This weekend was a perfect storm of work, family, and other commitments that worked together to force me into an unintentional “rest” weekend. I had planned to do a shorter ride on Saturday, so that I could be home in time to take my family out to a nice dinner to celebrate my son’s acceptance into the college ranked highest on his list. On Sunday, I had to finish preparing my income tax filings, as well draft some papers that were due for filing on Monday. Of course, there was also the Easter holiday to celebrate.
As a result, I put in less than 100 km in the saddle this weekend, and I feel like a total slacker. On the other hand, maybe it was a good time to take some time off, get things done, get a little rest, and de-stress.
Saturday Camp 9 x 2 (i.e., “Camp 18”)
Saturday morning came earlier than I had hoped. Due to working late Friday and feeling stressed out about a number of things in life, I did not sleep well. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to get up early and ride. At the same time, I had plans to go out for an early dinner to celebrate my son’s achievement. We went to Fia Steak in Santa Monica, and the food was absolutely fantastic!
I decided to head out to Camp 9 and do as many repeats as I had time to do. When I got to the top after the second climb, I got to talking with an old timer who was telling me some interesting tales about the Alta Alpina 9-Pass Challenge and the Death Ride. It was an interesting conversation that ran a bit longer than I expected. When I got back to the bottom of the descent, I looked at my watch and decided to ride home and get ready for dinner. I was too late to put in a third effort.
I ended up riding just 92 km. Here’s the activity on Strava:
Sunday: Work, Work, Work!
Heading out to dinner on Sunday night, I imagined that I would be able to finish up the income tax filing and complete the other work that I needed to get done before going to bed. However, that proved to be too optimistic. When we got home, I was dead tired, and just wanted to relax.
So, when Sunday morning came, I woke up to the reality: No cycling today! Nada! My dreams of riding 200 km on Sunday were smashed.
Towards the end of the day, after all my work was done, I flirted with the idea of a long endurance ride on Zwift. But ultimately I decided against it. I needed some rest.
Maybe It Was a Good Time for a Break?
Needless to day, I did not meet my time, distance, or elevation goals for the week, but maybe it was a good time for a break. The Mt. Laguna Classic is coming up next weekend, on April 23, 2022, and I will be staying down in the Pine Valley area all weekend. I may try to do some hill repeats down there on Sunday before heading back home to Santa Clarita.