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.

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!