Finally beginning to really get it on with my new bike! This morning I came very close to getting a 26-something time up Kings (27:06), of course wondering where those 7 seconds went. I knew on the way up it was going to be close, despite losing contact with the faster guys not too far up the hill. I just kept plugging away and, at the “20 minute corner” (preceded by a moderately-straight section and followed by the road flattening out for a short distance, just before the final steep part), so-called because, if you hit it under 20 minutes you’ve got a shot at 26-something, I was right at… 20 minutes. Not quite fast enough, but overall happier with the effort than I’ve been for a while.

And the sprint into Sky Londa? Finally nailed it, as I’m supposed to (but haven’t been lately).

But what really convinced me that the bike and I are one was the 84 descent into Woodside. Just one second off my best time, and that’s after having to slow down for car traffic towards the bottom. George took off hard & fast at the top and I gradually got back up to him, something I haven’t been able to do for some time. The rest of the guys were a fair amount behind.

And finally, I get home and my super-fancy Garmin Edge 1000 gives me a screwy message I haven’t seen before. Says I’ve got a new record, 297 watts. Which means what, exactly? I think it means that, for 30 minutes, I was able to average 297 watts. But what it really means is pretty much the same thing as my just-over 27 minute time up the hill. In this case, seems like I’m 3 or 4 watts away from respectability. 🙂