The old barn's still standing... and so am I : Almost-Daily Diary : http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary

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The old barn's still standing... and so am I

I've avoided a regular "reference" ride to the coast for so long, not because I'm not capable, but because I just haven't wanted to deal with colder temps and fog. I mean it's summer right? It wasn't until last Thursday that I was FINALLY able to do the Tuesday/Thursday morning ride without leg warmers or a base layer. That's just crazy! But finally, it was a nice enough day Sunday that I could get out and do the ride Kevin and I used to do so many times it almost, but never quite, became boring. I've often called it the "reference" ride because it gave me a good idea of what shape I was in.

Old LaHonda, Haskins, the three bumps on Stage Road, and finally Tunitas. Just over 6,000ft of climbing, so more than Mt Ham, and some of it (middle of Tunitas) is pretty darned steep. Scenic, lots of interesting things to see along the way, like the big metal Mastadon and Triceratops on the way out to Pescadero, the old farm on Stage Road that used to have Machine Gun Man, flocks of turkeys, and today, cows running across a ridge. That last one was new! Oh, and the turtles and ducks in the duck pond in LaHonda.

I was solo; Kevin was spending the day with his girlfriend, but having nobody to ride with wasn't going to stop me.

And ohmygosh was I slow, at least for the first couple of hours. Old LaHonda and Haskins were downright ugly! Fortunately, things got better after refueling in Pescadero (chocolate pastry and 20oz Mtn Dew). Heading up the first Stage Road bump, saw some sort of predator bird atop a power line poll.

Tunitas... stopped to smell the roses, first finding a colorful snake of a type I'd not seen before (Google says it was an Aquatic Garter Snake), which I scooted off the road to safety. Then another two stops for taking photos of tiny waterfalls in Tunitas Creek, amazed that, this late in the year, water was still flowing. Tunitas was actually the easiest of the climbs, as I was feeling better, much better, as the ride went on.

Surprisingly few others out riding Sunday. Maybe three other cyclists in Pescadero, and I didn't see anyone the entire way up Tunitas.

Even more surprising was discovering, after looking at Strava comparisons with past rides, that I hadn't ridden the Pescadero/Tunitas loop since June... of 2024. Over a year! That seems so strange, especially given that Strava says, since 2009, I've climbed Haskins 244 times.

But I'm still standing, just like that barn.

Post date: 2025-08-11 23:10:47
Post date GMT: 2025-08-12 06:10:47
Post modified date: 2025-08-11 23:10:47
Post modified date GMT: 2025-08-12 06:10:47