I rode from Leadville to Minturn (just south of Vail) this morning. A little over 30 miles, beginning at 6:30am. Leadville is often frosty for morning rides and runs (usually between 37 and 43 degrees at sunrise). But this morning it was a balmy 48-degrees, so I wore shorts. Long spandex in July just gets old. My legs felt good. The first 10 miles were steady climbing. By the time I hit 11 miles, I took my gloves off and was sure that I'd regret long sleeves. But by 13 miles, I had to stop and put my gloves back on. The downhills were frigid. My body got so cold that all I could do was look forward to more uphill climbing, just to warm up. Miles 20-24 were pretty intensely uphill. By the time I pulled in to the Sticky Finger Cafe, I was no longer shivering, but needed to sit in the sun long past breakfast to truly be warm. Moral of the story: mountain roads are not to be tempted. They'll always make you wish you had your spandex.