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Almost-Daily Diary http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary/2013/06/09/just-make-this-the-destination-for-every-ride-works-for-me/ Export date: Mon Nov 25 14:49:23 2024 / +0000 GMT |
"Just make this the destination for every ride!" Works for me! With France being just a month away, there's no time to waste getting into shape; I do not want a repeat of last-year's experience where I had so much trouble on the Tourmalet and again on the Peyresourde the next day. Nevertheless I thought, after a pair of 100+ milers the past two weeks, that maybe it would be OK to take it a bit easier today, and maybe that would have been the case had Kevin been with me. But Kevin chose to do a paintball gig with his friends, leaving me to deal with my demons all by myself. And the usual "all by myself" ride is, of course, the "Coastal Classic" (Old LaHonda, Haskins, Pescadero, Stage Road, Tunitas).  It was one of those days where you start out not feeling so great and, as I headed up Old LaHonda, but when I hit the first timing point I was kinda surprised, doing better than I thought. 21:52 at the top was less than half a minute off my best time for the past 5 years, and 20 seconds faster than last year at this time. Next up, Haskins. Pretty much same scenario as Old LaHonda; felt kinda slow at the start but worked into it. The interesting thing is that, without someone else to ride with, you don't get the sense that you're going as fast as you actually are. The opposite of what I thought would have been the case. Who knew? My 9:52 time from the intersection with Alpine at the bottom to the top was 5 seconds off my best Strava time, which, of course, is frustrating. 5 seconds. Where did they go? Darn!  About this time I'm thinking this isn't going to be the ride I expected. It was better. I briefly thought about flying through Pescadero without stopping, but that would kill the best reason for doing the Pescadero loop- stopping at the store/bakery! I mentioned to the woman at the check-out counter that I wish every ride had a place like theirs; her reply became the title of this entry. :-) Stage Road heading north I actually had a rare tailwind, and would have had my fastest time for that segment if I hadn't spotted and gone back for a snake that was in the middle of the road. Too late for the snake; he'd been dropped by a bird and long dead.I did manage my best time yet for the final climb on Stage from San Gregorio to HIghway 1 though, all stuff I didn't know about until after downloading the ride into Strava afterword.  Tunitas? Not bad, just over 47 minutes. Felt better on the wind-aided flat section, but didn't fall apart on the steep stuff. Plus, I think it did help that my Garmin was set to show me how much distance remained to the top. I did, however, get passed by a guy who could put a lot more power into the steep sections than I could. Memories of younger days. |
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Post date: 2013-06-09 23:41:06 Post date GMT: 2013-06-10 06:41:06 Post modified date: 2013-06-10 00:41:34 Post modified date GMT: 2013-06-10 07:41:34 |
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