Riding along Prefumo canyon
I’ve been riding up and down a popular road for almost a year now. It’s a nice climb where one can encounter most of the local cycling fauna. Long enough to be a proper outing, and not too steep. You take it as hard as you want and even enjoy conversation on the saddle.
April 30th, 2024
An old guy on Moots, brand new bhd kit, catches up to me on my mountain bike. I used to see a lot of Moots in Berkeley. The raw titanium and subtle branding deeply appeal to aesthetics. I was used to spot a few high-end and indie-brand bikes on the Bay Area roads. I was not expecting to see them in SLO. But no, there’s an even balance of old and new, fancy and cheap here. Especially on the climb. Mr Moots was as expected, super chill. I greeted him with a casual «nice ride, that titanium looks really clean». He asked me what trail I was going for today. To which I replied that I was new to the area and I was just going for a slow climb on the main road. I felt a classic cheap kid meets decked-out old guy moment. I don’t know how to chit-chat my way out of that. He told me he lives just down the road and the climb is like his personal gym. He recommended a few trails and out-cooled me in 3 sentences. He was off after finishing me with a hang loose gesture and genuine «welcome to SLO man, I’ll see you on the road». For a minute I just felt good about this simple interaction with a fellow rider. Then tried to remember the price of a brand new Moots, was it $6K? $10K? Does it matter? My "avocado money" threshold seemed pathetic at that moment. I’ve only recently been feeling financially secure enough to buy avocados without looking a the price. The idea of spending $10k on a bike seems absurd yet I can appreciate the object. For now, my next milestone is fancy honey. The one with the chunk of honeycomb in it. At least $20 per jar. I’m not quite there yet. Maybe once I pay off my mortgage.
June 3rd, 2024
Today I hesitated between staying on the main road and going up Prefumo Canyon. It happens often. The other option, staying on the main road, is a whole different effort. It's completely exposed, with much more traffic and a strong headwind as it goes all along the wind tunnel leading to the waterfront in Los Osos. Making it to the ocean is unrealistic for me, I don't have the time. It would be a 3h (lovely) ride. So turning into the canyon sometimes feels like acknowledging that I won't do this anytime soon. I'm bummed but that's the reality of life at the moment. A few miles in, I catch up to a lady with an obvious 40ish-years-under-the-sun kind of skin and I feel obligated to say hi. She is not wearing a cycling kit and riding a vintage yet well-maintained specialized rockhopper. I like to think of myself as a true recreational cyclist who enjoys being out rather than the sport aspect. Physique and attitude probably betray me. It definitely did today. She shouted back, expecting me to pass her like a rude roadie: "Escaping the house? It's nice out there today!" I felt exposed for a second. She followed up promptly: «I’m definitely escaping mine, teenagers are mean ». Empathy flooded me. So I went with a something honest: «damn, everyone tells me that it gets better, I have a 2 year old - it’s a different kind of pain right?». She smiled at my basic comment and came back: «it’s a different ride, different mileage, a lot of ups and down the canyon. The pain goes away, the struggle persists. It’s like the sun and the wind around here, there’s always one to tickle a bit too hard».
August 20th, 2024
It’s my first time up the canyon on the new bike. It’s a light and stiff machine. I clearly didn’t need this but the serendipity of Brad selling made it happen. I would never have bought this intentionally. The way up was super smooth. Perhaps carbon makes a difference. Or it’s just being on a racy road bike. Or maybe the few days of forced rest because of the sick baby. I thought it would be a lot more uncomfortable. The mild discomfort is offset by the speed grin. I promised to be back in under an hour and was calculating how far I could go. Turns out I can go almost all the way up on this machine. It’s also my first time with cleats and I feel dumb about shitting on them for years. They do make for a noticeably smoother pedaling dynamic. Sure I sound and look like a showhorse off the bike - worth the satisfying clipping in feel and sound. That said I almost fell on a busy street because I didn’t time my clip-out. The 32mph peak gave me some goosebumps but I was also pretty sloppy in the corners and lucky there was not much traffic. The 28mm randonneur tires don’t look slick but are more forgiving than the 23s, a judicious choice on my end. That reminded me of Scott’s remark:
I like steep technical trails, but I also have 3 kids.
I’ve then considered using the trainer that came with the bike. To scratch the itch, get that good sweat, do the sanity check, and chill out when I’m out on the road.
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