Hi everyone,
I am going to try and write regularly in my blog from now on. The latest thing in my life is the fact that I have an injury that I have been dealing with. I was helpng Andy put camping gear up in the attic. I bent down to pick up a tarp and I didn't bend my knees. I heard a pop in my butt. Thereafter my butt has hurt. It has been about 1 1/2 weeks since I injured myself. I went to an orthopedist today. It didn't take him long to diagnose my injury. He says I have a high hamstring pull. I guess the big problem with these injuries is that the healing process causes the formation of scar tissue. The scar tissue then causes the muscle to tighten. A tightened muscle allows you to reinjure the muscle more easily. So, he is suggesting some physical therapy to help reduce the scarring and help with the healing process. He said it would take 4-6 weeks to heal and by 6 weeks I should be able to try some activity. So I will be doing a lot of sitting around and the way I have been eating....getting fat. It is a shame because I came off the bike tour in such great shape and now I am becoming jello again.
The other activity that keeps me busy is transporting Sam (Andy's Dad) to the doctor and to his other various appointments. His last appt. was with the radiation oncologist. The news was good. She no longer can feel his rectal tumor. It looked like the treatment worked. He also no longer feels pain and has no rectal bleeding. So things look good there. He will have his third chemo treatment this week. He gets 5-FU weekly. There have been some side effects. After the first treatment he had some diarrhea. Yesterday and today he is complaining of blurry vision and sensitivity to light. The paperwork said sensitivity to light is a side effect of the chemo but there is no mention of the blurry vision. We are hoping it will go away. His third chemo treatment is tommorrow. If he seems well enough we will have him over to the house this Sunday for dinner.
Andy has been getting in some great activity on the weekend. Last Saturday he went open water swimming in Folsom Lake with some of his Masters group swimmers. After that he ran for 1.5 hours on the trail from Granite Bay towards Auburn and back. On Sunday he drove to the base of Indian Hill and then rode to Grass Valley via Dog Bar Road and Rattlesnake. It was 75 miles and 7000ft of climbing. He thinks it would be a good ride for me after I am back in shape after my injury heals.
Nothing else new. I am doing no activity except walking the dog so I have been doing a lot of computer based reading.....athlete blogs and bike touring blogs (crazy guy on a bike journals) and other reading. I am also very up to date on popular culture.
Cheers, lisa
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sierra to the Sea 2010
Saturday June 19, 2010
We are back again at the Holiday Inn on First St. in San Jose for the start of Sierra to the Sea. We got up at 5:40am and took showers. We walked to Starbucks (1 blk away) and got a grande latte and a mocha. We also picked up a blueberry scone and petite vanilla scone. We went back to our rooms and ate our breakfast. We then brought our bags (2 XXXL duffel and 1 XXL duffel, 40 lbs each) and bikes over to the trucks for loading. This year we did not box our bikes. Yeah! They wrapped the bikes in blankets to protect them. This way we don't have to put our bikes together before the ride and at the end of the ride. Double yeah! It was suggested that it would be cold in Bear Valley (there was snow on the ground and you would have to camp on asphalt) so we opted to get a room at the Lodge in Bear Valley. After we arrived, I grabbed a cart and Andy and I schlepped our heavy bags from the bus to the Lodge in Bear Valley. Some people looked at us in envy with the cart and were offering $100 for it. We checked in. Boy the walls are thin. We had loud Phil and roommate next door. You gotta wonder when it is standard to provide earplugs for all the rooms. We put some bike clothes on and took our bikes for a spin to check them out to make sure everything was working OK after being transported in the truck. Everything seemed fine. Andy went out on the main road (Highway 4) and headed in the opposite direction from where we would be headed tomorrow (towards Markeleville). He just did and out and back of 10 miles and did 1000 ft of climbing in that short bit! We went to the party by the pool and nibbled on snacks. The bar opened at 4pm so we then went and got drinks. Dinner was at 6pm. We met some older men from Southern California. Andy rated the dinner a "B" and the dessert brownies were good. We are now back in our rooms and reading and journaling.
Sunday June 20, 2010 Bear Valley to Jackson
We got up at 6:00am and had our gear on by 6:30. When we went down to breakfast there already was a line of about 2/3 the total riders on the tour! Everyone was leaving early. We were in line next to a fella that had camped outside. He was making out like it was a polar ice cap out there. Breakfast was good. I had eggs, fruit and a big cinnamon roll. I split a second one with Andy. So, I was well-fueled to start. We went outside to check the temperature. It wasn't that bad. I should have gone by what I felt and not have dressed so warmly. I guess I got scared by that guy from the breakfast line. I overdressed. At Vista Point (~7 miles) I stopped to take some pictures but mainly wanted to take off my arm warmers. So the ride wasn't as nuclear cold as I thought it would be. At the first rest stop (30 miles) everything came off: the double gloves, the beefy knee warmers (I had a light pair and a warm pair on at the same time), the arms to my vest jacket and then put on the arm warmers. I put back on my lighter knee warmers and my vest. So, next was a hill...not too bad of one. Then we had a horrendous decent on an awfully paved road (nicknamed Sheep Shit Road instead of Sheep Ranch Road). My hands grew tired from braking. Then we had a steep climb on Sheep Shit Road where I used my granny gear. There was a nice decent and and then there was a long, long climb out of Sheep Ranch. Luckily, I had forgotten about this climb. We then had Rest Stop #2 which had a pool. Last year a lot of people got in the pool in their shorts and jerseys but this year the pool water was green and uninviting. We sat there about 20 minutes. Long enough for me to take my underlayer off and wrap it around my waist. Since I used my sag bag for my other clothes at Rest Stop #1 I had to use my own pockets and waist to store my discarded clothes. I ate some watermelon and we were off again. The next 25 miles was OK...no major climbs. Rest Stop #3 was in Mokelume Hill. I had felt hungry before we stopped so I ate some Sport Beans from my own stash and some banana and watermelon. We pushed off and did the final hill between Mokelume Hill and Jackson, 3.5 miles. We arrived at camp and set up our tent. Andy went swimming in the great pool at St. Sava Mission. Nice shower-nice hot water. I went back to the tent and tried to organize my stuff. By that time the bar opened and I bought beers for Andy and I. Then we migrated towards the picnic tables and chatted with people. I introduced myself to who I think is the youngest rider, Max, who is 9. He is riding on a tandem with his father. But he is a little stud because he rode on his own bike from San Jose to Bear Valley! We met up with Fritzi and Brian, who we met on the tour last year. They are from Santa Cruz. Brian rides fast and always gets into camp early and has put the tent up in the best camping spot and has the beer chilled for Fritzi. It was nice catching up with them. We were comparing elderly parents. Tonights dinner is pork loin roast with rice pilaf and a fancy mediterranean pasta dish. Andy is pleased with dinner.
Our statistics from today:
Lisa mileage=73.23miles Andy mileage=74.2miles
Lisa climbing=4998ft Andy climbing=5295ft
Lisa ride time=4:53:59 Andy ride time=4:25
Lisa av. speed=14.9 Andy av. speed=16.7
Max speed=34.00 Andy max speed=38.8
Monday June 21, 2010 Jackson to Ryde Hotel in the Delta
Did not sleep well last night. I must have awoken 10-12 times during the night, From now on I am taking an Ambien CR at bedtime. Andy was cold last night but slept well. We got our bike clothes on and then took down the tent. We ate breakfast. I ate well. They had my favorite, oatmeal with brown sugar. I also had some toast with jam and some eggs. I think we left around 7:30am. Todays ride was less hilly but I could definitely feel yesterdays ride in my legs. They were hurting in the beginning but that went away. Rest Stop#1 was at Lake Comanche. They had frosted animal cookies there, so that was a new treat I haven't eaten in years, maybe decades. Rest Stop #2 was at Woodbridge Winery. I bought a bottle of wine for the wine and cheese party we'll have in Duncan Mills. We went the cheap route this year. Instead of the $17 bottle of wine we purchased last year we paid $8 for the Woodbridge wine. The wind was a little up from what I wanted. I rode behind Miguel for awhile, then Andy pulled and he went much faster so I was dropped in less than 5 minutes. After riding alone awhile, Andy waited for me at a turn. We stopped at Locke, the old preserved Chinese town in the Delta to check it out. We then stopped at a market for some tea. For some reason coldsweet tea tastes very good in the heat of a bike ride. We had less than 3 miles to ride to the Ryde Hotel. We set up our tent on the bumpy grass and then took showers. We are now sitting in the patio area (emphasis SHADE) of the hotel after getting drinks from the bar. We are chatting with the folks from Santa Cruz, Fritzi, Brian and their friend Frank and another fella we met , Alan, from Los Altos. Dinner and breakfast were not impressive...just like last year. So, we look forward to Lake Solano, which is always impressive becuase it is catered by the Buckhorn in Winters. Barbeque ribs and chicken and a waffle bar plus oatmeal for breakfast!.
