Back in the day, a Sunday ride wasn’t a Sunday ride if it didn’t head out to the coast, preferably Pescadero, then back via Tunitas. But when riding solo, which I’ve been doing quite a bit lately while Kevin (my son, not the ex-pilot) is trying to heal his knee, I prefer staying on “this” side of the hill (the bay side). Somehow that became an extension of the Los Altos loop, heading up Stevens Canyon and over Mt Eden, then going through the maze back to Los Altos, with food & coffee at Peets, before heading home.

No big climbs yet somehow it ends up with just over 3000 ft of elevation gain. Lots of opportunities to ramp up a bit of power on the rollers but hard to really exhaust yourself, particularly in my case, where I need to stand to maintain power.

This is actually an improvement from just a couple months ago when the Tuesday & Thursday-morning rides were nearly always being cut short due to time constraints, since Kevin (my son, not the ex-pilot) was riding so slowly due to his knee issues. I was beginning to wonder if I was seeing the beginning of the end, changes in a routine that has been unchanged for 30+ years. More likely the Tuesday & Thursday-morning rides might have to start 5 minutes earlier than they have, so I can get back in time to eat & shower prior to work.

The one thing that has been missing… it’s been a couple years, I think, since we’ve done a Sunday ride to Santa Cruz. That’s a ride I don’t want to consider doing solo. Did that once, quite a few years ago, and it’s just a bit too much time to yourself.

https://www.strava.com/activities/12761242553

Weird morning… almost looked like it was going to rain, but the cloud cover kept it fairly warm. No long fingered gloves, no baselayer, no leg warmers… what’s not to like? But riding solo again gets a bit old.

I’ve got to get back over to the coast, but with the clouds, this didn’t look like the right day. Looking at the weather reports, it actually wouldn’t have been bad at the coast; it never got too cold, maybe mid-60s. Not as nice as the 75 it got to in the Foothills though!

I did try to push myself, not wanting to see a continuing decline on the “past times you did this ride” chart. “Trending faster” has been a rare thing to see lately. I also wanted to test out the latest & greatest Garmin navigation skills; I’d say Garmin’s made amazing improvement lately, with the only silly thing left being those times it tells you to take a “trail” that’s about 10 feet to your right. When there is no “trail” to take.

The ride went nicely, no drama, and I felt OK on the climb out of Steven’s Creek Canyon. It was interesting nothing that, by the time I found my way to the Peets at our former Los Altos location, I’d already covered about 2/3rds of the ride distance! Unfortunately, that last third is largely into the wind, plus the slog up Sand Hill Road.