Thursday morning, a bit warmer than past days, lowest temp I saw was 39F but only for a short while and quickly climbed to 50 as we climbed up Kings. It was a Thursday, which meant up through the park. Kevin wasn’t feeling really good (he’d wimped out on Tuesday’s ride) but still, the steep section in the park had me on the ropes. Not sure if I was going to recover; usually, once we get past the toll booth on the way out, I start feeling better and catch up to Kevin. Not this time. Thankfully, once back on Kings, I started regaining a bit of power and quickly caught back up to Kevin. I should clarify this is younger Kevin; ex-pilot Kevin seems to have switched to the old-guys ride that starts about an hour later. That’s a luxury I can’t afford; no way to get back in time to open the shop if I leave that late. As it is, it’s getting increasingly tight, getting back in time to shower, eat, and get to the shop before 11am.

Overall I was riding a lot stronger than Kevin Thursday morning. Tough to say why, although the slightly-warmer weather definitely helps me.

We didn’t get to ride the upper section of West Old LaHonda; a Sheriff was parked at the top of the officially closed section and probably wouldn’t have appreciated us riding through the barricade. We did stop and talk to him for a minute; he was there to deal with an abandoned rental car that had been left on West Old LaHonda in the forrest section. We added a small amount of additional climbing by heading back up Skyline towards Kings a short distance and coming down Skywood Way.

Just now looking at the ride on Strava; if you zoom in on the area around Sky L’onda, where we doubled back, it’s remarkable how well the new Garmin 1040 shows the separate track, in each direction. Technology just gets better and better. I never thought I’d be able to measure my decline (as I get older) quite so accurately!

An odd morning; I got up with the alarm, get into my shorts and base layer, then go out to the kitchen to find Kevin, who wakes up a bit earlier, getting his coffee and usually eating oatmeal. Only he wasn’t in the kitchen and his door was still shut. I knock on his door to see what’s up; he says he didn’t sleep much last night and isn’t riding. I used to try and get him going anyway; it’s not like I haven’t done quite a few rides with very little sleep, and usually get through the day just fine. But y’know, the “kid” is 30? Who am I to tell him he’s got to ride. I’m sure not going to let it keep me from getting out there. Some day, something will, not not yet, certainly not today. Besides, it’s nice and warm outside! 41 degrees!

So yes, nice to not have to wear thermal thights, nice to be able to wear my Chain Reaction jersey instead of the heavily-insulated bright yellow jacket/jersey combo. And as I began climbing, it quickly got to 45 and felt absolutely balmy. Well, not quite balmy, but a far cry from last week’s 28.3!

I wasn’t feeling frisky, but, riding alone, I was determined to do better than the past few weeks. Not sure why, and wasn’t sure, as I climbed, if I really was doing better since I don’t really have any references/timing points to know what a 38 minute ride looks like, or 35, or 40. I know very well all the places and times are for a 30 minute ride, or 27 even. 27 will never be relevant again, but it sure would be nice to believe I could at least hit 30, right?

I did get passed early on the hill by a guy with a backpack, and shortly after that passed someone who looked to be on his way to maybe a 43 minute time, and he was OK with that. I don’t look forward to thinking like that; it’s something I have to work on. But not today. Today I was pretty OK with doing 35-something.