Date: Saturday, December 5Meet time: 11:00 a.m. MST
Ride-out time: 11:30 a.m. MST
Meeting place: Starbucks, 1091 N. Bluff St. (map)
City: St. George, Utah
Rain policy: Rain or ice cancels
Pace: 2 - medium pace (10-12 mph)
Terrain: 2 - rolling hills
Miles: 42
Today's ride is a simple loop around St. George. But because this is St. George, that means there's a bit of climbing ... and you'll be rewarded with a wide variety of outstanding scenery and generally low-traffic roads.
We begin by heading south toward Bloomington, across the Virgin River, in for a quick and early rest stop at mile 8, and up to River Road. From there, we'll make our way to ride 7 miles of the Southern Parkway, a glorious freeway-type highway that has smooth, wide shoulders and often has more cyclists than motorists. (It's also good low-stress training for the freeway segments of the event in June.) And if skies are clear, you'll be treated to excellent views of Signal Peak, the region's highest mountain at 10,364 feet. (Sorry, no roads go all the way to the top.)
Next, we'll ride northbound through Washington City to our second rest stop at mile 28 near I-15. We'll then head back toward St. George, but we'll take a little detour into the Green Spring residential area along the way for a fun climb and an even more fun descent.
We've saved our pièce de résistance for last! Southern Utah cyclists know Red Hills Parkway well. If you're visiting, you'll be amazed by the views of the red rocks and the desert as we top out at just over 3,200 feet of elevation before our final descent back to our meeting point.
If you're not up for the full 42 miles, there are plenty of ways to make the ride shorter. You don't have to be registered for ALC 2016 to ride ... although we might try to persuade you to think about ALC 2017 if you're not.
Ride With GPS reports about 2,200 feet of climbing for this ride. We meet at a Starbucks, and there's plenty of other food and drink nearby. I've made the meet time purposely late so that: (1) you'll have plenty of time to drive here in the morning if you wish, and (2) we'll hopefully avoid the worst of the autumn morning chill. We're less than two hours of driving time from the Spaghetti Bowl interchange in Las Vegas!
We will not ride if the temperature at meet time is 32 degrees or below.
Important note for Nevada riders: St. George is on Mountain Standard Time, one hour ahead of Las Vegas.
Join us and find out how our rides are different! We obey traffic laws and stop signs, we ride single-file, we don't paceline, we never-ever-EVER pass others on the right, we help one another, and we make sure everyone has a GREAT ride. Everyone gets a detailed route sheet, and you're free to ride at your own pace or with others, whatever you wish.
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