All posts by Mike

Kevin’s favorite ride

Ride reports (not Tu/Th)

The Flanders flag on West Alpine

3 weeks into post-pelvic-fracture recovery and things seem OK. Normally we would have done the usual Pescadero/Tunitas loop, but opted instead of Kevin’s favorite ride, heading over the hill to LaHonda then back via West Alpine & Skyline.

My power is gradually coming back, giving me some hope that I could see benefit from the new, lighter version of me. Right now I’m climbing at pretty close to normal speed for this time of year. Heart rate’s still running a tad bit high, an indication that the system is still a bit out of balance. Climbing Old LaHonda was more fun than usual, because there were a LOT of rabbits to chase. Must have been a couple of organized rides. Scary thing, though, was towards the beginning I passed a guy on an e-bike. And it’s like, oh no, rule #1, never, ever pass someone you can’t stay in front of. And this guy’s on an e-bike. Fortunately I think he was riding with one of the groups and not trying to show off. Still, it did keep the pressure on me for a while.

Kevin went flying off at the start though, and I didn’t see him again until the top. He ended up with a 19:27, about four minutes faster than me. Still a bit slower than his 18:38 back in 2012, but if he’d ride just a bit more, he’d be back in the same range with little trouble.

West Alpine was its usual self, just a bit steeper than I like but just right for Kevin. This time Kevin stayed with me though, riding casually and enjoying the views. And… the Flanders flag is back!

We did have to add an extra loop towards the end of the ride, just to make sure we’d end up with at least 43 miles so I’d finally hit my 120 mile weekly target. Ended up with 121.3, so mission accomplished.

First time I’ve felt like I’d put everything into the ride since… October?

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

First, really nice to finally have a day with no fog, no drizzle, and almost-entirely dry roads! Second, nice to finally feel like a got a decent amount of sleep the night before. Third, nice to have more than just myself and Kevin on the ride. And finally, nice to be able to put in a half-way decent effort. It was also my first post-pelvic-fracture ride without a wonky max heart rate. No jumping around this time.

Kevin, Kevin, George & Karen with me this morning. Heading up through the park, I pretended I could push myself a bit, and found it was easier to pretend than I thought. Not that it was easy at all, in real life, but I was able to keep the pedals turning and managed a faster ride up through the park than Tuesday’s ride straight up Kings. Average watts were only 232, but with a weight about 10 pounds lower than normal, the same time would have required 246 watts at the higher weight. Obviously my challenge is going to be to try and keep my weight down as I regain strength. The analytic cycling site says that, for the same amount of power, a change in weight of 10 pounds (bike+rider) will equal a difference of 69 seconds.

And I’ll say it again, it was so nice not dealing with wet roads. And being able to deliver a little bit of power now & then. And feel, the rest of the day, like I’d pushed myself just a bit harder than I have for some time. How long a time? Have to go all the way back to October for a faster time up Kings. Not that any of my times this past year have been fast.

If you’re wondering about West Old LaHonda, yes, we rode it, climbing over the barriers to get to Skyline. Unfortunately there isn’t a safe alternative to get back up to Skyline after descending 84, due to a number of blind corners where the hillside has removed all traces of a shoulder. So far, the missing piece of road is no different than the first time I saw it, in early February.

With any luck this will be the first week I meet my 120 mile weekly goal.