Rode the 3 bears alone today – 41 miles roundtrip from home in about 2:50, followed by a 13 minute run on the flats of my neighborhood.

The ride was tough – definitely a wakeup call for the season. Started out riding through berkeley and up spruce. The climb took longer than I expected, about 40 minutes from my house to what I think was the top. Heading out (clockwise) around San Pablo Res, I had a lot of headwind and it was very cold. Many bikers passed me going the other way, so maybe the wind swirls counter-clockwise in the winter? Need to try the other way next time. The three bears themselves weren’t bad – I think they were 3/4 of a mile to about 1.5 miles long each, but I was pretty wiped out by the end of them. Headwinds and hills were tough on the brain, but I didn’t stop and only slowed down when I lost concentration. I passed maybe 4 people on the loop, but by the time I started climbing Wildcat Canyon road, I was so wiped out that 7 people passed me – a few from a Diablo Cyclists group. Returning through berkeley, bumped into Amanda who told me she was trying to get chris to call me for a ride today.

Got home, was going to run around the park. During the transition I realized my three big toes on each foot were completely numb – not even any pins and needles. Headed out around the park but I didn’t feel my toes until 9 minutes in. Got similar leg cramps that I get in races – front interior quad, mostly on the left side. Ankles got just a little of that heavy, stiff pain I sometimes get when I don’t warm up enough. Felt somewhat fresher switching sports – I wasn’t too tight though my effective range of motion was not great.

Recovery with a Powerbar protein bar and gatorade – hip flexors and quads are tired. Tried to stretch a bit.