Our statistics today:
Lisa mileage=76.98miles Andy mileage=81.4miles
Lisa climbing=1880ft Andy climbing=2358ft
Lisa ride time=5:11:23 Andy ride time=4:58
Lis av. speed=14.8 Andy av. speed=16.4
Lisa max speed=32.50 Andy max speed=36.5
Tuesday June 22, 2010 Ryde Hotel to Lake Solano
I had a good nights sleep last night thanks to AmbienCR. We got dressed in bike clothes, took the tent down and then went to breakfast. Breakfast was disappointing. They had fruit, a crustless quiche with vegetables, yogurt and weird muffins. Andy didn't eat the quiche since it had vegetables. He ate 2 of their small weird muffins. I don't know how he made it through the ride today with that small breakfast. We took two ferrys on our way out of the delta. We then made our way onto Montezuma Road which winds through the windmill farm. There was a little wind, more than I remember for last year but it could have been worse. I worked pretty hard against the wind. I hadn't seen Andy for awhile and then I got a cell ring. It was Andy. He stopped at the coffee shop at Rio Vista and was drinking a great mocha. We agreed to meet up at the first rest stop. I thought to myself "I bet he meets up with me before the first rest stop" and sure enough he did. The first rest stop was at Shiloh Church. Forgot to take a picture but it is a cute old church. Now the wind was less in this location. We pushed off and made our way onto Highway12...not my favorite road. This is usually my least desired spot on the tour because there is high speed traffic with lots of trucks and last year it was a spot where a lot of people got flats. It didn't seem as bad to me this year because the space for the bike lane was bigger than what I remembered. I got through it OK and met Andy for a popsicle at the minimart as you turn onto Walters Road after Hi 12. We were off again and then stopped at Rest Stop#2 in Keating Park. It was a nice tree-shaded rest stop and they had animal cookies so I had to eat a handful. Then we were on our way again. We proceeded up Pleasants Valley Road to Lake Solano. It is a very, very gradual climb...so gradual you don't know you are climbing over time. We got to Lake Solano and it was only 1:15pm. We put up our tent but realized we were missing an end metal part. That's what you get for buying a cheap tent. We did some surgery on the pole used for the rain fly and used its metal part for the piece we needed for the main body of the tent. It worked. We got the tent assembled and then went to take showers. Andy went to the river and waded up to his chest. He said the temperature was like snowmelt level. Very cold! I say he lasted about 20 miinutes and then he took a hot shower again. We went to the minimart and bought beer and chips, food for the gods. After downing some beer and chips I went in search of my sagged bike clothes and then rinsed out our bottles. We are now napping (Andy) and writing in the journal (Lisa). We are anticipating a great dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow morning because the Buckhorn is catering.
Our statistics for the day:
Lisa mileage=60.01miles Andy miles=63.5miles
Lisa climbing=1493ft Andy climbing=?
Lisa ride time=4:22:48 Andy ride time=3:56
Lisa av. speed=13.6 Andy av. speed=16
Lisa max speed=26.5 Andy max speed=27.9
Wednesday June 23, 2010 Lake Solano to Calistoga
I slept well again thanks to AmbienCR. We tagged our bags with orange ribbon so that they would be dropped off at the Best Western in Calistoga. Our breakfast was quite a spread. There was a Denver egg mix, quartered potatoes,a waffle bar and oatmeal. I had a little of everything but like last nights dinner I didn't eat everything I took. Last night I was prepared to eat a feast but ended up eating one piece of chicken, some potatoes, lots of their salads (they had 3 kinds) and 1/2 a roll. Now that I read this a second time it doesn't sound so miniscule. I was full to the point of having a stomachache and I don't like that feeling when it happens. About 2 hours later my stomache felt normal again. So, after we ate breakfast we headed off. I rode to the resevoir overlook and took 2 pictures. The water looked green. Then I rode up cardiac hill. It was about what I remembered it but there was a lot of downhill that I had forgotten about. I don't know why but after that point I was constantly checking mileage to see how much closer to the rest stop I was. I think I was bored with the scenery. After Rest Stop#1 we went into Pope Valley, which has a lot of vineyards and is pretty. Our next stop was at the Pope Valley Market where we bought popsicles. Andy was going to do the Berryessa Loop but changed his mind and decided to ride with me instead. After the popsicle stop we rode up Ink Grade, always a fun clmb. It seemed longer than what I remembered. There were markings on the road at the 1/ 2 way point and 3/4 point. At the 1/2 way point I was thinking to myself, "only 1/2 way!" But I also thought there would be a steep rise before the top but there wasn't so, so much for memory of a climb. You could see the top of Rest Stop#2 as you were finishing the climb. I had obtained fresh bottled water at the popsicle stop but hadn't touched it. I put ice in the bottle and drank about 1/2 the bottle in one swoop. I was so hot I could feel sweat dripping down my back. We then made our way to the hotel. We had a lot of decent, first rough and then Deer Park was smooth and fast. We gradually made our way onto the Silverado Trail. The Silverado Trail seemed as long as the last time (5 miles). We checked in to the motel, took showers and then put our laundry on to wash. We had so much laundry that we had to prioritize what we wanted to wash so we only washed what we really would need to finish the tour. Right now I am at the poolside, writing in my journal. I gave Andy an anniversary card and he liked it. It tied into our adventure together and spoke of future adventures together.
Our statistics today:
Lisa mileage=59.84miles Andy mileage=63.0miles
Lisa climbing=4024ft Andy climbing=4790ft
Lisa ride time =4:32:46 Andy ride time=4:09:17
Lisa av. speed=13.1 Andy av. speed=15.2
Lisa max speed=36.5 Andy max speed=38.4
Thursday June 24, 2010 Calistoga to Duncan Mills
We are now in the freezing cold winds of the Duncan Mills campground. Our day started fine. We awoke at 5:30 and I immediately made coffee with the hotel room coffee maker...what a luxury! We got dressed in our bike clothes and packed our gear. We rode to the campgounds and pumped our tires ( we forgot to pack a pump with our hotel specific gear). We rode over to the California Roastery and each had a mocha. After our mocha we rode back to our hotel and had the complimentary breakfast. Andy and I split a waffle and I also had oatmeal. We then pushed off. There was a climb outside of town on Franz Vallley Road. The first place we stopped was at the Jimtown Store, which is supposed to be the most northern point of the tour. We split a yummy blueberry muffin and took some pictures. We were on our way again and 10 miles later was the first rest stop. It was at Quivira Winery. It was absolutely beautiful there. They have the prettiest gardens I've seen anywhere. They had different types of chickens and vegetable garden plots. I took several pictures. We pushed off again. The next stops were Madrona Manor (sentimental stop) and rest stop #2 at Moshin Winery. I ate some chex mix type stuff and the salt tasted good. I don't know why I didn't eat this earlier...it would have been more nutritious than the occasianl brownie bite I ate. We pushed off again and the ride went well until Andy got a flat on River Road as we were approaching Guernville. A broken nail was the culprit. He changed the tube fine and was putting in the last bit of air in when he tore off the valve. So, he had to change the tube again. This time it went well and we were off again. Unfortunately it was an ugly ride for the last bit because Andy was hungry and stressed out from the tube changes so he was close to bonking. We got into camp and he got a microwave burrito at the minimart and felt better after that. The camp was cold and windy, as I remembered it last year. It took some creative genius on Andy's part to get the tent up in the wind that was more suitable for sailing. We put my heavy gear bag inside the tent so it wouldn't blow away. We then showered. Really hot showers...yum, yum. We put on all our winter type clothes and I huddled in the tent and wrote in my journal. They have a wine and cheese party tonight with the "talent-notalent" show. It took a lot of searching but I found our sagged $8 bottle of wine for tonight. Dinner will be good for me-barbeque chicken and baked potatoes but Andy (who only eats cut up chicken) is disappointed.
