SAY GOODBYE to Winter Ride - aka do not climb Old La Honda with improper gearing

Today the sun came out - first time in what seems like 100 days of constant rain. Granted, I live in Northern California where the temps rarely dip below 40 and am not dealing with blizzards. HOWEVER, I still feel that I should have the right to complain about the weather occasionally, as this happens to be a human pastime.

To celebrate the end of winter, I rode to the coast with some friends, Matt and Christine. Aside from riding in Monterey, this is one of my all time favorite rides. When I first started riding I learned to suffer on these hills while trying to stay on Pataky's back wheel.

I always seem to forget how hilly this ride is. We climbed up Old La Honda and I made sure to remember the recent Slowtwitch.com debate about what is the acceptable RPM for which to climb this. I am happy to report that I have an acceptable RPM, despite my horrific gearing (clearly I don't know how to talk about bike gears correctly. I just know the important things...like I have a 23 on my training wheel and a 25 on my race wheels...and this does seem to make a difference when climbing.)

I decided to take some pics while riding with my newly acquired iPhone. Unfortunately, I am not terribly gifted in photography...especially while riding... so you'll just have to pretend the pics are about 50 times more beautiful than what you see.

GOOD BYE WINTER!!!! (Note: I will ignore the latest weather forecast indicating more storms for my hood this week.)



Notice the overcast sky - It was sunny on the other side of the hill. Note to self - bring sherpa to carry warm clothing when heading to the coast.



PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) ruined this shot with their freaking power lines.



Road that reminds me of cycling in New Zealand (sans the multitude of sheep.)



iPhone shot of the day - charlie waite should hire me.