All in all, a very good year!

Well, despite my September thru November hiatus, this turned out to be a very good year. I did 25 metric centuries, 3 imperial centuries and two double metrics. Total for the year so far is about 5,300 miles (about 1000 miles more than I had originally aimed for) and climbing is about 225,000 feet.

And best of all, I'm feeling good again. I did two metrics in the past two weeks.

I DNF'd on a few rides this year - most notably, the Siskiyou metric, and Day 1 of Waves to Wine, both of which were in September when I was feeling like crud. Maybe I could have slogged them out, but first and foremost this has to be fun, and I reserve the right to bail when it isn't being fun anymore. :^)

So, what's the plan for next year ... ?

Calaveras

Today I rode to Sunol and over Calaveras for the first time since my Whupfest ride with Veronica at the end of August. Palomares earlier in the week, Calaveras today - it's so nice to be riding these roads again !

It was a lovely day, chilly enough to be comfy in a couple of layers of wool, and sunny.

I passed a large TnT group heading in the other direction, and chatted with a few of them regrouping at the false summit. They're training for the Solvang century in March. Nice bunch of people.

I headed home along Warm Springs and decided to take Paseo Padre instead of Mission Blvd. Gahh, I forgot how many stoplights there were on PP - I think I'll stick with Mission.

Nearing home on the AC Trail I realized I was up to about 52 miles. Hmmm, thought I, should I head out to the bay & back to tack on another 10 for a metric? But I promised myself I wouldn't ramp up too much too soon, so I left the metric for another day.

Excellent ride.

Yeah baby !

Woo-hoo, as of today I've ridden 5000 miles this year - 5008, to be exact. :^)

It seems I've finally gotten over that weird slump that hit me in early September. I'm gradually building up on my mileage & climbing, and I'm feeling really good. I'm not getting that fatigued feeling that I experienced so often in September. Still, I'm being careful not to overdo it.

In a fit of optimism (hopefully not self-delusion) I signed up for the SFR 200K brevet on Jan. 26. Eh, I have 13 & a half hours to complete it. Lee will be doing the late shift rider check-in so hopefully he won't be too pissed off if I roll in at 8:29 pm.