All posts by Mike

To The Sea! A better-than-expected ride to the coast.

Ride reports (not Tu/Th)
You’d think I’d get tired of posting photos of West Old LaHonda, pretty much this exact shot. But today seemed especially nice, unexpectedly so.

After Thursday’s ride, where I felt so bad going up Kings I didn’t even want to write about it… so bad I was beginning to wonder if everything in my future was going to be in decline… I didn’t have the greatest expecations for today’s ride. I figured 30 minutes up Old LaHonda, and actually made it in 27-something. Which was horrifyingly slow for Kevin, who later blamed me for ruining a day where he thought he could be posting some really good numbers. Yeah, well, I’m a bit skeptical, especially since, after the run out to the coast, he was insisting that he was pulling me the whole way and that was absolutely false. I was able to ride to his side mode of the way (don’t worry, never when cars were present, and the Garmin Radar units give excellent warning way before they arrive) and, for the last two miles, I was pulling solidly into San Gregorio.

It’s not like I was strong… I wasn’t. But I was feeling far better than I have in at least a couple of weeks.

Oh, and did I mention we stopped about halfway up Old LaHonda for a mountain lion sighting? Except it wasn’t; since it stood motionless in the distance, we have to assume it was a statue of a mountain lion, but meant for what purpose? Why would someone put something like that about 100 feet off the road, where it could be seen and mistaken as the real thing? It was located just before 442 Old LaHonda, right hand side of the road while climbing.

OK, back to San Gregorio. I was ok just blowing through and mentioned that to Kevin, but he apparently didn’t think I was serious (he complained about this stop later). The usual cup of coffee, plus an almond cake for me, coconut rum bread pudding for Kevin. Damn fine coffee, as Agent Cooper (from the TV show Twin Peaks).

Stage Road wasn’t easy but wasn’t impossible either, with beautiful views of the valley we’d just ridden through enroute to San Gregorio. One of those days everything looked 3D.

Tunitas. Slight tailwind and it was here that Kevin started to complain about how I was holding him back. It’s not like I don’t know the way home; I finally convinced him that, if he felt that good, he should take off and try and get a good time. Eventually he got bored of me and started riding hard just as the climb began. He pulled ahead pretty quickly but I never got that feeling I’d be lucky to finish on the same day, and got to the top in about 54 minutes, just 3 minutes behind him. A couple weeks ago, it took something like an hour and 4 minutes, so big improvement!

So feeling a lot more hopeful today than Thursday!

The rain keeps coming, we keep riding

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride


It’s difficult to understand why this is something we’d look forward to doing. After all, 38F and rain is about as bad as it gets; the coldness finds a way in when it’s wet. Rain above 45 is no big deal, but at 38, you’ve got to take special precautions because our rides involve not just climbing but also descending, and there are times, and today was one of them, where the bottom of the hill just can’t come soon enough.

As was the case last week, we had to drastically shorten the ride, just climbing to the top of Kings and back, no run along Skyline, because we didn’t feel comfortable descending in questionable weather with a lot of cars on 84. Never an issue on Kings at that hour.

Nobody else out there. That’s unusual; even on the worst days we’ll occasionally see someone commuting on Canada.

While it’s kind of fun getting out there just because nobody else is, I’m definitely looking forward to Thursday’s forecast of no rain.