TNT's Page Mill/Old La Honda

 TNT Death Ride Riders before departing.

This weekends training brought me to familiar territory down on the Peninsula.  I have often ridden these roads after work or on the weekends.  I used to go in to work start an experiment and then head off for a ride in the nearby hills only to return to finish the experiment after the ride.  I vividly recall one of my very first rides after I bought my first bike in fifteen years, or so.  I had no idea of what the local terrain was like and looked at a map and sketched out a ride of approximately 18 miles round trip from work.  I was thinking an hour, maybe and hour and a half tops.  On the 2-D map, highway 84 looked flat…I was gasping for breath before I ever reached the half way mark.  I know I was taught to read a topography map in school, but at the time I had totally lost that skill.

Saturday’s ride was my first ride joining a very friendly group of Team-in-Training Death Ride Riders for a fully supported training ride.  Unlike ALC, or other century ride training, the route was less about total distance and more about total climbing.  We started at 8:00 am sharp with a verbal descending clinic followed with a ride out towards Palo Alto and Page Mill Road.  Page Mill is a significant climb totaling an approximate 2,000 feet over 8 miles.   A rest stop waited at the top.  If I wasn’t chatting with random riders on the way up, I was signing Eminem in my head.

and because Eminem isn't the best music to get one up a hill, this soon replaced his music. 

 Jeff and Mark cresting Old La Honda

From the top of Page Mill it was a 7 mile jaunt along skyline with all the speeding cars and motorcycles to Alice’s Restaurant and Highway 84.  We descended Hwy 84 to Portola and over to Sand Hill to reach the next major climb of the day, Old La Honda.  Old La Honda is a benchmark climb in the bay area.  It is said that speed skater Eric Heiden holds the speed record of 14 minutes 10 seconds.  Unfortunately my fastest time up OLH is only 25 minutes.  I did not do it in 25 minutes today.  After the OLH climb we continued north on Skyline to get to King’s Mountain Road.  Usually I head south from King’s Mountain Road on Skyline and never remember that it is actually a pretty significant climb heading north (~800 feet).  I kept say the top was just around the next bend.  Can you say ‘cry wolf’.  As much as I enjoy the climbs, I dislike the descents.  I hate switchback descents.  The descent down King’s was cold and slow but we eventually made it back to Canada and the parked car.  

 Corinne, my TNT mentor, cresting Old La Honda with a smile

It was a beautiful day to ride.  Many thanks go out to Jeff, John G, Mark, John B, Alissa, and Jerry for being such great riding company.  Thanks also to Kevin for ride support, as well as all those peopling the rest stops.  Those potatoes and salt hit the spot on top of Skyline.