Consistency isn’t a thing anymore. From one week to the next, I don’t know if I’m going to be riding solo, with one Kevin, two Kevins, or even three. In general, one of the two Tuesday/Thursday-morning rides has been pushing the limits (when I’ve ridden solo) while the other, riding with others, tends to be a bit easier.

The solo rides have been a bit of a surprise. On my own, can I get motivated? Why not take it easy? It doesn’t turn out that way anymore. I can feel a bit “off” heading over Jefferson to the start, but once I get to Kings, I find a rhythm and keep a consistent effort all the way up and, on Skyline, no rest, just keep on going. By the time I get to Sky Londa, I’m thinking hey, I’ve pushed this far, why not just keep it up and try to get a decent average wattage for the whole ride. And that’s how the last few solo rides have been. 189 average weighted power, 192, then 194 last Tuesday. Pretty much 100% effort all the way through.

Sunday, solo again (younger Kevin’s at Disneyland with his sister), and tried to do a strong “local” ride, my all-too-common-lately loop to Los Altos and then up over Mt Eden, but it’s tougher to stay motivated, keep pushing, all the way through. In Garmin terms, the Tuesday right last week was a “540” effort, while Sunday’s “420.” Interesting to think a 31 mile ride can be so much tougher than 54.

Tomorrow looks like Kevin (ex-pilot) will show up, which normally would mean a bit easier but… the guy’s riding like 5 days/week now, maybe 6. At some point something’s going to really kick in and I’m going to have a tough time holding his wheel again. I really shouldn’t make predictions though. Things rarely turn out as expected.