Cars behaving badly, fog on Skyline, not enough sleep. What’s not to like?

Starting out over Jefferson this morning, it was apparent, no matter how our ride went, somebody was having a worse day than us.

So what’s going on with the roads these days? It’s like everywhere we go, something is under construction. We didn’t get more than a mile away from home before coming to the scene above, where a car had recently taken out a utility pole. Kind of surprised they let us through, but also glad since any detour would have added quite a bit of time, and we arrive at the start of the Tuesday/Thursday-morning ride with typically 90 seconds to spare.

Next roadwork came on Kings Mtn, just after turning onto it from Albion. One lane with a signal while they repair the other lane. This has been going on for a few weeks; tough to say how much longer.

Pretty picture but kinda done with pretty pictures and prefer no leg warmers and drier roads.

Then comes the main obstacle, Kings Mtn itself. Despite a lack of sleep, despite Kevin claiming he wasn’t feeling fast, Kevin (kid, not the pilot, who’s been AWOL recently) set a pretty gnarly pace up the first half of the climb, with me coming off the back just past the park entrance. I held up pretty well to the half-way point and died thereafter, which is unfortunate. A steadier pace and I would have had the best time this year and possibly in the 28-something region. Still, right now, low-29s are passable. Better than I was doing this time last year.

Skyline. This is July, right? But it’s cool and foggy up top. Again. 45 degrees (better than 41, which you’d see on a “nice” foggy winter day) and pretty rays cast by the sun through the trees. I’m kinda done with pretty rays. Let’s get back to dry roads and no leg warmers.

And still another one-lane signal-controlled construction, on Skyline just prior to Sky L’onda. The one they’ve been working on for a year maybe? At least today, when Kevin hit the signal button, it immediately turned green.

Finally the last impediment, the closed section of West Old LaHonda where the pavement fell away. Oh. Wait. That’s not the last piece of closed or damaged road. They’re going to be spending a lot of time putting in a new pipe on Olive Hill/Albion, so after 8am you have to ride through Woodside to get to Canada. No more “maze” on the return.

Oh. Darn. I forgot about the Jefferson thing, where we could get through earlier but was now fully closed off, requiring that we head up the steep part of California. Definitely not in my legs, but didn’t seem an issue for Kevin. Hate that.

Maybe it’s training for when Kevin and I are in France in a couple of weeks, facing road closures for the ‘Tour.