Ken Caryl & Deer Creek

What to do? That was the question after I had finished my morning activities. It was about 2pm, 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and mostly sunny. My Finna Bike friends were going on a group ride around Paradise from SF and as I couldn’t partake as I’m not in the same state (currently), decided to go on my own Paradise ride.

I wiggled into my bibs and XS skin-tight jersey and sprayed sunscreen all over my body, followed by slathering some more over my face and neck. Sunburns hurt. Tires pumped up to 80 PSI, Wahoo attached at 75% charge, rear bike light attached, two water bottles filled and I was ready to set out.

Blackout curtains really are a wonder. I woke up initially at 10:30am, decided that I hadn’t sufficiently filled my sleep bank and went back to sleep, waking up again at noon. All while making my body think it was 6am due to the pitch blackness of my bedroom.

To cross-country ski? That was the question that first popped into my head. The temperature up at Devil’s Thumb Ranch was slightly warmer than ideal, so I decided to scrap the plan. After all, I’d already put away all the gear. So, I decided to chill for a bit and then decide what to do. The run yesterday had exhausted my knees and they were quite sore even when walking about. Morning poop first - while watching Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton for his first GP of the year, the first of many hopefully. Breakfast was a can of ahi tuna (that’s right - the good stuff, not albacore) with a Costco double-chocolate muffin. 1:45pm. Sunscreen. Pump tires. Put on heart rate monitor. Attach Wahoo. Helmet. Long-fingered gloves. Sunglasses. A sundry of snacks, including a fig bar, a Clif bar, a fruit roll, and a Cheerio bar. Cycling shoes. And it was go time. 2:11pm.

As I cycled past Green Mountain, I needed to decide what to do. I had a few options - either Lookout followed by maybe Grapevine or I could go South to Ken Caryl and Deer Creek. I did Lookout a few weeks ago and decided to do Deer Creek. This was going to be a credit card ride. With a ton of debt.

I got wet instantly from the free flowing water all over the bike paths. Oh well. Hopefully these bibs hold up and don’t result in a soggy, chafed bottom. About an hour in, I stopped at South Valley park and inhaled the fig bar. Then it was time for Deer Creek. I saw two other highlighters on the climb, one of which tried to pass me. I just kept going at my intended pace and dropped them both within a mile or two. I had done this climb once before with Steven and was inordinately exhausted last time. Turns out that I was even more exhausted this time. It was a struggle even at 7% grades. What is happening to me? :(

Throughout this time, the temperature was steadily dropping, reaching about 38 degrees at the top after about 8 miles of climbing. Another snack, the Clif bar, inhaled. The descent actually sucks. It’s punctuated by really steep climbs. I guess I could pretend I’m racing at Amstel Gold today?

My fingers were frozen by the time I reached the bottom. Another quick snack, the fruit roll this time. And it was time to go home. I was about 40 miles in by this time and was getting a little tired. And it was around 5:50pm and I was running out of sunlight. Once I made it about another 10 miles, I decided to take a long cut around the big dam in Bear Creek. That was a mistake. My knees were getting cold and I have a hypothesis that plica syndrome is associated with coldness of the knees in combination with a low cadence. Both knees started hurting medially at the same time during the climb back up the dam. Uh oh.

The last 10 miles or so were quite miserable. I ate my last snack, the Cheerio bar at the entrance of Bear Creek and was on the boundary between bonking and not bonking. Heart rate couldn’t go up. Couldn’t hit 80 rpm. Somehow, I worked my way back up to Green Mountain and then up across the shoulder of the mountain, more or less soft-pedaling the whole time. Or at least as much soft-pedaling one can up a mountain. Home had never looked so good. Home had warmth and food and a hot shower. Should be able to get a good night of sleep today.