OK, actually not winter yet, and it wasn’t all that dark. But it was a bit wet, a bit cold, and that hot shower at the end felt pretty darned good.
I suggested to Kevin that we take it relatively-easy heading up Old LaHonda, thinking something around 25 minutes would be fine today. Uh-uh. Kevin wasn’t at the top of his game, but it was still 22:37, about a minute off the best I could reasonably be expected to do right now. If Kevin hadn’t missed a few rides due to his kidney stone issue, I’m sure it would have been faster.
Kevin’s wishing he was at Stanford instead of Canada as we pass 4 Stanford women cyclists on West Old LaHonda.Temps ranged from 44 to 52 degrees, although the dampness (and later rain) made it feel a bit cooler than that. It was a good “winter shake-out” ride, something to discover where we need to improve out cold-weather gear. Basically, the usual. Better gloves and wind-front tights! The run out to the coast was a bit faster than normal, due to a complete lack of wind (typically, you’ll get a headwind, unless there’s a very strong off-shore flow, something you’ll only find on very hot days). As a result, without intending to do so, I ended up with my 3rd-best time from La Honda to San Gregorio, entirely as a solo effort (Kevin didn’t do many pulls at the front today). And then, surprisingly, the climb up Stage Road to Highway 1 felt remarkably good, giving us our best-times ever (“ever” meaning the past three years, while Strava has existed).
Tunitas? Nothing spectacular there. This was one of those rare days where I had better legs, but chose to not take advantage of that. The most-challenging part of the ride was the Kings Mtn Descent. Cold & wet!
