Today was the day for that local lighthearted annual celebration of cycling known as the Cinderella. The precious invitation had been secured in February. The car was ready to be loaded with the bicycle. The bicycle was ready for its princess and her gear, carefully chosen in shades of pink and laid out the night before.
The colors in that Five-Pass Finisher's jersey from the 2009 Death Ride look smashing with the pink feather boa that traditionally bedecks her bike helmet.
But alas, the princess was awakened at 4 a.m. No, her sleep was not disturbed by a pea hidden beneath the mattress - it was the shrieking, howling wind. A powerful storm front is approaching; was it arriving earlier than forecast?
I first rode the Cinderella route in 2005, and have returned every year. In 2006, a crosswind nearly knocked me into a ditch descending Cross Road. The skies opened up just as we prepared to leave the lunch stop; we sheltered briefly under a flatbed truck in the parking lot before ultimately finishing the ride. In 2007, the longer Challenge route was introduced, and I was able to move faster into the headwind on the Altamont Pass than as part of a semi-disorganized paceline. In 2008, it was so windy at the top of Patterson Pass that it was a challenge to mount the bike for the descent. Driven by a massive tailwind, I attained my still unsurpassed maximum speed of 50.7 miles per hour. I gave my ride companions a quick lesson in how to execute a rotating paceline and we sliced through the headwind on Altamont without wearing ourselves out. Last year, conditions were nearly perfect (less so, my condition).
By 4:30 a.m., I turned to the Internet. Weather Underground made it all too clear: sustained winds at 21 mph with gusts to 43 mph, at a weather station less than two miles from my house.
Been there, done that. There are so many lovely days to ride a bicycle, and today was not one of them. Today was a day for climbing back under the comforter and sleeping in.
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Hey, I remember that paceline from 2008 and don't recall a lot of rotation! The wind *was* ferocious, though. I was at a blustery outdoor wedding in Monterey today. Some events just can't be easily rescheduled. I'm signed up for the Primavera tomorrow. I won't cancel for wind, but if it's raining at 5:30 AM, I too will just go back to bed.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't go? OMG. I rode it. With a seriously bad equipment choice (read: deep-dish carbon wheels). I was almost as sketchy as some of the women riding, as I was getting tossed all around by the wind. It sucked. I made it to the last rest stop, but had ridden half of it (from lunch to rs3) in rain. Some sprinkles, then rain. I pulled the plug and waited for over an hour for the SAG car... Better safe, than sorry.
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