Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Slow days

Hi all,
The last two days have been kinda slow since I didn't do any bike riding. Yesterday I ran on the treadmill and then did some sewing, in addition to doing my usual which is taking Maggie for a walk and a run to Walmart. I am making curtains for the spare bedroom. The material has pink flowers and green plants. The room is painted a rose color. Today I ran outside after I walked Maggie. I am very slow. I ran a pace of 12min/mile. I need to get faster. Later I went to the new shopping Center The Fountains to see what was new. I was able to hold myself off from buying espresso gelato at Whole Foods but I did pick a Wolfgang Puck frozen appetizer box of mu shu pork spring rolls. They look good. Maybe we will have those Friday as a happy hour snack. Tomorrow some Bella Fiore girls are riding down and up out of the canyon so Andy and I will join them. Thursday is a Bella Fiore meeting at 6:30. I will bring chocalate chip cookies and honey dew melon. I figure something good and something bad. Andy and I will probably ride our usual ride up Twelve Bridges. And Friday I plan on riding with Bella fiore girls on the bike trail. So that is my plan this week. Don't know what is up for the weekend yet. Hope things are going well with you.
Clyde

Monday, May 18, 2009

It's hot out there!

Hi all,
It is hot! Andy and I rode in the Sunrise Century this past Saturday. Andy rode in the 1oo mile route and I rode in the 100K (63 mile) route. It was a hot day but there were no problems between the two of us. We think there were a lot less people riding this year because the parking lot was hardly full and there weren't many people on the rode. When I rode the stretch of Clements Road which is abou 11 miles, I didn't see anyone ahead of me and no one passed me. I definitely felt like I was riding alone. However after the Linden High School rest stop there were two guys who said "let's follow her she seems to know what she'd doing". I thought Hah! Little do they know how I can miss a turn! So from that point on to the end there were a few ahead of me and a few behind me. Andy thought the same thing that there weren't many people on his route. He said he was largely alone around Comanche area. The food was good at the end. They had huge pieces of chicken and generous slices of tri tip. After we ate we headed home stopping off for a hot mocha (Andy) and a coffee light frappucino for me.

Yesterday we rode with the Bella Fiore girls from Auburn (at the Bicycle Emporium bike shop) to Colfax. Andy and I had never been on this route. It ended up being 33 miles and 2600-2700 feet of climbing. It was a nice ride. There was no route map and we ended up missing a turn but I like the route we ended up on. It was well-shaded and pretty. The hills are mostly rollers with one hill which was pretty tough. It was almost anti-climactic when we got to the turn around point. I had no idea we were in Colfax when we did the turnaround. We rode back through the town of Meadow Vista which was a cute rest stop. On the way back it was mostly downhill(Weee!!) with an occasional hill to climb. Overall it was a nice ride. At the end we turned from Auburn Ravine Road onto Palm and Palm is short steep up at that point. I was not in the right gear and had to climb and do a slow grind to get over the little hill. We packed our stuff up at the end and then headed to Safeway to get a bagel for lunch. Lunch was an egg (you need that protein) and a bagel. After showering and lunch we went to Big 5 and bought Andy a new sleeping bag on sale (for Sierra to the Sea) and a new pair of swim trunks. After we came back I did two loads of laundry and we relaxed and ate dinner in.
So that was our weekend. Hope you had a good weekend also.
Clyde

Friday, May 15, 2009

A day in Yosemite

Hi all,
My sister Noreen asked me about my blog ysterday and I had to tell her I hadn't posted in a really long time. I hadn't realized how long ago I had posted until I logged back in. Yesterday, I went with my sister Noreen and her friend Julie to Yosemite. It was spectacular up there. There were hardly any people and the weather was beautiful. Not too hot and not too cold. I believe it was in the 70's. We went to Yosemite Valley and walked around. Andy and I bought a new camera so this was my first time using it. It is great in that you can look at the screen even when it is really sunny and see what you want to take a picture of, unlike our old camera. So, Andy and I will have to upload the pictures this weekend and maybe I can post some pictures to this blog. I think I have about 20 shots of Yosemite Falls alone. Both the falls and the Merced River were full with water so it was fascinating watching those and listening to the water move. We also saw a helicopter rescue someone off the mountain. That was exciting to watch.

We have some bicycling on the agenda this weekend. Andy and I are going to ride in the Lodi Sunrise Century. Andy will ride the 100 mile route while I do the 63 mile route. It is supposed to be really hot so we will have to drink a lot of water. Luckily there are aid stations along the way so you can refill your water bottles. It will be a relatively flat ride for me but Andy will have some hills to do aroung the Lake Comanche, Pardee Dam area. He and I have done this before. Last time I only did the 30 mile route because I was so out of shape. There is a ride on Sunday with the Bella Fiore group that leaves from the Bicycle Emporium Shop and goes to Colfax. It is supposed to be 40 miles and 3000 ft of climbing. I may do it depending on how I feel after the Sunrise Century Ride. Otherwise there is a regular Bella Fiore Ride from the Flower Farm which will be one of the usual routes. On Monday I will ride at 7:30 with Susan from the Flower Farm. I don't know what the route will be.

Hopefully I will remember to post more often. School is out now so no more piano and swimming until the fall. However I think I will try to swim in the CFF pool in Rocklin. I don't know what they keep the temperature at. Since I need to do more cycling to prepare for Sierra to the Sea ( abbreviated from now on as STTS) I will be posting the rides that I do.

Well that's it for now. Have a good day.
Clyde