Ride 215: An hour and a half outside for the much-liked and seldom ridden Tilden golf course lasso loop: going out on Tunnel, Grizzly, down Golf Course, up Shasta and back on Grizzly, Skyline and Snake. I rode hard, enjoyed the effort, and was happy to have broken 15mph, doing it in 15.1. This got me to thinking again about motivation. When I ride alone I ride harder than I do with friends and I like it when I am riding harder. Yet when the group raises its speed from conversational -- to, for example, the speed I rode today -- I grumble, maybe because someone interrupted my conversation. Maybe it's a control thing and I resent having to ride at someone else's pace but don't mind going at that pace on my own?
Ride 214: Half an hour in zone 1 at the gym, though still broke a sweat.
Ride 213: Redwood-Pinehurst with Howie in the big ring. Decided that Sunday ride would be a big ring ride and I rode it not just in the big ring, but also in small cogs. The big is a 48 and the smalls were in 13-16 range, except I had to shift into 19-ish on North Pinehurst to avoid stalling and toppling over and a new entry for the "Crash!" post. Having made it up North Pinehurst in 48x19, riding the flat portion of Skyline in that gear felt sublimely smooth and easy. Maybe that's the purpose of big ring training?
Ride 212: Redwood-Pinehurst without Tunnel, climbing the Oakland side of the ridge on Butters with Paul's Saturday group. Did not go to Moraga with the guys, turning back toward Oakland at the Pinehurst/Canyon intersection with Arnie. We had a mellow-paced and chatty return leg and I discovered that Arnie is a neighbor and a nice guy. Will likely see more of him on the road in the future.
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