A fresh year begins. In 2024 I rode my bicycle farther than I drove my car and rode my motorcycle combined. The motorcycle got sold and not replaced so this new year I should easily be able to bicycle farther than I drive again.
I started the new year with a gran fondo on New Years day. It was a bit chilly so I cut my usual route short at Dana Point by skipping the harbor loop.
It was damp enough with the fog and low clouds that everything was damp at home. Quite cold for me along the ocean. I skipped my vest, guessing the weather would clear up inland, which it did slightly. The buff on my neck felt great. I need to find a top layer that works as well as the old wool sweaters with wind blocking fronts did back in the day.
Ended the week with a nice ride of just over three hours. Got home to find the clicking I was feeling was one pedal eating itself. A couple of hundred dollars and a trip to the local bike shop later all is right again. I just got to the nearby coffee shop for a coffee two minutes before they closed.
That ends the week with 520 kilometers and 3,988 meters of climbing. I probably can’t pull off that much distance too often in a week, but I’m going to keep trying. Legs fell much better after a short self massage the other day and two easier days spinning. Our weather is supposed to be trending a little warmer for the next week, so maybe I can sneak a couple of good hard rides in.
I rode a gran fondo to start off the first full week of January. I had a flat tire just about the exact halfway point.
My first repair attempt was thwarted by my having forgot the failed tube I’d rolled up tightly to stow in the seatbag when I flatted that tube away from nearby trash containers. That tubes time in the seabag did not effect a repair, so I got to suffer the indignity of a second stop a few thousand meters later for a proper repair. I managed that repair on the original TPU tube with a Specialized quick patch that is probably as old as the bicycle. Or older. The patch on the tube worked wonderfully. Simple and quick. I also got to use my new Lezyne Road Drive hand pump. Quite a nice bit of kit. Since I was riding by a Rock n’ Road I dropped in to check the rear pressure, I was close, down about 6psi.
I stopped at a park I’ve only used as a start point with the group rides. It worked out to be a good place on my 100km route.
So, the beginning of the first full week of the month, I ordered a new bicycle. Then to deal with the above pictured cut tire, I swapped it out for the used 25mm Continental GP 5000. Yes, I’ll post about the new bicycle in good time. At this point a deposit has been made and a delivery date is as yet undefined. I’m hoping the rapidly tiring Roubaix holds up until the new ride arrives. Today I took a rest day after logging 300 kilometers in three days. For rest I swapped those tires around and made some measurements. The Pirelli P Zero Race in 28mm measures 1.085 inches, (27.56mm) across the outside when inflated to my preferred riding pressure. The Continental GP 5000 in 25mm measured .972 inches, (25.02mm). Tomorrow is Friday so my last day to ride this week. The weekend is dedicated to other tasks.
The last ride of the second week was cold. 11°C at the coldest, plus a cold wind that wandered from at my back to in my face. Clouds blowing across the sun made it dark and even colder.
I ended the week with 409km. I feel pretty good. Just cold. Next week begins the concrete work here and not sure how that will disrupt things. I have prep work to complete over the weekend and some family activities that will keep me off the bike. I plan on riding Monday though. Hoping for an earlier start so I can get a bigger day in. My kit for the last ride was my usual summer kit plus a base layer, leg and arm wamers, neck warmer and vest. Not quite enough with the cold wind. I may add a winter jersey over this. Monday. We’ll see how I feel and what the weather is like.
My last week totals and the local Strava club.
I did figure out a longer route less than a hundred miles, but more than 128 km. Fun stuff.
First ride of the week 5:41, 66% in zone 2. Hard day with the detours adding climbs. The last detour climb being the steepest. I almost didn’t get my foot back in from the stop light on that hill. A chilly start to a very warm middle to a chilly end. Away from the house almost 7 hours. Slowly inching closer to a full 100 mile century. This was 139.6km with 1,043m total elevation. That last climb had a kicker in there of almost 13%.
