Los Gatos Hills (i.e. Redwood Gulch)

David, Stephanie, and Jerome, in Los Gatos.
Season is starting off to a real slow start. After an awesome vacation in Paris over the holidays, Trevor and I arrived back in SF for work to immediately become sick. At least we made it home before succumbing. It was a Cold/Flu thingy. For awhile there I thought it was going to be pneumonia. My chest was heavily congested feeling as if a vice was gripping and tightening. It made it very difficult to breath. This lasted a few days and then one morning I get up, get all ready to head out the door to go to work but sit down on the couch watching the weather because I had a few minutes and I never got back up. Ever have one of those moments when you just realize that things were going to get bad; well I slept for two entire days straight with a high fever to boot. Not fun.

Stephanie and Jon at the top of the hill.

I declined to train for an entire week afterwards to make sure I had recovered sufficiently. Yesterday was my first real ride of 2009. David Gaus, DSSF, was leading a ride in the South Bay so I grabbed the bike and went. David, another David, Jon, Stephanie, Jerome, and I, rode a figure 8ish loop from Sunnyvale to Los Gatos and back. Jerome and I opted to ride up Redwood Gulch while the others chose Mt. Eden. Let’s just say I’m in such bad shape and with my heart rate beating around 198bpm I decided to walk a portion up Redwood. Last fall I would have made it, but after over two months off and being sick, I was literally near death ;-) Very, very humbling, I’ll have to retry soon.

Wondering whether Jerome headed to the top, top or already descended.


View Larger Map
53.53 miles
3,280 feet of climbing
(63.05 miles total for the day)