You meet the nicest people on a bike ride! This is the Rodonis, at the top of Tunitas (since we’d climbed from the coast, this is the top of Tunitas; otherwise it would have “only” been the top of Kings). It’s time Tony upgrades that bike we sold him quite a few years ago![/caption]In the early years, we would have taken the Bike Fridays out on multiple rides, but this time, they sat in their cases until pretty much the last possible moment. And when that moment came, we discovered the damage done by their last ride, two years ago, when we got caught in that torrential rainstorm descending the Lauteret, the same storm that shortened the course that day, the same storm that, just 15 minutes after we rode through, saw a massive pair of landslides that isolated about 300 cyclists behind us, closing the road for several days. Whew. So maybe not so bad that we got away with just a trashed wheel (pretty much worn through by the brake pads) and drivetrains in need of a bit of TLC.
That plus a broken derailleur pully on my bike, which I didn’t discover until after the check-out ride. But a nice check-out ride it was; we took it pretty easy so Kevin’s legs weren’t too much of a problem, with me pulling us out to the coast (normally Kevin’s job). That part was ok, maybe even fun. Getting up Old LaHonda before that… not so much. Slow. It took quite a while to get into “Bike Friday” mode. Oh, also, Kevin’s seatpost kept slipping. Yet another reason for a shake-down ride (later fixed with a replacement seat collar).
Tough climb up Stage Road to Highway 1, but stunning views of the ocean with no fog in sight. Tunitas? Took it pretty easy and stopped first at the Bike Hut for reasons I don’t quite remember now. Maybe to try and tighten Kevin’s seatpost again. I had no issues on the steep stuff; the BikeFriday was performing quite well. Had to hold up a bit to make sure Kevin didn’t overdo it, but that’s not a big deal for me these days. When you’re slow, you generally have more patience. I have lots of patience on a bike these days.
Just a few days left, with much still to do. The bikes are packed, but that’s about it. Finally getting some long-nagging loose ends tied up at the shop. Cameras and chargers and clothes still to pack, plus making sure we have all the Covid-19 requirements documented correctly. But I think it’s going well. Time will tell.