West Alpine Do-Over

Back one rainy day in March, the Team training ride was a little jaunt up Old La Honda to Skyline, down to Pescadero via Stage Road and back up to Skyline by way of West Alpine. We then descended Page Mill in a memorable, freezing wet nine mile ordeal.

Four months later, I found myself doing a similar route; this time we climbed Kings Mountain Road - something I had done twelve years ago and remembered with dread. It turns out, training works. Kings Mountain Road was not the monster I remembered it to be. It is long, sure, but fairly gentle in grade, with only a few steep pitches. The road is mostly shaded and it stayed fairly cool as we climbed. 

Descending 84, Alpine Road hovered in my thoughts like a mosquito at 3AM. It's so long! and steep!

But then something happened. I looked at my computer. I saw the mileage we had done already: We'd done about 30 miles and 3000+ feet of climbing. When we get to Alpine, we'll be about mile 55 and 4000+ feet. I realized -- Alpine Road! Alpine Road! -- you can do this! You did Ebbetts with more climbing and miles in your legs than what you're going to do now on Alpine Road.

I got a silly grin on my face, tucked into the wind and started chewing up the last bit of pavement towards San Gregorio.