Canada Road, 1:26pm.
60 degrees, or 35 degrees warmer than the last 10 or 15 times I've
ridden this stretch! Is it nicer riding on a mild afternoon
than a very chilly morning? Is it enough just to be out on a
bike, no matter what? I'm here to tell you it's way
nicer on a day like this! The ride took me south on Canada to
Woodside, then out Mountain Home to Portola Road, up Old La Honda to
Skyline, down the other side of Old La Honda to 84, and then back up
84 and down to Woodside again.
A bunch of guys hanging
out near Robert's of Woodside. Just a few more people out on a
day like this than I typically see at 7:45am. Just a few.
A few dozen. Maybe many dozen. A whole lot more, how's
that?
Mountain Home road, one
of the more popular routes between Woodside and Portola Valley.
A little bumpy, but with very light car traffic and beautiful
scenery, it's easy to see why it's a local favorite.
Charging up Old LaHonda.
Do you have any idea how tough it is to get far enough ahead of
somebody that you can stop, get the camera out and try to steady
yourself (while your pulse is pounding) so you can take a photo?
Truth is, it's generally easier to get shots while riding!
Unfortunately, Old LaHonda is rather dark so you can't count on a
high shutter speed to keep your picture from getting fuzzy.
And here you see our rider speeding up the hill,
through the memorable spot about two thirds of the way up where the road narrows between two large
trees.
Two more riders at the
very top of Old LaHonda Road, where it hits Skyline. I think
the guy in front is named Dan, but cannot recall the name of the guy
behind. Yes, they told me, but I'm not very good on names.
Finally, we've got a
photo of the famous Red Barn between Skyline and LaHonda! The
other two guys I met on Old LaHonda were heading out towards the
coast, originally for Pescadero. Given the time of day (2:20),
I suggested they might be better off heading to San Gregorio and
then up the coast a bit to Tunitas Creek. Since I had to get
back in time for the SuperBowl, this was my turnaround point.
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