The entire ride took me about 5 hours, though I suspect it is at least an hour less if not for the following factors:
* The high noon start on a 97 degree day is a *bit* hotter than I would I have liked. I felt like the Incredible Melting Man under the blistering sun and just putting my shoes on spiked my core temperature 30 degrees. By the time the ride was done, I drank my entire 100 oz. Camelbak plus an additional 28 oz. Gatorade and STILL ran out before the ride was done!
* Ok, I admit--I spent at least 20-30 minutes playing around in the bikes skill and air park in Lyons. Could have probably cut that out and saved some resources it's just too much fun!
The Start: Heil Ranch to Picture Rock to town of Lyons
I'm really bummed how much trail modification is going on at Heil Ranch. The once-fun semi-technical trail at the base has been smoothed out and dumbed down (why not pave it already?!) making for a much less exciting and challenging ride. Connecting to the Wild Turkey Trail down to Picture Rock was par for the course. I've only ridden the 5-mile long Picture Rock Trail 3 or 4 times (or the "Conenctor Trail" as it's informally known). I have to admit, it's not my favorite. There's not a lot of flow to the upper section, perhaps because it was made with climbing and not descending in mind. The lower section has some fun, clean singletrack that's kind of zippy but a bunch of blind turns in high grass mean you can never (safely) open it up.
At the end of the Picture Rock Trail is the aforementioned skills park, so I dinked around a bit before heading over to...
Hall Ranch
Hall is still my favorite local ride, so I kept my normal standard rule: I MUST clear all obstacles cleanly in the rock garden before I earn my trip on the speedy Nelson Loop at the end of the Bitterbrush Trail. I've been practicing a bit and I'm getting better at each little obstacle section, so I rode the rock garden well. I had a bit more trouble than usual at a sharp right turn at the top of a little hill through a nasty wheel-catcher rock formation. Got it after 5 or 6 tries and rode the rest of the trail smoothly and didn't chicken out on my "creative alternatives" I'm trying for some of the obstacles. The Nelson Loop was fast, fun and hot--though sunbaked ruts in the middle of the trail made for some interesting adjustments. The descent through the rock garden back to the trail head was clean n' smooth as well... but by now I'm starting to really overheat.
I stopped under a shady pavillion and drank the last of my Gatorade, ate my third and final Gu and munched on my sandwich a bit. By now, my internal temperature was hovering around 211° F but I still had the 5 mile climb back up to Heil Ranch.
Picture Rock Trail back to Truck
The angry sun continued to bear down, making my muscles feel like gummy spackle. About 1/2 way up the trail, I suffered the dreaded collapsed third lung--not in my chest, but my Camelbak. I was out of water with about 35 minutes left of riding. Not the worst suffering ever, but by the time I rode back to the truck, I could feel my muscles on the verge of cramping. It was bad enough that I guzzled down my hot, syrupy Gatorade heated up in the truck with great enthusiasm.
All in all, it's a great epic "in town" day. I would go earlier or just wait for a cooler day next time, but otherwise it's a blast. I still don't love the Picture Rock Trail's lack of rhythm, but it's better than riding the road.
