Today was a traditional climbing day & I managed 3 laps on the usual course including once up the challenging Newhall – which sustained far less tornado damage than I had thought it wd. Just to the South-East of Newhall there are more empty lots now than houses, but Newhall has only a few homes with broken windows & its spectacular duck-pond looks undamaged. Due to my ordinary humanity, I take Chapman up to Riverside more often then Newhall, but the season for me is young.
During my 2nd set of recovery laps at the airport I got passed by what I took as an elderly married couple – I’m almost 60 so when I say Elderly I mean 70s and above. The wife was up front pulling in the low 20s & the husband peeled away back to me & said Jump On Jump On Here, so I caught his wheel (I’m on 16 teeth on climbing days – I can hit 20 mph but I can’t sustain it for very long) & he led me back up to her wheel. We did half a lap at her pace & my body recovered quickly enough that once I saw my exit back to the hills coming up I broke protocol & sprinted up to take the lead – I’ll Lead I’ll Lead My Exit’s Coming. & is actually did it, 16 teeth & all, maintaining the 20s to return the favor.
One of the unavoidable downsides of riding Fixie is the lack of opportunities for Group Rides. We are less agile than coasting-bikes & frankly we are slower on most terrains. Today for me was a rare treat. Belmont Endurance Team Cycling is what I remember to be on the old man’s jersey but I may be misremembering.
I always figured I cd fit 3 laps into 62 miles [I was wrong; I’ll have to fit them into a 75] & it was fun to test my figuring.
Ecbatan 