California Diaries Day 6: December 25th

As a child a white Christmas is something to dream about. As a bike rider it doesn’t even make the top one hundred on the wish list to Santa. I’ll let you into a little secret though, firmly seated on the podium would be a pair of winter gloves that actually do what they claim – keep your hands dry and warm. The search continues…

Heavy rain during breakfast kept dialogue to a minimum. Nothing needed to be said. Expressions alone were enough. A sigh and persistent wandering of the house to check windows from every conceivable angle led to the same conclusion. God damn it's wet out there. Like a winter ritual, slowly layer upon layer of windstopper and waterproof clothing was liberally applied knowing that no matter how much you put on it would still have a conceivably short shelf life when thrust head to head with the elements of the Portola Valley.

It was clear that attempting the century route planned would be nigh on suicidal. Great roads to die on yes, but since I’ve still yet to see my 30th birthday I’m not ready for that quite yet ta very much. Within just a couple of miles from Los Trancos water was already seeping into my overboots. It was only the thought of climbing Page Mill Road that kept the legs turning. I’m sure if we were more organised and made the effort to get a Grande Christmas cake in advance then we’d have both turned back and taken our frustration out on that for the day. As it was, everything was well and truly shut so it wasn’t even an option.

Halfway up Page Mill and I could have sworn I could hear Bing Crosby in his prime, chiming out “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” like only he can. To be honest it was actually pretty cool riding as fresh snowflakes fell from heaven. The climb is fantastic and on a gradient kind enough not to destroy two cold bodies. By the top things were looking much more favourable. Patches of blue sky and precipitive steam rising from the surface of the road immediately instilled a double hit of enthusiasm.

Picking our way down the descent of Alpine Road, to avoid becoming too familiar with tractionless pine needles and tree litter obstructing the way from strong winds the previous night, kept body temperatures just about the right side of acceptable as we made our way to climb La Honda Road. The wonderful thing is that Portola Valley is made up of an ethereal selection of short to mid distance climbs, that top out at approximately 700m elevation, as you join the ridge of Skyline Road (the spine running from Half Moon Bay to Saratoga Gap). Our freefall descent of choice on this occasion was the flowing road of Kings Mountain to get back to the valley.

At this point it would have been quiet acceptable to end the day with a wholesome ride in the legs but since the real present that Christmas day inadvertently offers only happens but once a year (i.e. no traffic) I couldn’t help but feel that I wanted to ride a little longer to make the most of this gift. Up La Honda Road from the east and back onto 'the spine' gave a series of tranquil views before turning my attention back to Bing Crosby’s road where it all began just hours earlier, and the exhilarating descent of Page Mill Road. Oh, what a joy.

Ride stats: 2,470m elevation/65miles

For Day 6 GPS info click here

So now with the riding done it's time to settle down to 'The Road to Roubaix' DVD, the final Christmas day treat. Thank you Prendas Ciclismo! It surely doesn't get any better than this!