West Side of Old La Honda

Yesterday I rode with friends Matt and Wanli on a beautiful loop that started up Kings Mountain Road, continued down La Honda on to the west side of Old La Honda road, which we climbed back up to Skyline. As I rode to meet up with them in Woodside, I was getting nervous about climbing Kings Mountain, remembering how exhausted I was the last time I did it. However, once we started going up, I was struck by how much easier it was this time. It wasn't actually easy, but my heart rate was under control (under 170 most of the way up), and I completed it in 32 minutes, about 5 full minutes faster that a few weeks back. I think Page Mill was good preparation. Kings Mountain road is a steady challenging climb, but has only a few very steep parts, and is mostly in the shade. Page Mill has probably ten or more standing-up-while-in-the-granny-gear inducing stretches, and leaves you mostly out to roast under the sun. Anyways, I'm excited that Kings Mountain isn't so daunting any more, it's such a beautiful way to get up to Skyline.

The route.

Going up the west side of Old La Honda was awesome. It's a narrow winding road with barely any traffic that leads through redwood forests and opens up now and then to give views down towards the ocean (though some fog prevented me from seeing all the way). When we got back up to Skyline, I was still feeling good. However, by the time we descended Portola Road and got to Alpine, I was getting damn tired, and knew it was time to head home (still about 10 miles left at that point). Matt and Wanli hadn't had enough, so they split off and climbed Alpine to where it dead ends for fun, talk about maniacs! Anyways, by the time I was almost home, my odometer was at 49.5 miles, and I was determined to make it to 50, and circled the block.

The Stats:

Distance: 50.1 miles
Ride time: 3:26
Wall time: 4:15
Speed: 14.5 mph avg, 36.3 mph max
Heart Rate: 151 bpm avg, 185 max
Calories burned: 3044