No way around it, the first 10 or 20 miles of any ride lately and I’m feeling gutted. Not much in the legs at all, really ragged breathing (the two are likely related). Through last Tuesday I’d had 4 really sub-par rides in a row, finally, and surprisingly, breaking through on Thursday morning. And that was a bit of a surprise, given that I’d forgotten to use my inhaler prior to the ride. And who knows, maybe not using the inhaler is an indication that albuterol could be doing me more harm than good. Why? Thursday morning, my heart rate was rock solid steady, responding exactly to effort. When using the inhaler, for the first hour or so of any ride, my heart rate goes a bit wonky with effort, spiking at random times. My pulmonologist said that’s normal; I’m sure it is. But maybe it’s interfering with maintaining a consistent effort?

Or maybe I just need to force myself to ride more than 43 miles on a Sunday? Maybe the short loops either up West Alpine or San Gregorio/Tunitas just don’t cut it Maybe targeting my 120 mile/week goal isn’t the right thing to do; instead I should be treating that as an absolute minimum. Who knows, maybe I need to add some Zwift trainer miles in the evenings?

OK, back to today’s ride. Got off to the usual late start, hoping it would warm up a bit. Maybe it did; mid-50s up Old LaHonda, 51 on the way out to the coast, 46 on the upper parts of Tunitas. A far cry from last Sunday’s mid-70s for sure! Took it easy up Old LaHonda, and not by choice. A bit of a headwind out to the coast, but no big deal, just sit behind Kevin’s wheel. No shame in that anymore. Nice cup of coffee and “Miami-style pastry” from the San Gregorio store, then up Stage and over Tunitas. I felt pretty awful going into the first part of Tunitas but started feeling better after the bridge. Much better than the other way around! Kevin still left me in the dust, and waited for me at the grassy knoll. From there it was all about just hanging onto his wheel, which, somehow, I did.

Probably the last opportunity for a while to “ride naked” and enjoy the sun on arms & legs and not have to wear long-fingered gloves. For me, the latter in particular is unusual for this time of year; my Raynauds is dramatically worse lately, triggering at 66 degrees or so (Raynauds causes loss of circulation to my fingers if the temperature drops below a certain level). Too bad I can’t say it made me faster!

Going up Old LaHonda was a real slog, making me wonder how the rest of the ride was going to go. I was solo today, so I wasn’t trying to keep up with Kevin, just imaginary rabbits ahead of me. Time was 26-something up the hill, which is pretty terrible. Fortunately I started to feel better on the run out to the coast. I’d originally thought about getting something to drink at the San Gregorio store, but decided it would be better to just head straight up Stage Road. It seems that it takes longer and longer for me to get going again after stopping for food. Hate that. But it’s only a 45 mile ride, so there really isn’t a reason to stop.

I did tack on some extra mileage though; at the Stage/Highway 1 intersection, I noticed one side of a convertible jacket/vest arm lying by the side of the road. Should have picked it up then, maybe catching up to someone who had lost it. Should have. Instead, I noted its location and moved on. About a mile further I came across the other side. Darn. So I snagged it, rode back to get the other, then headed again down the hill to Tunitas. There had been a number of riders I passed, and I really didn’t think there was much chance I’d catch up to them after a mile+ head start, but surprisingly, I did. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for any of them. I later looked at Strava FlyBys and sent a few messages to others who’d ridden the same segment, but again, it wasn’t one of theirs.

Tunitas. Actually not as bad as I thought it would be. I was definitely feeling stronger as the ride went, and never felt like I was going to fall apart, like I did on Old LaHonda. Of course, I didn’t pass anyone either!

The weather folk say the super-warm-weather will be behind us starting tomorrow. I’ll miss it, for sure.