There is so much to get done prior to leaving for the Tour de France on Wednesday, so much that Kevin and I combined today’s ride dropping into San Jose Camera to get a new camera bag. This is something we should have taken care of ages ago; the backpack-style camera bag we’ve been using has sharp edges at the bottom that you can feel as you ride, and when you’ve got that thing on for 5 hours, maybe more, not being comfortable adds up in a bad way. And you quickly discover that there are reasons why one camera bag is $80 and another $270. We chose a Thinkpack Streetwalker 2.0. Kevin and I highly recommend San Jose Camera. They had no problem with us bringing our bikes into the store and were very friendly and helpful.

But first we had to get there. Up Page Mill, south on Skyline to 9, down 9 into San Jose to San Jose Camera. Then we headed to the Santa Clara Caltrain station to skip the boring flat stuff home (as well as a pretty stiff headwind!).

It’s going to be a rude awakening when we arrive in France; Annecy will be 98F tomorrow, dropping to 81F when we arrive. Looks like we can expect mid-80s to low-90s while there, with temps a bit lower as we climb… and we’ll be doing a lot of climbing!

Hard to believe it’s been three months since Kevin and I last visited Pescadero, but trying to avoid Old LaHonda due to car traffic, plus the unusually cool Spring we had, has rerouted us away from the coast. Back in the day, we’d be doing the Pescadero/Tunitas loop twice a month, regularly updating the world with photos of extra-large cookies that can cover your entire face.

The original plan for today was to finally get back to Santa Cruz, a full century (actually 113 miles, and I’m counting every single one), but Kevin had dog duty and couldn’t leave his place early enough.

Warm? Yes. Hot? Only the last couple miles to home, when it got to the low-90s. Nevertheless a good test day for a new sweatband thingee that might do a better job keeping my eyes happy. Mid-80s climbing Old LaHonda gave it a workout, as well as the upper part of Tunitas.

Cars. Not too bad on Old LaHonda, but Tunitas, wow, have never seen so many. Usually in packs of 3 to 10 cars, caught up behind someone a bit slower (no place to pass on Tunitas… anywhere).

Speed? Not for me. Hoping I can ride myself into shape in France! I’ve already arranged the rides so the big climbs are front-loaded, with the rides back, after seeing the race go by, pretty easy. Hauling all the gear up the big climbs though… that’s going to be interesting. Might have to transfer some of it to Kevin.