Our statistics today:
Because of the flat and the problems with the wind our minds were elsewhere and I never got the stats off our bikes so here is what the paperwork says we did:
mileage=59.3 miles
climbing=2450 ft
ride time =4:00
Friday June 25, 2010 Duncan Mills to Olema
Today I dressed for cold weather but it wasn't horribly bad. We had a "continental" breakfast. So, I helped myself to 1/2 bagel with cream cheese, a quarter of a poppyseed muffin, a container of yogurt and some OJ. I figured I needed the OJ considering all the wine I drank last night-2 full glasses on top of the beer I had at 3:00pm. Last night's "talent-notalent" show was fun. Miguel played Arnold Schwartzenegger again with the two masseuses in bikinis posed as the fawning women. There were a lot of skits this year...more than last year. It was a lot of fun, some good laughs. So, todays ride began with a slow gradual climb on the Bohemian Highway to Occidental. We stopped at the great breakfast place Howards Station. Andy and I split a big bowl of oatmeal and each had a mondo-sized, super-good mocha. I am getting used to drinking mochas instead of lattes now. I'd better not develop the habit though because of the increase in calories over a latte. After eating at Howard's Station, we headed up Coleman Valley Road. The whole time I was climbing I kept thinking it would be so much harder climbing in the other direction. When I ride Levi's Granfondo in October I will have to ride in that direction (from the coast to the east). It was so fogged in we could barely do the decent on Coleman Valley Road closer to the coast. I had to stop to wipe my glasses because I couldn't see. So, because of the fog no real photo ops were taken. After Coleman Valley Road we headed south down Highway 1 along the beautiful coast. After awhile it heads inland a bit and then we hit the only rest stop of the day at Valley Ford (30 miles). At the rest stop I ate 2 brownie bites, filled my water bottles and headed out to the road again' Our next stop was Tomales Bay. We stopped for a few minutes but didn't buy anything. We pushed off again. My next stop was 8 miles later near Tony's Restaurant (famous seafood place) where I checked my mileage and switched my water bottles. I pushed off and soon met up with Andy and then we rode together the rest of the way to Point Reyes, another 8 miles later. We stopped in Point Reyes to load up on cash ($100) so we could tip Hector and Rafael (the drivers who hauled our gear around in the truck and we entrusted our gear to) each $40 when we get to San Francisco tomorrow. We then stopped at the deli at the end of town and Andy had a meatball sandwich...one of his favorites. After eating we headed the last 2 miles to camp. Camp was perfect. There was only a light breeze, unlike Duncan Mills which had wind best for sailing. It was sunny, also. Because there was no wind our tent went up easily. We then showered. After I gathered my gear for the next day, Andy and
I walked to a nearby store to buy beer. I had saved the chips from the previous day and they actually survived fairly intact in our duffel bags so I didn't need to buy chips. We are now just hanging out. Tonights dinner is tri-tip so Andy is a happy doggy.
Our statistics for the day:
Lisa mileage=57.54miles Andy mileage=61.75
Lisa climbing=4042ft Andy climbing=?
Lisa ride time=4:32 Andy ride time=4:13
Lisa av. speed=12.6 Andy av. speed=?
Lisa max speed=33.5 Andy max speed=?
??Andy's I-bike computer did not work in the moisture (fog) found around Coleman Valley Road
Saturday June 26, 2010 Olema to San Francisco
Today is our last day riding! We woke up, got dressed and they had coffee available early-yeah! Breakfast was being served so we ate breakfast before taking our tent down. We pushed off and headed south. The ride went fine and we had some rollers. Eventually, the terrain on the right became water again (like an estuary). I think this happened around the Bolinas area. But, I don't know this for sure because Bolinas is famous for not having any signs as to where it actually is! I eventually got to Stinson Beach. Andy was there drinking a mocha. Powering up before he climbed Mt. Tamalpais. We both left within minutes of each other but Andy climbed further to the very top of Mt. Tam whereas I climbed to the Pantoll Station. At the Pantoll Station I rested a bit and then headed down the hill towards Mill Valley. Riding down Mt. Tam I froze my nuggers off with chilled sweat. The Double Dipsea running race was on so I had to stop twice to let runners through. When I got into the flats, Andy I and I left phone messages with each other. He told me he was at Edgwood Rd. and I said I was approaching Sausalito and we could meet at the Starbucks in Sausalito. I needed to get a latte to warm up. We met up and each had a latte and a mocha. We then left towards San Francisco. The approach to the Golden Gate Bridge was very windy. The route this year was different than last year. This year did not take you to the photo op area and the steep climb up the bike trail. So, this year no Golden Gate Bridge pictures. The Golden Gate Bridge was the usual difficulty...people on rental bikes who don't know how to ride a bike causing a danger. No accidents luckily. We headed towards Golden Gate Park and found the meadow which had our Sierra to the Sea picnic area. We were done!!! Another great tour!!! We ate lunch, hung around until the buses came to bring us to San Jose. When we arrived in San Jose we waited for the truck to arrive with the bikes. We loaded our gear and bikes into our car and headed to Roseville. We stopped in Stockton at In-N-Out for a burger and fries, gassed up and headed to Roseville. We arrived home and everything looked fine. Yeah! So, this year we had another great tour!
My statistics for the day:
Lisa mileage=37.5
Lisa climbing=3118 ft
Lisa ride time =3:20
Statistic totals for the week:
Lisa mileage= 424.4 miles
Lisa climbing=22,005 ft
ride time= 30hr 50 min
We are back again at the Holiday Inn on First St. in San Jose for the start of Sierra to the Sea. We got up at 5:40am and took showers. We walked to Starbucks (1 blk away) and got a grande latte and a mocha. We also picked up a blueberry scone and petite vanilla scone. We went back to our rooms and ate our breakfast. We then brought our bags (2 XXXL duffel and 1 XXL duffel, 40 lbs each) and bikes over to the trucks for loading. This year we did not box our bikes. Yeah! They wrapped the bikes in blankets to protect them. This way we don't have to put our bikes together before the ride and at the end of the ride. Double yeah! It was suggested that it would be cold in Bear Valley (there was snow on the ground and you would have to camp on asphalt) so we opted to get a room at the Lodge in Bear Valley. After we arrived, I grabbed a cart and Andy and I schlepped our heavy bags from the bus to the Lodge in Bear Valley. Some people looked at us in envy with the cart and were offering $100 for it. We checked in. Boy the walls are thin. We had loud Phil and roommate next door. You gotta wonder when it is standard to provide earplugs for all the rooms. We put some bike clothes on and took our bikes for a spin to check them out to make sure everything was working OK after being transported in the truck. Everything seemed fine. Andy went out on the main road (Highway 4) and headed in the opposite direction from where we would be headed tomorrow (towards Markeleville). He just did and out and back of 10 miles and did 1000 ft of climbing in that short bit! We went to the party by the pool and nibbled on snacks. The bar opened at 4pm so we then went and got drinks. Dinner was at 6pm. We met some older men from Southern California. Andy rated the dinner a "B" and the dessert brownies were good. We are now back in our rooms and reading and journaling.
