Kevin’s out of shape but his knee is finally causing less grief! We got out about 10am which, believe it or not, is a good hour and a half earlier than normal, and Kevin was very surprised to see how many more cyclists are climbing the hill at that slightly-earlier time. Initially we were thinking that could be a bad thing; a ton of cyclists passing us on their way to the top, but that wasn’t the case; we had to move aside for just one really fast guy. At 24-something, we’re still a good 11 minutes slower than the record time set by former pro cyclist Phil Gaimon, so no, we’re not too proud of our accomplishment, just happy.

Heading to the coast we, or I should say I, battled a pretty strong headwind. Hate what that does to my hamstrings! Fortunately Kevin’s 24-something on Old LaHonda didn’t translate into a similar time up Tunitas; we took it pretty easy on the way up, finishing in just over an hour.

Sometimes there’s a reason for why you are where you are, when you are. Today was one of those days.

Got out earlier than normal; Kevin (kid, not Pilot) was elsewhere so I hitched onto someone else’s ride with Kevin (Pilot), Mark, Laura, and several others. This was not a fast ride, nor was it an “express” in terms of infrequent stops. More of a milk train with strong riders who chose not to go terribly fast today. Hey, what the heck, it’s not like I’m that fast anymore either! And it gave me a chance to actually have conversations while climbing hills, a rarity. But at 30 minutes up Old LaHonda, easily done.

A LOT of people out today!!! Or maybe there are simply more people out at 9am than 11 or 12, when Kevin and I usually get going. Whatever, the hills were alive with cyclists! Including San Gregorio, where we made a stop and saw quite a few groups cruising through.

The coast was quite clear, no smoke (finally!). The run up Tunitas was unusual; a stop on the way for the old guys to make sure roadside vegetation wasn’t too dry (it’s still fire season, right?) and then the group split up a bit on the climb. About halfway up we came across a guy struggling with his wheel at the side of the road. A spoke had broken and he couldn’t get it out. Turned out to be much worse than that; a spoke had come loose, gotten itself wrapped around the space between the cassette and the hub and totally jammed things up. It took quite a bit to get it dislodged, but finally got him on his way. One of those things where it did actually take someone with a lot of bike knowledge to figure out what needed to be done, so glad I came along at the right time.