Second ride was my previous 100km loop but, with the new climbing loop instead of going past the bike shop on Santa Margarita Parkway. 114km, 4:55 and 65% in zone 2. I did max my heart rate on the steep detour climb. That climb made my arms tingle thanks to the effort in the red zone for around two minutes. There are spots on that short little climb that exceed 14%. Ouch! That’s twice in two days I’ve ridden that. The detour isn’t going away anytime soon, so I guess this is climb will feature a bit.
Last ride of the week was Friday and warm with some wind. I did a cafe ride for a change. I did make some effort on the long climb up from Cow Camp to Oso. Caught a younger rider who was a long way off and went by. It was also a new cycling jersey day. The “I heart LA” jersey from Voler Cycling.
High Tide Coffee hit the spot.
My totals for the short week are, 330km, 2,702m and 13:47. That all included my longest ride of the year. I’m good with missing my 400km weekly soft goal. I’m re-thinking these distance goals in terms of overall fitness with a nod to pursuing surfing. I need to add in days of upper body lifting and conditioning and get those awful crunches added back into the routine.
The concrete work is impacting my cycling in that we have to get stuff out of the way and keep moving garden furniture, pots lights and all that stuff we accumulate in our gardens and around the outside of the house. The garage is trashed. Bits of concrete, dust, contractor tools and our own re-stacked mess. The weekend is supposed to get wet with rain so we have to take down a bunch of patio lights that we’ve set up long ago over the driveways and front patios. That will be our Saturday task.
Now, piles of concrete debris either side of the building with our entrance sidewalks removed at the front of the building.
Next week the driveway is set for demolition which should include removal of all this debris. Then we get a week or so of wait for concrete, during which forming and prep will happen. Once the concrete is finished it is another week of waiting for enough cure to drive on. Even with the construction focus my week’s riding was good. I’m a tiny bit lighter, but feeling the fitness increase. I can push hard and go deep into my red zone, then spin to recover and go again. I’ve no word yet on delivery of the new bicycle, but it has been only a week and a bit. I may be getting a little more excited about a new bicycle. OK, no maybe to it. I am excited and impatient, but there is nothing to do but wait and daydream.
The month ends with a bang and a whimper.
The bang? New Bike Day arrived.
A short test ride, thanks to forgetting my repair spares kit and not feeling up to riding much with what has turned out to be a cold beginning. Quite a ride. Quite a bike. 2025 Pinarello F7 wearing Shimano Ultegra Di2, in Fastest Red color. Of course.
Once home, I began all the stuff one needs to do. Registered the bike with Pinarello, registered the groupo with Shimano, charged the derailleur battery, linked the Di2 to the Wahoo Element Bolt, set up the workout page on the Bolt.
The tickle in my throat became a searing scratch late in the night. The next day, of course I could barely croak out words so no riding. More research on bell placement, ordered a new front light form Lyzene to mount at the GoPro mount on the MOST Wahoo mount. Clean cockpit. I figured I can use my current set of spare tubes that are only 40mm stems, but will work as spare repair. In the future I can order some 60mm TPU tubes for the new smaller saddlebag. I set the saddle height closer to the Roubaix. But more extended test riding has been curtailed thanks to this developing cold of mine. I hope to be feeling good to ride come Sunday. Next month will include my impressions of the new bike. From the first ride, the bike feels wonderful. It is solid and responsive, but doesn’t feel harsh, though I did not ride any ragged pavement to know how much. More toe-clip overlap as expected with a race geometry over the touring/endurance geometry of the Roubaix. Shifting with electric buttons will take a bit to get used to where and how the shift pads feel.
January has been a good solid start for me. Once this cold is gone, I can ramp back up to that level. I feel I am definitely on track to easily be capable of a solo century this Spring.
Totals for the month:
Distance: 1,351 km
Climbing: 10,633 m
Time: 57 hours
Along The Way 