Sunday June 20, 2010 Bear Valley to Jackson
We got up at 6:00am and had our gear on by 6:30. When we went down to breakfast there already was a line of about 2/3 the total riders on the tour! Everyone was leaving early. We were in line next to a fella that had camped outside. He was making out like it was a polar ice cap out there. Breakfast was good. I had eggs, fruit and a big cinnamon roll. I split a second one with Andy. So, I was well-fueled to start. We went outside to check the temperature. It wasn't that bad. I should have gone by what I felt and not have dressed so warmly. I guess I got scared by that guy from the breakfast line. I overdressed. At Vista Point (~7 miles) I stopped to take some pictures but mainly wanted to take off my arm warmers. So the ride wasn't as nuclear cold as I thought it would be. At the first rest stop (30 miles) everything came off: the double gloves, the beefy knee warmers (I had a light pair and a warm pair on at the same time), the arms to my vest jacket and then put on the arm warmers. I put back on my lighter knee warmers and my vest. So, next was a hill...not too bad of one. Then we had a horrendous decent on an awfully paved road (nicknamed Sheep Shit Road instead of Sheep Ranch Road). My hands grew tired from braking. Then we had a steep climb on Sheep Shit Road where I used my granny gear. There was a nice decent and and then there was a long, long climb out of Sheep Ranch. Luckily, I had forgotten about this climb. We then had Rest Stop #2 which had a pool. Last year a lot of people got in the pool in their shorts and jerseys but this year the pool water was green and uninviting. We sat there about 20 minutes. Long enough for me to take my underlayer off and wrap it around my waist. Since I used my sag bag for my other clothes at Rest Stop #1 I had to use my own pockets and waist to store my discarded clothes. I ate some watermelon and we were off again. The next 25 miles was OK...no major climbs. Rest Stop #3 was in Mokelume Hill. I had felt hungry before we stopped so I ate some Sport Beans from my own stash and some banana and watermelon. We pushed off and did the final hill between Mokelume Hill and Jackson, 3.5 miles. We arrived at camp and set up our tent. Andy went swimming in the great pool at St. Sava Mission. Nice shower-nice hot water. I went back to the tent and tried to organize my stuff. By that time the bar opened and I bought beers for Andy and I. Then we migrated towards the picnic tables and chatted with people. I introduced myself to who I think is the youngest rider, Max, who is 9. He is riding on a tandem with his father. But he is a little stud because he rode on his own bike from San Jose to Bear Valley! We met up with Fritzi and Brian, who we met on the tour last year. They are from Santa Cruz. Brian rides fast and always gets into camp early and has put the tent up in the best camping spot and has the beer chilled for Fritzi. It was nice catching up with them. We were comparing elderly parents. Tonights dinner is pork loin roast with rice pilaf and a fancy mediterranean pasta dish. Andy is pleased with dinner.
Our statistics from today:
Lisa mileage=73.23miles Andy mileage=74.2miles
Lisa climbing=4998ft Andy climbing=5295ft
Lisa ride time=4:53:59 Andy ride time=4:25
Lisa av. speed=14.9 Andy av. speed=16.7
Max speed=34.00 Andy max speed=38.8
Monday June 21, 2010 Jackson to Ryde Hotel in the Delta
Did not sleep well last night. I must have awoken 10-12 times during the night, From now on I am taking an Ambien CR at bedtime. Andy was cold last night but slept well. We got our bike clothes on and then took down the tent. We ate breakfast. I ate well. They had my favorite, oatmeal with brown sugar. I also had some toast with jam and some eggs. I think we left around 7:30am. Todays ride was less hilly but I could definitely feel yesterdays ride in my legs. They were hurting in the beginning but that went away. Rest Stop#1 was at Lake Comanche. They had frosted animal cookies there, so that was a new treat I haven't eaten in years, maybe decades. Rest Stop #2 was at Woodbridge Winery. I bought a bottle of wine for the wine and cheese party we'll have in Duncan Mills. We went the cheap route this year. Instead of the $17 bottle of wine we purchased last year we paid $8 for the Woodbridge wine. The wind was a little up from what I wanted. I rode behind Miguel for awhile, then Andy pulled and he went much faster so I was dropped in less than 5 minutes. After riding alone awhile, Andy waited for me at a turn. We stopped at Locke, the old preserved Chinese town in the Delta to check it out. We then stopped at a market for some tea. For some reason coldsweet tea tastes very good in the heat of a bike ride. We had less than 3 miles to ride to the Ryde Hotel. We set up our tent on the bumpy grass and then took showers. We are now sitting in the patio area (emphasis SHADE) of the hotel after getting drinks from the bar. We are chatting with the folks from Santa Cruz, Fritzi, Brian and their friend Frank and another fella we met , Alan, from Los Altos. Dinner and breakfast were not impressive...just like last year. So, we look forward to Lake Solano, which is always impressive becuase it is catered by the Buckhorn in Winters. Barbeque ribs and chicken and a waffle bar plus oatmeal for breakfast!.
Our statistics today:
Lisa mileage=76.98miles Andy mileage=81.4miles
Lisa climbing=1880ft Andy climbing=2358ft
Lisa ride time=5:11:23 Andy ride time=4:58
Lis av. speed=14.8 Andy av. speed=16.4
Lisa max speed=32.50 Andy max speed=36.5
Tuesday June 22, 2010 Ryde Hotel to Lake Solano
I had a good nights sleep last night thanks to AmbienCR. We got dressed in bike clothes, took the tent down and then went to breakfast. Breakfast was disappointing. They had fruit, a crustless quiche with vegetables, yogurt and weird muffins. Andy didn't eat the quiche since it had vegetables. He ate 2 of their small weird muffins. I don't know how he made it through the ride today with that small breakfast. We took two ferrys on our way out of the delta. We then made our way onto Montezuma Road which winds through the windmill farm. There was a little wind, more than I remember for last year but it could have been worse. I worked pretty hard against the wind. I hadn't seen Andy for awhile and then I got a cell ring. It was Andy. He stopped at the coffee shop at Rio Vista and was drinking a great mocha. We agreed to meet up at the first rest stop. I thought to myself "I bet he meets up with me before the first rest stop" and sure enough he did. The first rest stop was at Shiloh Church. Forgot to take a picture but it is a cute old church. Now the wind was less in this location. We pushed off and made our way onto Highway12...not my favorite road. This is usually my least desired spot on the tour because there is high speed traffic with lots of trucks and last year it was a spot where a lot of people got flats. It didn't seem as bad to me this year because the space for the bike lane was bigger than what I remembered. I got through it OK and met Andy for a popsicle at the minimart as you turn onto Walters Road after Hi 12. We were off again and then stopped at Rest Stop#2 in Keating Park. It was a nice tree-shaded rest stop and they had animal cookies so I had to eat a handful. Then we were on our way again. We proceeded up Pleasants Valley Road to Lake Solano. It is a very, very gradual climb...so gradual you don't know you are climbing over time. We got to Lake Solano and it was only 1:15pm. We put up our tent but realized we were missing an end metal part. That's what you get for buying a cheap tent. We did some surgery on the pole used for the rain fly and used its metal part for the piece we needed for the main body of the tent. It worked. We got the tent assembled and then went to take showers. Andy went to the river and waded up to his chest. He said the temperature was like snowmelt level. Very cold! I say he lasted about 20 miinutes and then he took a hot shower again. We went to the minimart and bought beer and chips, food for the gods. After downing some beer and chips I went in search of my sagged bike clothes and then rinsed out our bottles. We are now napping (Andy) and writing in the journal (Lisa). We are anticipating a great dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow morning because the Buckhorn is catering.
Our statistics for the day:
Lisa mileage=60.01miles Andy miles=63.5miles
Lisa climbing=1493ft Andy climbing=?
