Category Archives: Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

Endless ramblings regarding the every Tuesday & Thursday-morning bike ride, leaving Olive Hill & Canada Road at 7:45am, rain or shine

If I didn’t have to be at work before 11am, would I give up on my own ride?

Tdf trip planning, Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride
We’ve just finished descending Kings as the guys who used to ride with us are just starting up the hill.

It’s been 40+ years now that I’ve been doing the regular every Tuesday/Thursday-morning ride up Kings; originally it just looped over to Sky Londa and back down 84, and then a bit later we added the West Old LaHonda loop. The “we” being myself and the most-regular regular at the time, Kevin (then-pilot) Keenan.

The ride peaked in terms of numbers showing up and speed back in the mid-1990s to 2005 or so, before I started spending more time with younger Kevin, working to get him into shape, and eventually seeing him become a regular on the ride. As “fast” times went from 24 minutes or so way back when to 28, we started losing some of the guys looking for a really tough workout, but it really wasn’t much of a choice as I started gradually slowing down in my mid-50s. And now, at 67, it’s been two years since I’ve seen something under 30 minutes on Kings, typically getting 33 on a “fast” day and 34-35 most others. And not taking it easy by any means; it’s about all I’ve got in the tank.

Thankfully I do better after the first hour of the ride; once up on Skyline, I’m feeling OK and able to suck most wheels in front of me. Maybe I’m even less of a morning person than before?

But not everyone left the ride because I got slow. A number of guys, like Kevin K and maybe even John R… we see them as we’re returning from our ride and they’re starting theirs. They begin about an hour and a half later, nice being retired I guess, heading up the hill as we’re returning to the flatter stuff. Past few days I’ve been looking at their climbing times and seeing 41 minutes up Kings and thinking, that sounds kind of nice! But for now I don’t have that luxury; I have to try and keep the ride interesting for younger Kevin (don’t think he’d appreciate having to wait another 6 minutes for me… 7 is bad enough, 13 would be ridiculous). And I have to keep trying to push myself so I can survive France, which is less than 4 weeks away now.

Hopefully I can ride myself into shape once in France. The longer distances should play to my strength, as well as the warmer temps. Will find out pretty soon.

I’m glad it’s not easy for me to totally give in

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

This morning’s ride up Kings… it was so much harder than it should have been. Tuesday wasn’t easy, but not terrible. Today I kept looking for a feeling different than “Wouldn’t it make sense just to give up here and turn back?”

Stress certainly plays a part. My wife’s sister’s cancer is at that stage where you’re not expecting that many good days left, and last week’s break-in at the shop, watching the thieves in the videos, looking for clues and becoming triggered in general when you see anyone in a mask… not a good thing for rest. Still, there have been plenty of really strong rides for me when I’d gotten very little sleep, and it’s been arguable in the past that I use stress as a fuel.

But I didn’t give in. Irrationally, I continue to believe I’ll feel better later in the ride. And just as irrationally, that’s always true. I was able to generate some power on Skyline, and felt OK climbing the last section of Tunitas (we’ve been descending as far as the grassy knoll and then heading back up to Skyline). But I’m going to have to get used to the idea that this year, in France, Kevin’s going to be waiting up for me on the climbs, and/or we’ll be redistributing the load we carry so he’s hauling a lot more up the hill than me.

France. Just over a month away. We’ll be staying in Annecy for the first time (and, after doing this 20+ times, doing something new is getting tougher!) and a number of new climbs in the Alps. It’s going to be really tough doing it without a rental car, but that remains the plan.