Eagle Visits the Woodside Store

Up and on the road at 8AM for 26 hilly  miles today. I rode to the locally famed Woodside Store on Hwy 84 that goes over the Coast Range to Half Moon Bay. Here is the ROUTE that I, once again, had fun recreating. Took 20 minutes to draw up.

As I was going up Sand Hill Rd., as three road cyclists passed me, one of them called, "hey , do you know Jim Langley?"   

"Sure do. I replied, "he's even one of my Facebook friends!"

He then went on to quickly tell me that Jim was going to enter his HiWeel bike in some kind of short race that was coming up pretty soon, And that he was doing so on a dare with some guy who  is going to wear some kind of chicken suit. Jim, for those of you who don't know is the former esteemed tech editor for "Bicycling" magazine and now has a very informative bicycle web site called JimLangley.net.

 

Jim is also developing quite a reputation as a racer. According to this guy, whose name I didn't quite get, Jim is headed for Category 1 racing level status . Not bad for a former recumbent zealot. In fact, the first recumbent I bought in 1982 ended up being one that Jim had made back when he lived in the Northeast. Hmmm , maybe  all that 'bent riding is keeping us older riders pushing the two wheel envelope as we've watched so many upright cyclists fall by the wayside over the years.

The uphill ride to the popular Woodside Store was a pretty  easy one. With this new seat and pedal connection, my confidence is beginning to soar. And yet, I know I have to keep the hammer down. If I am going to be able to accomplish in a little over two months what takes most people a year, mastering the Eagle, I have to keep pushing the envelope here.

From the store where I stopped for a few minutes, I went out its back on Mountain Home Rd (pictured above). A narrow two lane road, it rolled up and down back over to Sand Hill. It was covered with trees that reached high into the sky. Instead of the sounds of a city or the cars that were a constant companion to most all of my riding, the sound of blue jays could be heard echoing throughout the forest.

Once I got on Portola Rd (pictured at right as it ends at Alpine Rd), after first making a wrong turn  on it, I started seeing  lots of cyclists again. Nor do they pass me like I am standing still. Especially on the uphills where I watch them slowly fade out of view. And even though it was drizzling and the roads were wet, I still saw several hundred people riding their bikes while I was out today.

As I wrap this up, I am loving this endorphin rush that has me feeling so so mellow.

THX 4 all of U!!  

Note: This ride is not about me but it is a celebration of all the people who have helped me get back to wholeness physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. This as I stand on the shoulders of giants to enjoy the privilege of riding this bike, the only Eagle in active use west of the Mississippi ...