Lisa ride time=4:22:48 Andy ride time=3:56
Lisa av. speed=13.6 Andy av. speed=16
Lisa max speed=26.5 Andy max speed=27.9
Wednesday June 23, 2010 Lake Solano to Calistoga
I slept well again thanks to AmbienCR. We tagged our bags with orange ribbon so that they would be dropped off at the Best Western in Calistoga. Our breakfast was quite a spread. There was a Denver egg mix, quartered potatoes,a waffle bar and oatmeal. I had a little of everything but like last nights dinner I didn't eat everything I took. Last night I was prepared to eat a feast but ended up eating one piece of chicken, some potatoes, lots of their salads (they had 3 kinds) and 1/2 a roll. Now that I read this a second time it doesn't sound so miniscule. I was full to the point of having a stomachache and I don't like that feeling when it happens. About 2 hours later my stomache felt normal again. So, after we ate breakfast we headed off. I rode to the resevoir overlook and took 2 pictures. The water looked green. Then I rode up cardiac hill. It was about what I remembered it but there was a lot of downhill that I had forgotten about. I don't know why but after that point I was constantly checking mileage to see how much closer to the rest stop I was. I think I was bored with the scenery. After Rest Stop#1 we went into Pope Valley, which has a lot of vineyards and is pretty. Our next stop was at the Pope Valley Market where we bought popsicles. Andy was going to do the Berryessa Loop but changed his mind and decided to ride with me instead. After the popsicle stop we rode up Ink Grade, always a fun clmb. It seemed longer than what I remembered. There were markings on the road at the 1/ 2 way point and 3/4 point. At the 1/2 way point I was thinking to myself, "only 1/2 way!" But I also thought there would be a steep rise before the top but there wasn't so, so much for memory of a climb. You could see the top of Rest Stop#2 as you were finishing the climb. I had obtained fresh bottled water at the popsicle stop but hadn't touched it. I put ice in the bottle and drank about 1/2 the bottle in one swoop. I was so hot I could feel sweat dripping down my back. We then made our way to the hotel. We had a lot of decent, first rough and then Deer Park was smooth and fast. We gradually made our way onto the Silverado Trail. The Silverado Trail seemed as long as the last time (5 miles). We checked in to the motel, took showers and then put our laundry on to wash. We had so much laundry that we had to prioritize what we wanted to wash so we only washed what we really would need to finish the tour. Right now I am at the poolside, writing in my journal. I gave Andy an anniversary card and he liked it. It tied into our adventure together and spoke of future adventures together.
Our statistics today:
Lisa mileage=59.84miles Andy mileage=63.0miles
Lisa climbing=4024ft Andy climbing=4790ft
Lisa ride time =4:32:46 Andy ride time=4:09:17
Lisa av. speed=13.1 Andy av. speed=15.2
Lisa max speed=36.5 Andy max speed=38.4
Thursday June 24, 2010 Calistoga to Duncan Mills
We are now in the freezing cold winds of the Duncan Mills campground. Our day started fine. We awoke at 5:30 and I immediately made coffee with the hotel room coffee maker...what a luxury! We got dressed in our bike clothes and packed our gear. We rode to the campgounds and pumped our tires ( we forgot to pack a pump with our hotel specific gear). We rode over to the California Roastery and each had a mocha. After our mocha we rode back to our hotel and had the complimentary breakfast. Andy and I split a waffle and I also had oatmeal. We then pushed off. There was a climb outside of town on Franz Vallley Road. The first place we stopped was at the Jimtown Store, which is supposed to be the most northern point of the tour. We split a yummy blueberry muffin and took some pictures. We were on our way again and 10 miles later was the first rest stop. It was at Quivira Winery. It was absolutely beautiful there. They have the prettiest gardens I've seen anywhere. They had different types of chickens and vegetable garden plots. I took several pictures. We pushed off again. The next stops were Madrona Manor (sentimental stop) and rest stop #2 at Moshin Winery. I ate some chex mix type stuff and the salt tasted good. I don't know why I didn't eat this earlier...it would have been more nutritious than the occasianl brownie bite I ate. We pushed off again and the ride went well until Andy got a flat on River Road as we were approaching Guernville. A broken nail was the culprit. He changed the tube fine and was putting in the last bit of air in when he tore off the valve. So, he had to change the tube again. This time it went well and we were off again. Unfortunately it was an ugly ride for the last bit because Andy was hungry and stressed out from the tube changes so he was close to bonking. We got into camp and he got a microwave burrito at the minimart and felt better after that. The camp was cold and windy, as I remembered it last year. It took some creative genius on Andy's part to get the tent up in the wind that was more suitable for sailing. We put my heavy gear bag inside the tent so it wouldn't blow away. We then showered. Really hot showers...yum, yum. We put on all our winter type clothes and I huddled in the tent and wrote in my journal. They have a wine and cheese party tonight with the "talent-notalent" show. It took a lot of searching but I found our sagged $8 bottle of wine for tonight. Dinner will be good for me-barbeque chicken and baked potatoes but Andy (who only eats cut up chicken) is disappointed.
Our statistics today:
Because of the flat and the problems with the wind our minds were elsewhere and I never got the stats off our bikes so here is what the paperwork says we did:
mileage=59.3 miles
climbing=2450 ft
ride time =4:00
Friday June 25, 2010 Duncan Mills to Olema
Today I dressed for cold weather but it wasn't horribly bad. We had a "continental" breakfast. So, I helped myself to 1/2 bagel with cream cheese, a quarter of a poppyseed muffin, a container of yogurt and some OJ. I figured I needed the OJ considering all the wine I drank last night-2 full glasses on top of the beer I had at 3:00pm. Last night's "talent-notalent" show was fun. Miguel played Arnold Schwartzenegger again with the two masseuses in bikinis posed as the fawning women. There were a lot of skits this year...more than last year. It was a lot of fun, some good laughs. So, todays ride began with a slow gradual climb on the Bohemian Highway to Occidental. We stopped at the great breakfast place Howards Station. Andy and I split a big bowl of oatmeal and each had a mondo-sized, super-good mocha. I am getting used to drinking mochas instead of lattes now. I'd better not develop the habit though because of the increase in calories over a latte. After eating at Howard's Station, we headed up Coleman Valley Road. The whole time I was climbing I kept thinking it would be so much harder climbing in the other direction. When I ride Levi's Granfondo in October I will have to ride in that direction (from the coast to the east). It was so fogged in we could barely do the decent on Coleman Valley Road closer to the coast. I had to stop to wipe my glasses because I couldn't see. So, because of the fog no real photo ops were taken. After Coleman Valley Road we headed south down Highway 1 along the beautiful coast. After awhile it heads inland a bit and then we hit the only rest stop of the day at Valley Ford (30 miles). At the rest stop I ate 2 brownie bites, filled my water bottles and headed out to the road again' Our next stop was Tomales Bay. We stopped for a few minutes but didn't buy anything. We pushed off again. My next stop was 8 miles later near Tony's Restaurant (famous seafood place) where I checked my mileage and switched my water bottles. I pushed off and soon met up with Andy and then we rode together the rest of the way to Point Reyes, another 8 miles later. We stopped in Point Reyes to load up on cash ($100) so we could tip Hector and Rafael (the drivers who hauled our gear around in the truck and we entrusted our gear to) each $40 when we get to San Francisco tomorrow. We then stopped at the deli at the end of town and Andy had a meatball sandwich...one of his favorites. After eating we headed the last 2 miles to camp. Camp was perfect. There was only a light breeze, unlike Duncan Mills which had wind best for sailing. It was sunny, also. Because there was no wind our tent went up easily. We then showered. After I gathered my gear for the next day, Andy and
I walked to a nearby store to buy beer. I had saved the chips from the previous day and they actually survived fairly intact in our duffel bags so I didn't need to buy chips. We are now just hanging out. Tonights dinner is tri-tip so Andy is a happy doggy.
Our statistics for the day:
Lisa mileage=57.54miles Andy mileage=61.75
Lisa climbing=4042ft Andy climbing=?
Lisa ride time=4:32 Andy ride time=4:13
Lisa av. speed=12.6 Andy av. speed=?
Lisa max speed=33.5 Andy max speed=?
??Andy's I-bike computer did not work in the moisture (fog) found around Coleman Valley Road
Saturday June 26, 2010 Olema to San Francisco
Today is our last day riding! We woke up, got dressed and they had coffee available early-yeah! Breakfast was being served so we ate breakfast before taking our tent down. We pushed off and headed south. The ride went fine and we had some rollers. Eventually, the terrain on the right became water again (like an estuary). I think this happened around the Bolinas area. But, I don't know this for sure because Bolinas is famous for not having any signs as to where it actually is! I eventually got to Stinson Beach. Andy was there drinking a mocha. Powering up before he climbed Mt. Tamalpais. We both left within minutes of each other but Andy climbed further to the very top of Mt. Tam whereas I climbed to the Pantoll Station. At the Pantoll Station I rested a bit and then headed down the hill towards Mill Valley. Riding down Mt. Tam I froze my nuggers off with chilled sweat. The Double Dipsea running race was on so I had to stop twice to let runners through. When I got into the flats, Andy I and I left phone messages with each other. He told me he was at Edgwood Rd. and I said I was approaching Sausalito and we could meet at the Starbucks in Sausalito. I needed to get a latte to warm up. We met up and each had a latte and a mocha. We then left towards San Francisco. The approach to the Golden Gate Bridge was very windy. The route this year was different than last year. This year did not take you to the photo op area and the steep climb up the bike trail. So, this year no Golden Gate Bridge pictures. The Golden Gate Bridge was the usual difficulty...people on rental bikes who don't know how to ride a bike causing a danger. No accidents luckily. We headed towards Golden Gate Park and found the meadow which had our Sierra to the Sea picnic area. We were done!!! Another great tour!!! We ate lunch, hung around until the buses came to bring us to San Jose. When we arrived in San Jose we waited for the truck to arrive with the bikes. We loaded our gear and bikes into our car and headed to Roseville. We stopped in Stockton at In-N-Out for a burger and fries, gassed up and headed to Roseville. We arrived home and everything looked fine. Yeah! So, this year we had another great tour!
