Details … Dave (his post) and I sat the the Big Dipper cooling our core temperature with some mocha milkshakes. Suddenly the truth came out. “I thought, wow. We might make Sheep without a mechanical”, Dave recalls thinking. Then it happened…

 

Just hours and 3000 feet worth of climbing we were at the Grind. This is where I finally put my foot down. DAB! It wasn’t the terrain but a pesky deer fly that ended my quest to ride sheep without putting down. Here Dave catches up as I explain my early exit.

 

After a passing thunder boomer and passing Garland on the trail I popped out on Wishard Ridge looking toward the ridge to Sheep.

 

Wishard Ridge.

 

Today it was like social hour up on the route. We met like a dozen riders along the way. Just one person was going our way, down the East Fork. Best of all, she was wearing a Big Dipper Jersey … we were focused now on the end result. Ice cream.

So what happened? Just as we got to the corridor Dave flatted. We struggled to save face with tubeless technology and waited for it to seal up. Finally after numerous attempts Dave made the decision to put a tub in it.

A mechanical. The Sheep legacy is still alive. Never has a group ride made the loop without mechanicals. Well … not any one that I have been on.

Tomorrow … Butte 50.