Last ride of the year

And boy was it ever a good one! 27 of us set off in freezing temperatures early in the morning (for me). The fog made it worse as it trapped the moisture and temperature in the valley right on us. In addition to not seeing and the fact that the fog was eerie similar to Stephen King's The Mist, my hands, feet, and head were immediately frozen. But around the hour mark the fog began lifting as we headed down single lane roads that resembled the classics that we watch on TV in April. Around the 1.5hr mark we headed up Lookout Mountain....on gravel and dirt.
The first mile is a steady 6-12% grade then the last 1.5miles are brutal. There is a steep switchback around the 1 mile to go mark at 15-18% grade. But that only is a taste of whats to come. It "levels" off at 7% before rounding the corner and then there is a steep 70ish meter pitch of a solid 20plus%. Then it backs down to 10% or so again then its another round the corner in your face wall. Little less step but a tad longer too. Then the climb starts to back off as it gradually decreases in grade but the little 100 meter kick up to the stop sign pitches back over 10% again. But man what a climb! On top of Lookout Mtn is the usual 1km rollers that eat the legs. Thank God we had a tailwind! Finally we descended down off Lookout and back home! Thank you to Dale Harwood for showing us la bestia. I hope somebody makes this a classic one day...

David