My statistics for the day:
Lisa mileage=37.5
Lisa climbing=3118 ft
Lisa ride time =3:20
Statistic totals for the week:
Lisa mileage= 424.4 miles
Lisa climbing=22,005 ft
ride time= 30hr 50 min
Friday, September 25, 2009
OMG
OMG it has been a whole month since I wrote in my blog last. Well, a lot has happened. We are in the midst of redecorating our kitchen, family room and living room. We have the help of a decorator, Becky. She recommended we paint the LR, FR and kitchen walls a sand color with two focal walls a moss green color. The painters finished a week ago and it looks really nice. What started all this was the fact that we needed better lighting. So, we picked a bunch of new light fixtures and had an electrician come in and get rid of our ugly fluorescent box in the kitchen and then he put up all the new fixtures. We have mini-pendant lights in the kitchen bar area and two hanging fixtures in the kitchen. The dining table has two new small chandeliers overhanging and then there are two new fixtures in the living area. I am in charge of making valences for all the windows. The fabric is tres chic at $45/yard! No room for errors. So, I have a new sewing machine I am trying to learn how to use. It is a long story but the short of it is that I brought my old machine in for repair and they lost the machine and so they offered me a new Janome for free. I didn't like the one they offered me so I asked for the next model higher and I would pay $150.00. They agreed to this and a lot of other things transpired but I have a new machine. I am making mock valences to practice for the real thing. And something else is new. For the first time I sold something on Craigslist. I sold my old bike for $400.00 to a woman about my size. I had a tons of offers and some wanted to buy it sight unseen. We might try and sell Andy's old Trek frame and I will probably sell my old sewing machine once I get the hang of the new one. This coming weekend we are going to Santa Rosa to ride in Levi's Granfondo bike ride. Since I haven't been cycling much I will ride the 36 mile route and Andy will ride the 100 mile route. There is a lot of build-up and excitment for this bike ride. People are coming from all over to ride in it and a lot of famous people are riding in it. Well, that's it for now. Have a good "till the next time" I write period.
clyde
clyde
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tour de Organics
Hi all,
I got back from my weekend with the Bella Fiore ladies yesterday. There were 17 of us riding in the Tour de Organics. It was a real mellow ride because it had 6 rest stops for 65 miles of riding! That meant every 10 miles there was a rest stop! All the rest stops had delicious gourmet organic fruits. The rest stops were: Food for Thought, Middleton Farm, Dry Creek Peach (lunch stop where they had some kind of veggie sandwich that was good), Love Farms, Golden Nectar Farm, Gabriel Farm. I began riding with the fast girls but then after the second or third rest stop I was spit off the back on a descent . I always seem to lose on the descents because I don't have enough body mass and speed power to keep up. So, then I road alone for a long time because I was faster then the slower girls. I guess I will always be in the in-between section unless I get faster. So, it was a lot of fun. I don't have pictures but if you look at my Facebook account I have some posted from Krissy, another Bella Fiore rider. It went by so fast it didn't seem like 65 miles with all the rest stops. We rented a house in the countryside near Sebastopol, which is fairly near Santa Rosa. It was a great house to rent for a lot of people. I got a bed to myself even though I told people I had room for one more (it was a queen ). There was a hot tub so I enjoyed that after dinner after the bike ride. We played bingo the first night and I won twice so I got to pick a prize of a real colorful scarf and then I picked my own gift of a bottle of wine. I didn't play but they all were playing a very fun game I think called Bananagrams. It is just like scrabble but a little more exciting. In retrospect, I wished I had played because it looked like fun but I was either socializing or looking at magazines. We had pasta with grilled chicken the first night and build your own taco with shrimp and chicken the second night. We also had a quinea (sp??) blackbean salad that was delicious. It was Diana Boswell's 50th birthday on Saturday so we had a cake and decorations all over the place. We paid for her entry and rental fee for the weekend for a birthday gift. It was a lot of fun. I haven't done something really social like that with a bunch of gal friends in I think forever (or, when I was 8). So, I came home Monday and picked up Maggie from the kennel. Andy meanwhile had left early Monday on a flight to Seattle. He went for a meeting with Microsoft folks. We are supposed to be having our whole backyard landscaped and I thought they were to start today but it looks like they won't start until Thursday. We are getting new grass and a zillion new plants and a flowering cherry tree. We might be going to Tahoe this weekend. That's it for me. Hope you have a good week.
Clyde
I got back from my weekend with the Bella Fiore ladies yesterday. There were 17 of us riding in the Tour de Organics. It was a real mellow ride because it had 6 rest stops for 65 miles of riding! That meant every 10 miles there was a rest stop! All the rest stops had delicious gourmet organic fruits. The rest stops were: Food for Thought, Middleton Farm, Dry Creek Peach (lunch stop where they had some kind of veggie sandwich that was good), Love Farms, Golden Nectar Farm, Gabriel Farm. I began riding with the fast girls but then after the second or third rest stop I was spit off the back on a descent . I always seem to lose on the descents because I don't have enough body mass and speed power to keep up. So, then I road alone for a long time because I was faster then the slower girls. I guess I will always be in the in-between section unless I get faster. So, it was a lot of fun. I don't have pictures but if you look at my Facebook account I have some posted from Krissy, another Bella Fiore rider. It went by so fast it didn't seem like 65 miles with all the rest stops. We rented a house in the countryside near Sebastopol, which is fairly near Santa Rosa. It was a great house to rent for a lot of people. I got a bed to myself even though I told people I had room for one more (it was a queen ). There was a hot tub so I enjoyed that after dinner after the bike ride. We played bingo the first night and I won twice so I got to pick a prize of a real colorful scarf and then I picked my own gift of a bottle of wine. I didn't play but they all were playing a very fun game I think called Bananagrams. It is just like scrabble but a little more exciting. In retrospect, I wished I had played because it looked like fun but I was either socializing or looking at magazines. We had pasta with grilled chicken the first night and build your own taco with shrimp and chicken the second night. We also had a quinea (sp??) blackbean salad that was delicious. It was Diana Boswell's 50th birthday on Saturday so we had a cake and decorations all over the place. We paid for her entry and rental fee for the weekend for a birthday gift. It was a lot of fun. I haven't done something really social like that with a bunch of gal friends in I think forever (or, when I was 8). So, I came home Monday and picked up Maggie from the kennel. Andy meanwhile had left early Monday on a flight to Seattle. He went for a meeting with Microsoft folks. We are supposed to be having our whole backyard landscaped and I thought they were to start today but it looks like they won't start until Thursday. We are getting new grass and a zillion new plants and a flowering cherry tree. We might be going to Tahoe this weekend. That's it for me. Hope you have a good week.
