![Kevin not his usual self on West Alpine](http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/w_alpineIMG_7291.jpg)
The plan was to hook up with the Alto Velo A-Ride and do the reverse-Pescadero loop. Nice plan, but when we got to the bottom of Old LaHonda for the rendezvous, just a bit early, Kevin didn’t want to wait, so we just headed up the hill, figuring they’d catch up to us soon enough.
![Traditional cookie "big as your face" test](http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/cookieIMG_7288-300x300.jpg)
But there’s something about knowing that there are “dogs” chasing you… something that makes you go just a little bit harder. Me anyway. I figured they’d likely catch up to us on the long run to San Gregorio, but no, we stayed clear. We continued to stay clear on Stage Road, although I kept looking back across the valley to see where they might be. Figuring that we’d need to keep the food break at Pescadero short, no sandwich today, just a pastry plus half a cookie.
As is usually the case, I feel better as the distance increases, but it was still a bit of a surprise that I’d need to hold back a bit for Kevin on Haskins, and mildly frustrating later on to see that, if I hadn’t held up, I would likely have had my best Strava time up Haskins. West Alpine proved to be a “Bridge of Death” too far for Kevin, as he continued to fall off his normal torrid climbing pace. This was most-likely due to him not riding last Sunday, and made a bit worse because I got in quite a few more weekday miles than normal (when I rode to see the Tour of California stage near San Jose).
Fortunately the ride ended on a high note as Kevin spotted the two Corgis on Olive Hill near Canada.
And, by the way, “they” never passed us. We saw a few of “them” in Pescadero, but it looked like a pretty small group was doing AltoVelo’s A-ride, likely with most if not all of the faster riders off doing a race somewhere.