Interesting morning. Warmer than it’s been lately; upper 30s the lowest I saw. Big group heavy on testosterone with almost all of the heavy hitters present, including Kevin (pilot), Marcus, Chris, George, Keith… the really fast guys. Plus JR (who’s also pretty darned fast), Eric and the other Kevin (my son). And maybe one or two more I’m forgetting. But no shortage of fast guys, which normally means it’s going to be a tough ride.

And it was a “tough” ride but it was also a great ride. I backed off about 1/3rd of the way up Kings to ride with Kevin (my son), who’s still hurting a bit from Sunday’s ride and still in need of more miles, eventually linking up with Eric, and it was just… nice. Got the chance to talk with Eric a bit (I’m usually too out of breath to). We arrived just a bit later than planned at the top, due to Kevin having a brief seizure, but no lasting effects.

Pretty good pace across the top of Skyline, and I even tried to go for the Sky Londa sprint, but y’know, if Keith is there, you have to make sure you play all your cards right, and I picked the wrong wheel to sit behind at the bottom of the hill. Next time!

And that’s maybe what was different. I was thinking about “next time” in a hopeful manner! Like I’m going to come back and challenge some of the guys again.

Curiously, it was on the descents where I was pushing pretty hard today, with Strava showing PRs and near-PRs for the descents on each side of 84. Who knows what I might be able to do once it gets a bit warmer and I feel a bit looser. Too bad we’re just a couple days away from winter. Hate that! –Mike–