Clyde
Saturday, July 25, 2009
July Ends
Hi all,
Well July is almost over. Boo hoo, summer is going by so fast. This will be a short entry because not much is going on. I had a rest week as far as running goes so I didn't do much there. I also didn't bike that much. And I ate too much. So, you know what that means. Yes, the pounds are piling on. I really need to get back into more cycling especially since on August 16 I am riding in the Tour de Organics. It should be fun. A bunch of Bella Fiore girls are riding so we are renting a house in Sebastopol for 2 nights during the weekend we ride. I am looking forward to it. But I need to be putting more miles in to get ready. Today I have book club so that should be fun. We are reading Rosewater and Soda Bread. It is about 3 Iranian women who move to Ireland and open a cafe there. It is a great book. So Chris is hosting and since she lives way out there I am riding with Maeve since she knows how to get there. Nothing else is really new. We are interviewing people for two tasks. We need better lighting in our kitchen and family room. We also want advice on how to improve the look of our general living area in the house (family room, dining room, living room). We also are interviewing people to do some landscaping work in the back yard. So, sometime in the future I will have to do the old babysit Maggie thing so she is not too upset while work is being done. Not the most enjoyable task because I don't have as much freedom to bike ride and run when I am taking care of Maggie. Nothing else eally new. Hope your days are going well.
Clyde
Well July is almost over. Boo hoo, summer is going by so fast. This will be a short entry because not much is going on. I had a rest week as far as running goes so I didn't do much there. I also didn't bike that much. And I ate too much. So, you know what that means. Yes, the pounds are piling on. I really need to get back into more cycling especially since on August 16 I am riding in the Tour de Organics. It should be fun. A bunch of Bella Fiore girls are riding so we are renting a house in Sebastopol for 2 nights during the weekend we ride. I am looking forward to it. But I need to be putting more miles in to get ready. Today I have book club so that should be fun. We are reading Rosewater and Soda Bread. It is about 3 Iranian women who move to Ireland and open a cafe there. It is a great book. So Chris is hosting and since she lives way out there I am riding with Maeve since she knows how to get there. Nothing else is really new. We are interviewing people for two tasks. We need better lighting in our kitchen and family room. We also want advice on how to improve the look of our general living area in the house (family room, dining room, living room). We also are interviewing people to do some landscaping work in the back yard. So, sometime in the future I will have to do the old babysit Maggie thing so she is not too upset while work is being done. Not the most enjoyable task because I don't have as much freedom to bike ride and run when I am taking care of Maggie. Nothing else eally new. Hope your days are going well.
Clyde
Friday, July 10, 2009
Fighting Laziness
Hi all,
Well this week has been the week of new furniture and appliances. Andy and I decided to upgrade our appliances to stainless steel so we bought a new refrigerator and a new dishwasher. We also wanted to fix up the guest bedroom so that it had matching furniture instead of the hodge-podge of furniture we had. So, we looked around and found a nice bedroom set at Scandinavian Designs. It is very pretty . It is white with a topping and edging in oak. The drawers are especially made well and have an assisted closing mechanism. So, we had to clear out the bedroom of all the old stuff and have Salvation Army take it away. That happened Tuesday morning. It is pretty easy to have it hauled away. You just scheedule a pick-up online. Then Wed. morning they came and installed the dishwasher. In the afternoon the refrigerator was delivered and then Thursday morning the bedroom furniture was delivered and set up. We have to put up the mirror ourselves because it involves the wall and they won't do anything that involves house materials. Because the bed had slats you don't need the boxspring so I am now trying to have Salvation Army pick that up also. So far they haven't come today but I scheduled it just yesterday. I hope that it time enough in advance.
Another thing which is new is that I have a new goal of running in the California International Marathon which is in Sacramento on Sun. Dec 6. I would like to run the marathon in 4 hours or less. My best time ever was 4hours 20 minutes. And that was when I was faster. I am now very slow. To assist me in my efforts I have enlisted the help of Julie Fingar as a coach. She has won many ultramarathon runs and she owns FITTORUN, a coaching business. I have met with her once and she has set me up with a schedule a month at a time. So far, I am 2 weeks into the schedule. I am sore today because I did speed workouts on Wed. at the track. She charges $125.00 a month so it is a splurge for me. I plan to focus more on running and a little less on biking until the marathon is over and then I will focus more on cycling again. Unless, of course, I do well and make the cut-off time in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon! Then I will be training for that.
Nothing much else is new. Andy got new wheels and a new cluster for his Felt. He wanted more gears so he could perform better for Levi Leipheimer's Granfondo ride in October. We are both planning to ride. Andy will do the GrandFondo (100miles) and I will do the Mediofondo (65 miles). We will do this in celebration of Andy's birthday (oct. 12) since it will be a weekend away. The ride takes place in Sonoma County and starts in Santa Rosa. Coleman Valley Road will be part of the ride. Deja vu. We did this as part of Sierra to the Sea.
I'll sign off now. Have a good weekend. Clyde
Well this week has been the week of new furniture and appliances. Andy and I decided to upgrade our appliances to stainless steel so we bought a new refrigerator and a new dishwasher. We also wanted to fix up the guest bedroom so that it had matching furniture instead of the hodge-podge of furniture we had. So, we looked around and found a nice bedroom set at Scandinavian Designs. It is very pretty . It is white with a topping and edging in oak. The drawers are especially made well and have an assisted closing mechanism. So, we had to clear out the bedroom of all the old stuff and have Salvation Army take it away. That happened Tuesday morning. It is pretty easy to have it hauled away. You just scheedule a pick-up online. Then Wed. morning they came and installed the dishwasher. In the afternoon the refrigerator was delivered and then Thursday morning the bedroom furniture was delivered and set up. We have to put up the mirror ourselves because it involves the wall and they won't do anything that involves house materials. Because the bed had slats you don't need the boxspring so I am now trying to have Salvation Army pick that up also. So far they haven't come today but I scheduled it just yesterday. I hope that it time enough in advance.
Another thing which is new is that I have a new goal of running in the California International Marathon which is in Sacramento on Sun. Dec 6. I would like to run the marathon in 4 hours or less. My best time ever was 4hours 20 minutes. And that was when I was faster. I am now very slow. To assist me in my efforts I have enlisted the help of Julie Fingar as a coach. She has won many ultramarathon runs and she owns FITTORUN, a coaching business. I have met with her once and she has set me up with a schedule a month at a time. So far, I am 2 weeks into the schedule. I am sore today because I did speed workouts on Wed. at the track. She charges $125.00 a month so it is a splurge for me. I plan to focus more on running and a little less on biking until the marathon is over and then I will focus more on cycling again. Unless, of course, I do well and make the cut-off time in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon! Then I will be training for that.
Nothing much else is new. Andy got new wheels and a new cluster for his Felt. He wanted more gears so he could perform better for Levi Leipheimer's Granfondo ride in October. We are both planning to ride. Andy will do the GrandFondo (100miles) and I will do the Mediofondo (65 miles). We will do this in celebration of Andy's birthday (oct. 12) since it will be a weekend away. The ride takes place in Sonoma County and starts in Santa Rosa. Coleman Valley Road will be part of the ride. Deja vu. We did this as part of Sierra to the Sea.
I'll sign off now. Have a good weekend. Clyde
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sierra To The Sea
Hi all,
I wrote in a journal while I was on Sierra to the Sea so I will now transfer it into my blog.
Day 1-June 20, Saturday. Trip to Bear Valley, Tent Set-up, Bike Set-up
We got up this morning at 0600, thanks to the hotel wake-up call. We showered, ate breakfast. I had a huge bowl of oatmeal which I didn't finish. We brought our bags and boxed bikes to where they loaded them on trucks. We headed off in buses to Bear Valley. We stopped in Angel's Camp for lunch. We met a couple, Kary and Larry from Fort Collins, CO! They are part of a group of 7 from Fort Collins. We will have to meet them all. The bus driver didn't take a left turn to go on Highway 4 to Bear Valley. We went wrong for about 15 miles and then turned around and headed in the right direction. We arrived in Bear Valley shortly before 2 pm. The bike truck hadn't arrived yet so we set up our tent. Since there wasn't much space on the rocky dirt we chose to set up the small red pimple tent on the concrete of the parking lot. Then we went to the main road and took some pictures of the Bear Valley entrance. We saw the bike truck arrive so we went back to the camping area. Andy put the bikes together and we road tested them around the roads nearby. They seemed to ride fine. After we set-up our clothes for the morning we headed to the bar for a beer. We had registered and checked our route maps and drank our beeer. I went back to the tent and got my journal and now I am writing. Dinner is in 10 minutes.
