All posts by Mike

There’s a bit of a pattern here; slower ride Tuesday, faster ride Thursday…

Personal stuff, Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

Behind again here, and why not, pretty much everything in my world is behind right now. The “Essential Business” status for the bike shop has us going nuts from the opening bell until shortly before closing. It’s common for all three phone lines to be going at the same time, and with between 3-6 staff for customers at any given time, the math really doesn’t work out very well. We’ve actually had to leave a message on the answering machine that lets people know, if we can’t get to the phone during normal business hours, send us an email. Never, ever, thought we’d have to do something like that.

Been in this business for over 40 years and there’s never been a time like this. Kids bikes? Sold out. Mountain bikes & hybrids? Sold out. Some will be arriving in a few weeks, some in a couple months, some not until October???!!!

And then there’s the new shop. It’s not much fun paying for two locations while occupying just one! But construction is complicated, permits something we weren’t prepared for, and of course, not much time for a clear thought when things are so busy.

But there remains the bicycle, and despite the craziness, I’m still at it, commuting to the shop, dragging myself very slowly back home at the end of the day. Sundays, nothing too long, although that can change now that the county’s eliminated the 10 mile radius from home limitation. Pescadero here I come! Tuesdays have been relatively easy; Kevin (pilot) usually shows up and he’s happy with a moderate effort. Thursdays I’m typically on my own, and Thursdays are when I find the drive to hammer. Not just up Kings, but pretty much the whole ride. I seem to be in a game to get the highest average weighted power possible… up to 221 watts now.

I’m still here. –Mike–

Multiple Sunday rides becoming the new normal? And check out the wild Momma Turkey with Poults video

Ride reports (not Tu/Th)

The morning ride was an ugly-ride variant. Up Old LaHonda (reasonable time of 22:42, just over the “required” 1000 VAM threshold), down the other side, back up 84 to Sky Londa, then… north on Skyline all the way to 92. YUCK. That section is never fun. It’s not a bad road surface, not bad scenery, just not a pleasant climb because you can never really seem to sink your teeth into it. Plus it gets pretty windy on the descent towards 92. Now, I expected, because we’re still in the stay-in-place COVID-19 restricted driving rules, that traffic wasn’t going to be too heavy. That proved to be untrue. Tons of cars on the road, including a couple of car clubs featuring Porsche and Corvettes.

And the traffic over 92 to Half Moon Bay? I’ve got another video showing that; the backup went all the way to the 92/Canada Road interchange! Literally hundreds of cars bumper-to-bumper. I’m sure all of them were observing the 10 mile limit for driving to a non-essential place for recreation. I have some real concern about people thinking that it’s over, that we can go back to normal, when we’re still at risk of seeing this thing rise back up again.

Overall not a really tough ride, but as always, good to get out on a bike. And great seeing how many others have the same idea!

The later ride involved heading out (by car) to Shoreline Park and riding with my wife to “see the birds.” She really likes it out there; it’s her “peaceful place.” A bit more work in the wind for me as she was on an ebike; I had no issue swallowing my pride and drafting behind her a few times. Just over 8 miles, which is a good ride for her, and put my total mileage for the day at a semi-respectable 45. Will be nice when I can legally head back out to Pescadero again!