My Day on Mines Road

Funny, I thought I'd start out with, "I never thought I'd be biking Mines Road in June" but apparently I've already used that line a few years ago in another blog post .... well, here I am, without Miss P who is doing a bike tour elsewhere in the Bay Area and also, without The BF who is on a business trip in Europe.  I'm with 5 other club members though we quickly separated and I was on my own almost the entire time.

The mild temperatures and the winter rains brought us patches of wildflowers still to be seen in June.  As we started our ride, the wind was already a factor. It brought a chill and we needed arm warmers, and of course, I needed more -- leg warmers, wool socks and a jacket for descents.  I am a weenie. 

I wasn't surprised by the number of motorcyclists and sporty cars on the road but I was surprised by the number of cyclists, easily 25.  I looked for scenes to photograph that I hadn't taken before.  And I struggled to stay motivated, being by myself.  No firemen or others of the male persuasion to entertain me....

I am out of shape from being sick for 3 weeks but I was keen on tackling this climb, and I did, even though my stats are not as great as I would have liked.  The wind was certainly a factor.  It frightened me at times. I did appreciate parking on Mines Road vs our usual starting location several miles further.  I am on the mend for sure, and that's a good thing.

Just the Stats:

48.43 miles
9.6 avg mph (gotta work on this)
30 mph on descent
4 hr. 59 min (sigh, several years ago, I did 58 miles in 5 hrs)