Monthly Archives: December 2011

Why I can’t stop riding

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December 22, 2011. First day of winter. I could be sleeping in, or I could have a job that requires that I get to work so early there’s no way I could do anything beforehand other than getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed and joining the ranks of 8-to-5ers. And I’d miss mornings like this. Air so crisp & clean that you should be able to see Hawaii from Skyline. No clouds to be seen, just a strongly-cast shadow that keeps you company even if those you’re riding with have dropped you (or, the far-less-likely event that you’ve dropped them).

Was it cold? Well sure, down to 29.something according to my Garmin computer (my Trek Node computer said 33, but you get more credibility at 29 so I’m going to assume my Garmin is more accurate), but you can dress comfortably for that. Besides, it gets warmer as you go, right? All the way up to 39 degrees at the end of the ride! It’s actually kind of remarkable that we can ride in such temperatures without excessive bundling up… the miracle of modern lightweight fabrics.

Who rode this morning? Myself, Eric, John, Karl, Karen, Todd and Shane. Neither Kevin today; one was working (flying), the other not feeling well. Both missed a very nice day.

If the first day of winter, one of the coldest mornings of the year, can be this nice… how can I not want to be out on a bike enjoying it?

 

Last ride of Fall & virtual bungee cords

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

I’ve often said we do an easier-paced ride in the winter than we do in the summer; our faster day (Tuesday) typically finishes between 9:18-9:22am, with our winter rides ending closer to 9:30. Today, the last ride before winter officially hits, we arrived at the finish at a surprisingly-early 9:20am!

Who was responsible for that? Certainly not me! So it must have been either Kevin, Eric, Karl or George. Since it was George and nobody else who rode off the front on the west-side Old LaHonda section, I’ll blame him. But thankfully, other than Kings (and George ditching us on Old LaHonda), I was able to hang onto wheels and not get dropped.

It would be nice to believe that the faster pace meant we’re all in better shape that prior years, but it’s more likely the case that Kevin (my son, not the pilot) (should I just create an acronym for that, since it’s used so often? MSNP?) is definitely getting stronger, while Eric and I are getting better at lashing virtual bungee cords to George & pilot-Kevin’s bikes. As long as the climb isn’t too steep the virtual bungee cords hold pretty well!