All posts by Mike

First dry day on Skyline since… feels like ever?

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel today, after Sunday’s Sequoia Century. I’d normally have quite a few more miles under my belt by now, but the combination of the 6 weeks off the bike for the pelvic fracture, plus the dreadful “Spring” weather we’ve had, has kept me from being in the shape I ought to be right now. On the other hand, I’m actually not doing all that badly. My climbing times are pretty similar to last year and, let’s face it, in your 60s, you can expect each new year to be a bit slower on the climbs than the last. And maybe that would have been the case, if not for some weight I shed during my time off the bike.

I’ll admit right up front, it was hard heading up the hill from my house. Jefferson was tough. But while neither I nor Kevin felt “fast”, I at least felt strong. How can you feel not-fast but strong? Tough to explain. Kind of like pre-installed fatigue as you begin, but it doesn’t really get worse as you continue. I remember that feeling from the way-back days, when I raced. In a multi-day stage race, the second day was pretty dreadful. Your legs felt like mush. But so did everyone else’s, and while it might have muted early attacks, you started feeling more normal as the race went on. And by the 3rd day things just settled into place, and the 4th day? You actually felt pretty darned strong that 4th day!

None of which really applies to today’s ride though. It might if I kept riding day after day after day, but not enough time to do that. At least not until I get to France (assuming I do; things are still a bit up in the air right now).

We did have company; George showed up, following the infamous “morning ride.” He rode with us at a civilized pace, although not much conversation because Kevin is still a bit off his game. A bit over 30 minutes up Kings, which, back in the day, would have meant I was seriously ill! But these days, it’s OK. But the best part of the ride? It was DRY on Skyline!!! No fog, no damp road. The effort I went to Saturday night cleaning our bikes… it didn’t all go to waste. I think the rain & drizzle is finally behind us.

And what’s in front? A warm weekend without leg warmers is what it looks like! I can deal with that. Suffering in the heat is something I know how to do.

First century for 2019- The Sequoia of course!

Ride reports (not Tu/Th)

Nice day on the coast for the Sequoia Century
I was wondering how this would go; my first long ride of the year, after 6 weeks off the bike for my fractured pelvis, and then continued bad weather that kept Kevin and I from getting in any other long rides. But in the end it’s just like any other endurance event; you just put one foot in front of the other and keep pushing on.

As usual, Kevin and I left from our house in Redwood City, riding to the start at Foothill College in Los Altos, so, as usual, we left the official starting place a good hour later than everyone else on the 100 miler. The good thing about that? Nobody faster is going to pass you! The bad news? You’re reaching each rest stop close to when they’re going to close, or in the process of closing. That wasn’t an issue though; we had plenty of food and drink fro the excellently-provisioned & staffed rest stops.|

The mean thing about the Sequoia is that it starts out by heading up Moody. And then continues up Page Mill. A rough way to begin a ride! But we shouldn’t have been complaining about that, since we rode 15 miles to the start. So, in theory, well warmed up. Doesn’t matter. That’s still a nasty climb!

The winds were very unusual, blowing from the south. Kind of nice for us, because we dealt with the headwinds first, going out Cloverdale, then had tail winds all the way back to Tunitas. Those on the Aids Lifecycle ride weren’t so lucky.

We finished just 15 minutes behind last years’ pace, which I felt pretty good about, all things considered. I even rode more strongly than Kevin at times, probably because he’s skipped a few rides lately. This too shall pass.