Targets

Tom Kunich

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Dec 12, 2022, 12:16:00 PM12/12/22

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Tomorrow looks to be clear if cold so I should then exceed both of my targets. My distance will be about 400 miles less than last year but my climbing will be 10,000 feet more than last year.

Better than a jab in the eye with a sharp stick.

Tom Kunich

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Dec 12, 2022, 12:19:20 PM12/12/22

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On Monday, December 12, 2022 at 9:16:00 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
> Tomorrow looks to be clear if cold so I should then exceed both of my targets. My distance will be about 400 miles less than last year but my climbing will be 10,000 feet more than last year.
>
> Better than a jab in the eye with a sharp stick.

If conditions are good enough to the end of the year I could envision hitting the same distance as last year. But last year was not a rain year and this one is.

Tom Kunich

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Dec 14, 2022, 11:21:23 AM12/14/22

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Yesterday, I got to the top of the first major climb and the man I rode with had arthritis so bad that he had to turn back. So I completed the ride and then rode the additional (and most difficult) 7 miles and 700 feet of climbing back home. So I have now exceeded my 2022 targets and could possibly match my 2021 targets but probably not since last year was dry while this is a cold and rainy year.

I was worried about possible ice on the roads but the puddles showed no icing so I rode only a little more carefully than normal. Then on the final climb into Moraga the entire road was covered in frost. The asphalt was coarse enough not to effect traction and topping the climb, the other side of the hill had been exposed to the rising sun enough not only to be melted but dry. The remainder of the ride into Moraga was without problem and the ride back was in 10 degree warmer temperatures. It became clear that on future rides until spring that I will have to wear my ski gloves. My left hand became numb and I couldn't shift the front derailleur. I had just enough feeling in my left hand to use the rear derailleur.

On the return trip we have Proctor hill which is a killer of 12% for a half mile then after a descent and a turn onto Chabot road the start of Fairmont hill which is also a 2% climb that goes for about a mile. From there is a descent and a straight shot back to the street I live on then two blocks and I was home. I was not exceptionally tired but I would not have wanted to do the reverse trip yet since it adds about an additional 1,000 feet of climbing. I was doing this at the beginning of the year but I lost that shape in the lockdown. But it is plainly returning. Though January until April will be the real rainy season.

Tom Kunich

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Dec 16, 2022, 12:02:17 PM12/16/22

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On Thursday I rode the 41 miles out and back to Pleasanton the extra 2 miles was looking for a mortuary since I have to attend a service there today. So getting home I had an additional 2340 feet of climbing and 41 miles.

I used my ski gloves and they were pretty good but they are large enough that they cause some problems shifting. One thing I have to discover is why I get numbness in my hands while climbing. I suspect that it is from gripping the bars too tightly. I tried tiding on the tops but that didn't seem to help much. And yet riding downhill or on the flats I don't have this problem. Tuesday I spilled coffee all over the front of one of my thermal jerseys when the carboard cup insulator broke and the cup somewhat collapse before I could set it down. I forgot to throw that in the wash and wore it again yesterday and in the middle of having coffee looked down and saw that. So I was careful to remember that Thursday and throw it in the wash basket. I have several of those and a very nice bright yellow on that turned out not to be very thermal. I guess the Chinese are cutting back on everything.

More and more of the people I used to ride with are either stopping their riding of dying. So I have been riding alone a great deal in the last three years.

The rain predictions for the coming week disappeared so I think that I will concentrate on miles and forget about adding additional climbing. There are several long rides that I haven't done in a long time that need to be done. Crossing the Dumbarton Bridge and going north from Palo Alto to San Francisco is one of them. I could do the Paradise Dr. loop in honor of Will who died from his covid shot. I could do the Mission San Jose coffee shop ride. Or I could get Phil to lead us on the round south bay ride again. Since it is mostly dirt a dirt ride that would give me a chance to test the Moser with its new 25 mm tires. There is a really long ride down to Milpitas and back along the Calaveras road. This is a million feet of climbing but mostly from the huge amount of rollers This would make a century but I'm not sure I want to do a ride that long in this cold. There have been dozens of 20's temperatures this morning and it isn't getting very warm during the day. The highest temperature I recorded yesterday was 62 and that was stopped with the Garmin in direct sunlight for 30 minutes.

Jeff Liebermann

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Dec 16, 2022, 3:08:29 PM12/16/22

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On Fri, 16 Dec 2022 09:02:15 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich
<cycl...@gmail.com> wrote:

>The rain predictions for the coming week disappeared...

NWS is showing for Tuesday (Dec 20):
"A slight chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 58."
<https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=37.7283&lon=-122.1586#.Y5zPaRXMJaQ>

--
Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558