The forecast said we could leave our rain bikes at home, but after all these days in a row of rain, we still made sure both bikes would be available this morning. Thankfully, the forecast was right, and it wasn’t even that cold; I got away with just two layers (a warm baselayer and a jersey/jacket). Kevin went 3 layers, and surprisingly, got a bit cold on the ride. We apparently weren’t the only ones paying attention to the weather forecast; unlike both rides last week, where we didn’t see a single cyclist on the road, there were quite a few out today.

Thursday so it was up through the park. Signage said it was closed, but the gates were open at the bottom and nobody to turn us back (at the top of the park, the gates are closed, with tape around the sides making it difficult to get around). Dreadfully slow though; it’s been a very long time since I felt good on that segment. Kevin, of course, felt better. But unlike some of the past rides, there was never that temptation to turn back and not do the climb. But definitely not a fast climb, just under 39 minutes (but you have to subtract a little time due to the closed gate at the top of the park).

Skyline was damp and made a mess of our bikes, but it still felt pleasant up on top. We were running pretty late, too late to actually ride from the top of West Old LaHonda down to where the road is falling away, but we did come across two women (in the photo at the top) coming back up. Unfortunately, they’d turned around at the downed tree, so we didn’t get an up to date report on how the road’s holding up. That will have to wait until Sunday’s ride.