Welcome to Daylight Saving Time, when we should be able to sleep in a bit because we’ll be able to ride later in the day, except that the weather forecast said there would be “showers” by 4pm… so sleeping in wasn’t in the cards.
Of course, the best-laid plans, which included getting all the gear out the night before so we could get out on the road quickly, go to pieces when you make sure your son’s checked his tires, which he hadn’t. The first photo tells the story; that tire wasn’t going much further!
Fortunately, I’d brought a tire home last week, knowing that his rear tire was getting pretty thin, and had him install it. Yes, we could have saved some time if I’d done it myself, but then I wouldn’t have heard such silliness as “Dad, how am I going to do this without a tire lever?” Yikes. This is really my kid? Lightweight road tires don’t need tire levers to remove or install, if you have the needed confidence and don’t show the tire any sign of weakness!
We did the usual; up Old LaHonda, over Haskins to Pescadero, Stage Road to Tunitas and back. It’s tough to come up with a convenient & challenging local ride that doesn’t include a run to the coast, with the return is going to be either Tunitas or West Alpine. West Alpine takes a bit longer so we did the always-dependable Tunitas version. Remember, it was going to start getting wet at 4pm or so.
The run up Old LaHonda was relatively uneventful. No seizures for Kevin this time (first time up Old LaHonda in maybe 4 trips that he hasn’t had a seizure there), but his new meds did mess with his vision for a while, causing us to stop about halfway up the hill until his head cleared up. Surprisingly few cyclists on the road, despite pretty nice weather given that it’s still winter.
At Pescadero we changed the routine a bit, opting to split a sandwich for lunch instead of the usual pastries, and I think proper fueling did help Kevin the rest of the ride. Either that or it was the unusual tail-wind heading north on Stage Road (although Kevin’s will never admit to riding with a tail wind; he’s been taught well!). We finally came across a few cyclists climbing the last section of Stage Road; as I’d mentioned, not many out there today!
The descent finishing at the Tunitas Creek bridge was a lot faster than normal, due to that tail wind we won’t admit to, but instead of making the turn
and immediately starting the timed climb up Tunitas, we stopped to take pictures of the two horses & goat that inhabit that first field on the left. Those three have been a fixture for quite a few years, always staying close to each other. When finished, we dutifully road back to the intersection, started our timers and rode west. Kevin had initially wanted to remove his base layer, as it had gotten pretty warm (up to 71 degrees) on the coast, but I suggested removing only our full-fingered gloves since it was likely to get cooler and we climbed, and indeed it did, dropping quickly into the mid-50s. Still very comfortable weather for a stiff climb though. The weather held up nicely for us until… the very top. We felt a few drops as we neared the end of the climb, but it was as if we had gone through a curtain separating the dry coast from the wet bay-side.
The descent on Kings was simply not much fun, having to keep the brakes on hard the entire time, and having the rain wash salty sweat into my eyes. I was really hoping we’d get in before the rain hit; I’ve probably got an hour’s worth of work, maybe more, getting my bike cleaned up and lubed again. But still, a good ride, at a fairly-strong pace, despite my having been off the bike for a week (while I was in Washington DC for the Bike Lobby). And nice to do a ride without Kevin have a seizure too! –Mike–
