Tag Archives: west alpine

Great pre-game ride with Jeff & Kevin

Mastadon Country (actually there's a family debate over whether it's a Wooly Mammoth or a Mastadon), just east of Pescadero Road
Mastadon Country (actually there’s a family debate over whether it’s a Wooly Mammoth or a Mastadon), just east of Pescadero Road. Why someone would put a giant sculpture of a Mastadon, facing off against another prehistoric creature, in a farm’s field… well, that’s what makes our rides so interesting, seeing things like this!
Click for larger Mastadon image
Click for larger Mastadon image

This was not going to be our typical Sunday ride, where we don’t get out the door until noon. I wanted to see most of the 49er playoff game, and it also gave us the opportunity to ride with Jeff, friend & customer, who normally does his riding while Kevin would be dragging himself out of bed. And I wanted to see first-hand just how fast & fit Jeff really is; his Strava scores have been looking pretty impressive lately.

Steam on West Alpine
Steam on West Alpine

We had to put something fairy tough together for Kevin and I, since a bit too much winter weight has been showing up on the scales lately. Up Old LaHonda, out to San Gregorio, south on Stage to Pescadero, up & over Haskins the tougher direction, then Jeff went back the faster route, via 84, while Kevin and I took on West Alpine. 65 miles, about 6700ft of climbing, and, for the middle of winter, really nice weather!

West Alpine is a beautiful climb any time of year!
West Alpine is a beautiful climb any time of year!

Jeff proved to be the stronger rider on the climbs today, getting to the top a full minute faster than Kevin, even though Kevin’s posted the fastest Strava times in the past. Me? Another minute or two behind Kevin. I was able to keep up, just barely, on the two Stage Road climbs, but watched them both ride away from me once again on Haskins. It was just myself and Kevin up West Alpine (Jeff having taken the shortcut home), and, nice guy/Dad that I am, when Kevin was in trouble a few times, I waited up. Of course, further up the hill it was Kevin feeling better, and did he wait for me? Not a chance. I asked him tonight about riding up a climb at a “social” pace, and he just looked at me with this quizzical expression and asked “Why?”

No ordinary bike shop; we find & return lost apparel… in real time!

Please ignore a few typos and mis-spellings; I’m going to get those fixed shortly. Obviously I shouldn’t be editing videos at 12:30am. –Mike–

Claude asked about the views from West Alpine. Yes, awesome!

No easy ride today, time to stop fooling around and get back to business. That means minimum 100k, with something “special” thrown in. Today, that meant Old LaHonda, Sna Gregorio, south on Stage to Pescadero, over Haskins & up West Alpine (West Alpine being the “something special”). Best thing about a longer ride is that they tend to favor me over Kevin, and today was no exception. I had no chance of holding onto his wheel going up Old LaHonda, but was at least even with him on the rollers on Stage and rode stronger up both Haskins and West Alpine. I like that!

Just barely got back before the sun set; guess we’ll have to leave earlier than noon in the future! Kevin thought I was being a bit extreme insisting on base layers, but by the time we got out of Pescadero and saw 53 degrees, and later 46 up on Skyline, he was glad I made him wear one. The long-fingered gloves helped later in the ride too!

Almost didn’t qualify as a “tough” ride; 67.2 miles with 6734ft of climbing, just 134ft to spare!