Al rode Ridgeline with two of his friends Saturday. Here’s his report:

As we began the climb, we were often halted by the awesome beauty of our surroundings. Here, my friend Michael Klinkibell straddles his Surly after saying, “Seriously, you guys. Just look at this.” He was right.

We were also often halted by our own anaerobic thresholds. Here, my fixie buddy Ben Strain, catches his breath on one of the bridges.

Uphill switchbacks were challenging.

We had to jump off and push more than once.

Halfway up Baldy, we bumped into another rider. Daniel, an exchange student from Germany, was riding his commuter bike. He said, “I always wanted to bike in the snow; going up was hard, but the way down is totally worth it!”

He was right.