Jabba the Corgi greets us atop King Mountain!

A Corgi to greet you at the top of the Kings climb… what more can you ask for? How about a Corgi that bears a passing resemblance to Jabba the Hut?

I wasn’t sure how I’d be feeling this morning, after Sunday’s surprisingly-nice 100 mile Sequoia Century. Monday, yeah, I was feeling it on Monday, and for reasons unknown hadn’t slept all that well Sunday night, which isn’t the norm after a hard ride. But this morning I woke up feeling pretty good and sure, climbing over Jefferson I felt a bit sluggish, but got stronger as the ride went on.

George, Kevin, Kevin, Karen and Marcus this morning. Cool, but never cold, despite getting down to 48 degrees at one point. My ultra-lightweight white Bontrager “suncovers” (legwarmers) worked out fine, and made more sense today than Sunday. But, I’ve either got to smear on black tar for sunscreen or wear something that actually covers exposed skin since my new meds are supposed to increase susceptibility to skin issues caused by the sun. Ironic given that I have skin that pretty much refuses to burn (never mind what a few hours snorkeling, with my back exposed to the sun, did to me in Australia!).

The group started up Kings pretty easy, gradually increasing the pace as we went up the hill. At the halfway point I fell off the back but was quite surprised when George suggested the rest of them slow up and wait for me at the clearing. I repaid George the favor by beating him in the Skyline sprint.

Riding the West Old LaHonda section I felt a bit like I was in a fog… because I was! No great views today, but it was the first time we climbed the upper half at a pretty good pace. Felt good, although it meant I had nothing left to contest the sprint at the end, which George took, followed by younger Kevin.

The 84 descend… this was one of those days the delay was quite a bit more than usual. About 8 minutes extra. So much for my idea that we were going to get back to the start at an almost-normal time! Still, a really nice ride. As just about all bike rides are.






2 thoughts on “Jabba the Corgi greets us atop King Mountain!

  1. Hi Mike
    If your need for UV protection includes head & neck, l found a product on line called a “helmet drape” from a vendor Solumbra Solar Precautions. I had radiation over the winter to remove a tumor from my neck and this article is allowing me to enjoy the summer without damaging my tenderized skin. The garment isn’t cheap but it’s extremely well made, I’ve been using mine daily and washing it at least twice a week for 2 months and it’s still literally as new.

    1. Marty: Thanks for the info; think I’ve seen the “helmet drape” in action! My needs are more general; Hydroxyurea apparently reduces your body’s ability to do whatever it normally does to keep melanoma at bay. This is a rude awakening; my skin, for some reason, has always been highly-resistant to sunburn, and thus I never got into a sunscreen routine like I should have. Skin doesn’t need to burn to be at risk for melanomas. So I’m faced with either “covering up” or making sure I apply sunscreen far more liberally than ever before.

      Glad you’re back out on the bike after the tumor removal! Getting older isn’t for the timid is it?

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