Category Archives: Personal stuff

There is reason to be hopeful

Personal stuff, Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

Another solo ride yesterday; ex-pilot was up at Tahoe and younger Kevin is doing just two rides/week with me at the moment (Tuesdays and Sundays). I never really know, the night before, how I’m going to be feeling climbing up to Skyline. The indications from my commute home from work, riding up Highland, weren’t terribly favorable. But, I’ve learned not to put too much meaning into that.

It took a little bit to convince me that I’d be OK, probably once I got through Huddart Park and onto Kings. Before that, I had some of the more-often-than-should-be feelings of, maybe this would be a nice day NOT to climb the hill? Think I’ve given into such feelings 4 or 5 times over the past 40 years. b

When riding solo, the goal has been to try and ride at a strong effort all the way through, something not so easily done with others, where the pace can be variable and include brief stops to regroup along the way. Consistent hard efforts are important not just because you get stronger, but also because it allows you to keep the fire burning on a cold day, helping you stay warm. It’s also a control thing, something that gives you more confidence that you’ll get through, whatever the ride throws at you.

To some extent I’ve been held back by Kevin’s (younger Kevin, not ex-pilot) knee issues, limiting how long and how hard he can ride. It’s kind of like revisiting 2005-2011 again, when my rides centered around transforming the 13 year old 225 pound version of Kevin into the 170 pound version that would drop me like a rock on nasty climbs. Back then, I wasn’t worried about the long-term effects of taking a few years off (a few years off of doing the gnarliest rides I was capable of, focusing instead of improving Kevin’s ability to do gnarlier, longer rides). But twenty years ago I was only 49. At 69, any slacking off takes its toll on me and there’s no guarantee I can get back to where I should be.

OK, about those pictures. Turkeys! Yes, Turkeys, this time in the yard of the house at the corner of 84 and West Old LaHonda.

Next we have my normal Garmin screen, showing that I got back to the start/finish of the official Tuesday/Thursday morning ride, Canada at Olive Hill, at 9:34am. Back in the day, it would have been between 9:18-9:22am; these days, it can be as late as 9:45am. I’m OK with 9:35!

Then the overall ride screen, showing the map, total distance, avg speed etc. 14.0 mph for the whole ride. Unfortunately I recall the pre-Garmin days when the goal was to keep average speed above 16.4mph. Yikes! But if you take 10 minutes off my Kings time, that alone is going to make quite a dent in the average speed.

Second from last is the “how hard was it really?” screen. Just barely into the bottom range for “good” on the FTP. 207 watts for sustained 20 minute effort… sigh… I remember when it was 280. But the “load” figure of 501 is very much welcome. That’s an indication that this ride counted. Anything in the 200-300 range is just cruising along, out for a ride. Above 400 and you’re pushing.

The final screen show’s the week’s effort. Anything about 1200 for exercise load is keeping me from losing whatever ability I still have, so that number’s really important to me. Two weeks ago I missed a Sunday ride and it dropped to 893. Not good! But missing a Sunday ride is a very rare thing, and won’t be happening again, at least not prior to my mid-July trip to France with Kevin.

I miss Lourdes

Personal stuff

Last time in Lourdes was 2021, just four years ago, but it seems like so much more. Since then, the Tour de France route has stopped its usual clockwise/counterclockwise alternations, so Kevin and I have found ourselves in the Grenoble/Alps region in 2023 & 2023, and then, last year, we started from Grenoble and did a long trip along the spine between France & Italy, ending up in Nice. And now, for 2025, it’s yet another trip to the Alps (but adding in Ventoux because, y’know, it’s such an easy fun climb…).

The Alps are fine, some great climbs (Columbiere, Alpe d’Huez, Galibier for starters) but there’s a bit busier vibe than the Pyrenees, not quite as many crazy little alternate roads, and not quite as open. I’m fighting myself a bit writing this, because the Alps really are an amazing place to ride, and some of the rides in the Vercors region are breathtaking, with their sheer cliffs that somebody decided to build a road into. And in Grenoble, we do have a “regular” place to stay that we always try to come back to, so there is a sort of comfortable familiarity to it.

But the Pyrenees. Quieter, more alternate roads to explore, and a combination of quirky & quaint that is endearing. I’m trying to remember my very first trip to the Pyrenees, via Lourdes. Had to be earlier than 2006, when I went there on a Graham Baxter tour. Since then I’ve been doing most years with my son Kevin; he very first trip was spent in the Pyrenees, staying in Lourdes. We found a fantastic & reasonable apartment hotel adjacent to the train station, in which we’ve stayed most years since, although it no longer appears possible to book there. Lourdes itself is a very unusual place, being the location of the Catholic’s place of miracles. You get an interesting mix of patients in wheelchairs, bicycles everywhere, and pretty ordinary food. And the local train service gives you access to many more miles of riding than you’d think possible without having a car.

Lourdes is the start of the paved bike path that heads all the way out to Soulom, near the base of many of the great local climbs. It’s a little sad that it’s built on a rail line that was put out of service not that long ago, about 12 miles, and end near a green food truck that’s become one of our regular things on rides in the area.

Lourdes is also where I was first introduced to what I now call “Train Station Coffee.” Relay is a small store located in many French train stations, and there’s something about what they serve, in a small red paper cup that says RELAY on it, for 2 euros for a double espresso… there’s something about it that elevates it to an experience, not just something to drink.

The Pyrenees foothills, something in the Lourdes area, would be the one place outside the US that I’d consider moving to. It’s not something that could happen, due to my wife’s health issues and, well, money in general. But when I think of a better, simpler life, I think that’s where I could pull it off. And I haven’t even mentioned food.

Food. For breakfast, real French pastry (not the stuff we dealt with last year in Barcelonette!), the multiple-layer stuff with exceptional chocolate or almond filling, selling for about a third of the price here in California. Topped off with expresso and orangina.

Lunch. Is it even a question? Baguettes! Ham & Cheese, Ham & Butter, Sausage…

Dinner. Dinner can actually be the more challenging meal in quieter areas. Your choices in a small town might be… pizza. In Lourdes, there are quite a few restaurants and the tough thing is trying to find something a cut above the cookie-cutter places that cater to those coming for the Catholic shrine. Well, Kevin and I have been there enough times that’s no longer much of a problem. We have a few places for nice, longer dinners, a Kebob place, and a couple of pizza places.

Memories. Going to bed while a raging thunderstorm was blasting away, thinking about how we would be riding up the Tourmalet the next morning. It wasn’t even a consideration that it was a bad thing, but rather absurd. That stands out from the rest.

Ha. Just realized one of the places I could have moved to was the place, in 2021, I crashed and broke two ribs (riding in the rain, balancing a pizza on my handlebars, going downhill, and Kevin cut in front of me, taking me down).

Back to Lourdes. I’m not Catholic, but the spirituality of the place exerts a pull on me lately, having everything to do with my wife’s Stage IV cancer and Lourdes being the source of miracles. And in fact, I do want to find a way to get Karen to Lourdes, so she can see what I find some wonderful about the area. And looking for miracles doesn’t seem entirely out of place either. More a continuation of the current miracle, as she passes expiration dates and continues to hold the cancer to a stand-off.