Wednesday night the weather report was questionable. Rain, between 3 & 4am. With heavy winds. So in theory, the heavy winds dry the roads out so we have a nice morning. That’s the theory.

In practice, I wake up at 6am to the sound of… rain. What? This was supposed to be a couple hours prior! I convince myself to go back to sleep (get-up time for the ride is 6:55am), thinking darn, probably another ride on the rain bike. 6:55am and there’s no rain, but very wet roads and pretty high winds. Not yet ready to commit to which bike for the ride. Get dressed, get the coffee going, and go pump up the tires. But which tires? What the heck. Our bikes were anything but clean after the last few rides (where even though clear skies, there was still enough water coming out of the hillsides to make a mess of the bikes) so what’s it really going to matter? Go big or go home.

I think it was the right decision. The roads weren’t too bad, and bike choice wouldn’t make a difference with the cold (37 up on Skyline). Still, at least Kevin (pilot) showed up with fenders on his bike, unlike Kevin (kid) and I. This was one of those days where I felt pretty bad at the start but worked my way into things as the ride went on. Thank goodness the opposite never happens (starting out feeling good and ending feeling bad). Kevin (kid) was feeling good, Kevin (pilot) was really slow, and I was someplace in the middle. Admittedly a bit closer to Kevin (pilot) than Kevin (kid). We were literally riding in the clouds once up on Skyline, making me glad I chose the heavier winter gloves. Speaking of winter gloves, it will be really nice to retire them and not have to deal with that awful “winter glove smell” they get (and give, when you take them off).

The West Old LaHonda report? Still there, unchanged. I did find one line drawn in the pavement, the single indication that the county’s done any actual surveying of the damage. But seriously, we’re coming up on a month that the road has been “closed” and the road’s still there, and the hillside hasn’t moved. Unlike the hillside on 84, the alternate route, which is sliding continuously into the road and making cycling very dangerous heading from the West Old LaHonda intersection up to Skyline. We really need West Old LaHonda Road!!!

The 84 descent into Woodside was pretty smooth, with just a 3 minute wait at the first light, and the second was green. We almost got back to the finish at a “normal” time, something that hasn’t happened since… November? Things are looking up. Now I just need to find some time to clean my bike!