Too bad Kevin had to miss this one due to an upset stomach. I mean, you’d be crazy not to want to wait until the rain actually started before heading out & up into the rain, wind, cold and snow right? Sometimes I can detach myself a bit from reality and think that it’s kind of nuts to enjoy riding in weather like that, and most nearly 67 year olds would probably be thinking about the cold doing a number on their arthritis and the wind being a bit more testing of handling skills flaunted by those much younger.

Starts to sound like someone’s trying to deny their age doesn’t it? And sure, it’s a real thing, that thought that the day will come when you face well-defined limitations instead of gradual decline that allows you to still do what you used to do, just maybe a bit slower, a but more cautiously. I’ll ride that gradual decline for as long as I can, and in the meantime take advantage of bicycle handling skills that have far more to do with learning how not to be over-reactive to a situation than the ability to thread a needle.

It would have been nice to have felt better going up Old LaHonda, but it wasn’t about speed, it was just getting out on a ride. And once I got up on Skyline, in the wind & cold, and started seeing snow, I felt better. And why not? 37F is no match for electric gloves, thermal windfront tights, 3 layers up top plus a light rain jacket, booties, and dogged determination to have some fun.