I decided that my knee is finally well enough for me to tackle some of the hills that I know I have to do in my little ring and I've been avoiding since September.
It was about 50 degrees when I headed out with a consistent 10MPH wind and gusts to 20. I use this website to get accurate wind readings http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/mwm...map=sfoeastbay
I started in tights, a light wool long sleeved undershirt, a fleece jacket, full fingered lightweight gloves and a buff rigged as a hat. Thom thought I would overheat, but that wind kept me cool. After about twenty minutes I did take off the buff.
I started off with my usual route out over Empire Mine Road, which is closed to traffic. The young cows were out in full force and looking very cute. My knee felt good so I decided to give Deer Valley a try. There are two short half mile hills on Deer Valley. The first has about a 6% grade, the second about 5%. I've got a tailwind going out this road and so both hills were easy peasy.
The tailwind ride continues as I head out Marsh Creek to the reservoir. Marsh Creek follows the creek with downward trending rollers and is always a blast! The reservoir road is great to ride because it has very little traffic. There are two women riding horses and I slowly pass them. This road has a weird wind pattern. The first half you have a tailwind, but there is always a really strong headwind about a mile or so out from the reservoir. Since this is a dead end road, unless your bike floats, you get the reverse on your return trip.
My knee is still feeling really good after the out and back to the reservoir. I know I'll have a headwind no matter which way I decide to return. I can do the flat return or I can go back on Deer Valley and do those two hills in reverse. I hate flats with strong headwinds, so I opt for the hills.
Man was it windy! Normally I'd stay in my big ring all along Marsh Creek, even though now the rollers are upward trending. But I kept having to go down to the little ring. I'm really avoiding mashing, since I don't want to have start the healing process over!
I turned back onto Deer Valley. The first hill is easier from this side. The second is harder, but seems to be over pretty quickly. It is almost all flat now back to home. I was surprised at how much traffic there was in the middle of the day. This is a narrow two lane road with no bike lane. There is only one other road that accesses it, Balfour. Once I hit Balfour the traffic really picked up. I suspect people from the next town over are using it to avoid the shopping center hell on the next connector road. Most of the traffic was good. One guy went into the other lane to pass me and was honked at by an oncoming car.
I think next time I do this on a week day, I'll turn back onto Empire Mine, the closed road. The turn to it is a little dicey, since it's on a corner. I'll have to do a little more climbing if I return this way, but it beats breathing fumes.
So, I did 39 miles with about 1750 feet of climbing, half of that into a strong headwind. My knee still feels fine. Hopefully it won't be stiff in the morning.
V.
