After days of gray skies and no visible mountain, we finally had clear skies and blazing sunshine. The timing was right for a bike ride on this blue-sky January day. At the top of California near the Oregon border, the air was crisp as we rode along and gazed at the formation of a lenticular cloud over the mountaintop. Standing tall at over 14,000 feet (4,300 meters), Mount Shasta's presence dominates the region. Created over thousands of years, this stratovolcano was formed from thick lava slowly spilling out the top of the mountain to form its steep sides. Hidden from sight under the lenticular cloud are its four peaks.