get busy with traffic and it is probably best to get over with them in the early morning rather than at the end of the ride. The climb to Mt. Umunhum is pretty long, steep in the initial half and quite boring. I have done it several times and don’t necessarily like it. The view from the top was very clear and amazing as always. The last part through Calero is where I felt the best in the entire day. I really enjoy the ups and downs and twists of those Calero trails. I finished around 1:20pm. Thanks God it was a cool weather day.