It was going to be one of those “late” rides, delayed by the mandatory mother’s day brunch thing at Grandma’s (slightly-reduced crowd since my wife was visiting with Kevin, who’s still at the hospital). Late rides = something different. Not the usual Pescadero Tunitas loop, but something maybe a bit “ugly.” And there’s not much uglier than a ride along the foothills and then climbing up to Skyline via Redwood Gulch.

This ride was 100% solo; I didn’t meet up with anyone I knew along the way. Probably because nobody I know enjoys climbing Redwood Gulch! I’m sure there was a time I actually did (enjoy that climb) many, many years ago. Today, I survived the climb, but couldn’t get much power the rest of the way up Highway 9 to Skyline. Adding insult to injury, Mr. Mustard was at the top!

Most-surprising were the Strava results; it really didn’t feel like my fastest time heading north on Skyline between 9 & Page Mill. I guess, once up there, with the fog moving in, I shifted into no-nonsense mode and just got going.

Just for kicks, I looked up last year’s same-time ride, also done solo since Kevin was out of commission at the time from his bike/car accident. Very odd how similar the ride descriptions read!

Today’s ride-

Last year’s solo ride, with amazingly-similar description-