What does it take to be “officially” cold? Any temp in the 30s. And this morning I saw as low as 37.3 degrees, so I deem that it is now, October 27th, the beginning of the end (of Indian Summer and days when you could reliably dispense with leg warmers and base layers and long-fingered gloves).

Not too many at the start of this morning’s ride; just myself, Kevin, “Pilot” Kevin, Eric & Jon. On the way we picked up Jim & Marcus. Nice ride up through the park (it was on Greer at the bottom that I saw the 37.3 degree temp) and a moderate pace up Kings. I hung onto Jon & Marcus’s wheels until I figured it would be a good idea to drop back and see how Kevin (actually both Kevins) was/were doing. Kevin (not the pilot) seemed to be doing fine until one of his spots where things often go wrong, with about a quarter mile to go, and wrong again they went. This time, instead of a seizure, it was extreme double-vision (wasn’t that a Foreigner song?) that caused him to hit the deck kinda hard, and it just wasn’t clearing up quickly like usual. Jim lives up on the hill and called his wife (Kelly) who offered to drive Kevin home. Normally I’d turn down the offer, not just because I wouldn’t want to impose, but also because Kevin usually comes out of this sort of thing pretty quickly. This morning? Different story. I am very thankful for their kind generosity.

There are going to be some changes to Kevin’s participation in the Tuesday/Thursday-morning ride in the future. We’re going to put him on a relatively-leisurely 32-minute pace and start out a few minutes ahead of the rest, hoping the easier initial pace will keep his issues at bay. I’ve also killed plans for an end-of-season run at the Sierras; it wouldn’t be a good thing to be on the “wrong” side of Sonora Pass if he ran into issues! What’s not ruled out are the typical 110-mile Sunday loops to Santa Cruz. Long hard rides don’t cause issues like shorter intense efforts.

Obviously we’ve got to get this kid fixed! –Mike–