Regular Wednesday after work ride today. The Diablo Cyclist club must be starting at 5 because we didn’t see any of them at 5:30 like we do later in the season. Just me, JB, and Nicole tonight so we noodled along for the first couple miles and socialized. My left knee was telling me that the tendonitis I felt in the century on Sunday was just under the surface and ready to come screaming back so I was happy to take it a little easy.
At the bottom of the Bump though, it was time for business. I pounded up in my 21t out of the saddle in my normal manner and felt strong but JB was right behind me; usually he lets me go here and catches me while I’m recovering… somewhere around the Upper Washout. He was staying with me but he was breathing really hard and I thought he was going to burn out but he never did and he still had enough left to pull in front of me after the crest. I didn’t think I could stay with him the rest of the way to the Junction but I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to make him hurt so I got right on his wheel until the Upper Washout and then motored past him keeping some good speed going as I approached the Ranches. But JB’s strongest feature is that he recovers quickly and can hold a higher effort for longer than me so he came around me for the last time with a couple miles to go and finished a little more than a minute ahead of me. One of the statistics I track is my time over the last three miles and I was less than 20 minutes today so that was good. My perfect ride would be: 18m at Upper Washout (3mtg), 24m at the speed limit sign (2mtg), 31m at Big Shady Oak (1mtg) and sub-38m at the Junction. Should be able to nail one later this spring… stay tuned!
Product Review: Shower’s Pass Jersey
I got this jersey for Christmas last December. My mom had my brother help her pick it out for me and he did a great job (he said he considered keeping it for himself when he saw how good it looked up close). Shower’s Pass is a small company specializing in rain gear for outdoorsy people and they’re located in Ukiah, about 100 miles north of Mt. Diablo. They make a lot of their own stuff but they contracted this jersey from Aussie Apparel. Aussie mostly does custom club clothing and they’re located in (of all places) Petaluma, CA, not too far from Ukiah. This jersey has interesting graphics, bold colors, good stitching, and a nice long zipper. The material feels good, I’m sure it’s some high tech sweat wicking aero stuff but what you notice is that it feels just right. It’s cut kind of loose so it’s really comfortable too, with plenty of room for your undershirt, bib straps, and heart rate transmitter belt without that “visible panty line” look you can get from those pro-fit jerseys. Shower’s Pass also advertises on the free e-newsletter I get from the dudes at RoadBikeRider.com so that’s a good thing too. You can buy one on the Shower's Pass website for $50. I give this jersey my highest rating : 10.
Please sponsor me in the Tour de Cure charity ride for diabetes on May 23.
