Not a big group this morning, but what it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality. Karen, Karl & Eric on a crisp morning (42 degrees at the start as well as up on Skyline) with broken clouds and dry roads. Yes, dry roads, maybe just one or two spots with a little bit of moisture, but I think it’s finally safe to believe in nicer days ahead.
It’s also safe to think that I’ve topped out on the scale for the winter, a good two pounds lighter than last year’s peak weight. That’s definitely helped me keep closer to the front on the climbs, and gives me hope of yet another year that I’ll be able to pretend that getting older isn’t slowing me down.
But not everything ages so well, as the video I took on west-side Old LaHonda clearly shows. In particular, check out the section 8 minutes, 10 seconds in.
WOW! Thanks for the video. Great to “see” your route of Old LaHonda after reading your journal about it for so long. A beautfiul day for the camera. If I had not read your entries about all the rain you have out there, I would have thought you truly had found bicycle paradise!
John: We do live in a bicycle paradise! The problem is that just a little while in California and you become a weather wimp. Below 65? Too cold! Above 84? Too hot!!! You get this ridiculous 20 degree spread of temps where you feel comfortable. Happens to everyone who moves here; takes about a year and a half for someone from the midwest, maybe 6 months for an east-coaster.
I road W. OLH last week for the first time and I was shocked by that section of pavement! Luckily I didn’t stop to look down our I might have turned around 🙂
The turn onto WOLH from 84 is kind of tricky. I almost crashed because of the terrible pavement, pot holes, and dramatic change in grade. You really need to be in a climbing gear before you make the turn…
Thanks for the promotion of the road! The views from the top are spectacular. I was contemplating doing West Alpine instead, but it was to cold so I tried this little road instead. What a nice surprise!
My God! How fast are you guys going up that road? It looks like a hammer fest. That had to hurt. WOLH’s days are numbered for sure. Unfortunate, as it as some spectacular views.
Claude: Some days, we hit WOLH pretty hard. The Tuesday version of the Tuesday/Thursday ride isn’t at all like the annual Thanksgiving Day TurkeyTrot. We regroup at the top of the climbs, but it’s mayhem & broken-down bodies in-between. The degree of carnage depends upon how well people have recovered from their racing the previous Sunday and/or what they’re building up for the next. I don’t really get into the action until after Kings Mountain though; I’ll typically keep track of the back on the first climb (which is easy to do since the back is often… me). –Mike–