Maura's South Pasadena/Longden Loop

I can't even begin to count how many times she had ridden this particular loop over the years.  The ride starts from our house on Harding Avenue and goes to Linda Vista by way of Woodbury to the Rose Bowl to South Pasadena doing most of the Montrose Ride until San Marino Ave where you go south to Longden and take it all the way to Arcadia.  Up to Duarte Road eastbound until you pick up the Montrose Ride route again on Las Lomas and Huntington.  I did this ride yesterday for the first time in a very long time and the 2 hours spent spinning on the route just makes me realize how much cycling really was part of our lives.  The ride is beautiful in that it takes you through the tree lined streets of several cities.  With the nice scenery, those miles just click away effortlessly.  Maura used this as a recovery ride when she was racing every weekend during the summer months -- but on winter months, this is a staple of the miles we build on for the next season.  On this ride yesterday, I definitely was inspired to sprint up every hill as we would normally do.  My riding partner's competitive spirit will always be with me.