Day 2- June 21, Sunday. Bear Valley to Jackson
As I write this I am in Jackson at St. Sava Mission, sitting by the pool. Our day went well today. My computer shows 74 miles, 5100 ft of climbing and a ride time of 5 hours 10 minutes. There was a lot of climbing but I was prepared for it, I guess becuase things felt OK with me. We rode into camp and set-up the big tent. We have the biggest tent in the camp. We joked that it was our McMansion. The big tent was nice in that there are many ways to hang up sweaty clothing. We set-up the tent and then took showers. After that, Andy found that they were selling beer on draft for $2.00. We each bought one and then split one. We walked down the road to the entrance to the mission and took photos. We went back to the pool and Andy went in. We are waiting for dinner at 6pm.
Day 3- June 22, Monday. Jackson to the Ryde Hotel
We left Jackson at 7:30 am. Along the way we came across a rider who was being put on stretcher and there were CHP present. She went down on an inside turn just before the town of Sutter Creek. We heard later at the first rest stop that she hit gravel and went down. We didn't know if she had been hit by a car or what. It was nice to hear that she only hit gravel. A car impact would have been deadly. We heard later at dinner that she suffered a pretty bad concussion and was being held at the hospital. Her husband was at dinner and Andy found that interesting. Why wasn't he with her? Our first stop was at Lake Comanche. Gradually after that point, we went more into windy areas. So, for much of the ride we were riding in the wind. For the most part it seemed to be a crosswind but there was a fair amount in our faces. The second rest stop was at Woodbridge Winery near Lodi. I discovered pretzel bites which are pretzel squares with peanut butter inside. We took a few photos, ate some more and then were on our way again. The wind was a struggle and we were tired. Our next rest stop was after the "erector set" bridge, 4 miles out from Ryde. Andy wanted some real food so we stopped at a little mart and he bought a potato tri-tip steak burrito. We sat and he ate his burrito. Then we were on our way. We arrived at the Ryde Hotel before 2:30 (kind of like yesterday). We set up the red pimple tent because it was windy and the big tent does not do as well in the wind. We later found that the tents were so tight together it was good we set-up the smaller tent. We showered at some dedicated rooms at the Ryde Hotel. Right now I am writing in the shade (precious commodity, shade in this hot camp ground) on the front patio of the hotel. I plan to hunt down our sagged gear from Rest Stop 1 and then get a wine at the hotel bar. We went down to the hotel dock by the delta and took some pictures.
Day 4 June 23, Tuesday, Ryde Hotel to Lake Solano
So we arrived at Lake Solano at 1:41 but we did less miles...59 miles. It was a good day. The windmill farm was great. Andy took a picture of me in front of the windmill farm. The wind was OK the whole ride. We really didn't get ant true head wind. There was a moderate wind the whole way and nothing too terrible. I was afraid it was going to be hellacious. Our second rest stop was Keating Park. It was pretty hot by that point and it seemed like everyone was riding into the park but no one was leaving. We grazed on Nacho chips and jelly beans. Andy added in oreo cookies. We left and then headed for Lake Solano. Once we got in camp we set up the tent in shady spot. Unfortunately our bags (which were so heavy I could no longer carry mine beyond less than a 100 feet. Besides I was now worried about throwing my back out from the strain so I waited for Andy to take the other strap and help me) were far away from the chosen camp site. We set-up the big tent and then showered. My shower had cool water. After we showered we went to the mart on the the corner and bought beer and chips. Food for the gods! After we walked back to our camp site, we drank some beer and ate some chips. Then we gathered our beer and camera and walked down to Lake Solano which looks more like a river. We gathered with our Sierra to the Sea riders and while I wrote in my journal Andy ventured out into the COLD water of the lake. We enjoyed talking with the others by the lake. That's it for now. Dinner tonight is catered by the Buckhorn Restaurant in Winters. The best! Rumor has it we will be having barbecued ribs. Muy delicioso. They cater the breakfast also which will have some egg dishes and waffles! PS- Today was our 8th anniverary of our church wedding.
Day 5 June 24, Wednesday Lake Solano to Calistoga
We left Lake Solano after having an incredible beakfast of fruit ( I went for honeydew melon), red potatoes, cheese omelet and waffles. There was also oatmeal but I didn't have any of that. It was muy delicioso! After we started riding I realized I forgot to put my route sheet on my bike. Dummy! So, after about 4 miles into riding we climbed Cardiac Hill which really wasn't too bad because I was in my middle chain ring the whole time. Not like Sheep Ranch Road where I was in my baby ring. When I reached Monticello Dam I took some pictures. Someone lost their route sheet so I got lucky and took it. Although the roads were well marked, you really need a route sheet because if you need to be sagged the cell phone numbers are on the sheet. The first rest stop was at 21.1 miles at Turtle Rock. I wasn't really hungry but I thought I should eat something so I ate 2 oreo cookies. We filled our water bottles and were on our way again. We rode for awhile and eventually got onto Lower Chiles Road and Pope Valley Road and it was obvious we were now in wine country with vineyards all around. Our next rest stop was Pope Valley store where many people stopped to eat popsicles. In the heat, boy did these taste good! We then made a photo op stop at Hubcap Ranch. There was another Sierra to the Sea rider there so we had her take our photo amongst all the hubcaps. We turned back on the road and got on Ink Grade Road. I had Andy take my photo for Bella Fiore purposes, and then we were on our way up the hill. It wasn't that bad of a climb, it is just long-about 4.2 miles. I stayed in my middle chain ring again so it wasn't that bad. At the top of the grade was Rest Stop 2. They had sort of a chex mix offered so I ate some of that. It hit the spot. Carbs with salt, just what I needed. The next part of the ride was a long descent down Cottage Road and Deer Park Road. They were well paved though so it was a nice descent. There was a route change because of road construction so we turned onto Silverado Trail and took that all the way into Calistoga. Both Andy and I agreed later that the Silverado Trail seemed never-ending at the end of the day. When we got to Calistoga we found the fairgounds where people were going to camp but we couldn't find the hotel so we stopped and asked a man for directions. We found the hotel and checked in. We brought our bikes into the rooms even though they officially have a no bikes in the room policy. The staff at Sierra to the Sea said it was more of a "don't ask don't tell" policy. We luxuriously took warm showers. I discovered to my consternation that I had developed welts all around my thigh area where the band of my bike shorts went. I showed Andy and he reminded my of my reaction to a set of band aids I used once on my shoulder. Maybe the bike short band was made of the same material? So, I put ointment on them and planned to ride with the band turned up to the outside in future rides. I was amazed with how angry-looking the skin was yet how I didn't feel a thing! After we showered we walked into town and had a beer at the microbrewerey and also split a Caesar Salad. We walked back toward the hotel (Best Western Stevenson Manor) and looked in a few art shops. We were scoping out restaurants for dinner and planned to eat at Bosko's or Checker's for pizza. We asked at the front desk and they said both were equally good. We made our way back to the hotel and now I sit writing in my journal poolside while Andy naps.
Day 6 June 25, Thursday, Calistoga to Duncans Mill (Casini Ranch)
We had set the alarms for 6:00am so that is when we got up. We dressed and dropped our bags outside near the hotel lobby. We ate breakfast at the hotel since they had a pretty plentiful set-up. I had a bowl of cereal and half a bagel. We headed out of town on the main drag turned right and were on our way. We stopped at Jimtown Store and Andy bought a cornbread blueberry muffin which was delicious. While we were there a car club of old woodies went by so I took a few photos. After that we stopped at Rest Stop 1 which was Passalaqua Winery. After that we traveled on a road which I remembered well because it led to a pretty rest stop we took in past years. In past years we bought sandwiches at the Dry Creek Store near Passalaqua Winery and road to the Madrona Manor and ate the sandwiches in the grove of trees in the back. Madrona Manor is a restaurant on a small hill with a nice grove of trees in the back. We went up to the grove for old times and took a pictures of the backs of our bikes showing our nametags as we had done in previoius years. The next rest stop was Rest Stop 2 which was the Moshin Winery. I did a little wine tasting there so I could buy a bottle of wine for our wine and cheese party which was to be at 5:30. I tasted a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was far superior but so was its price-they wanted $38.00 a bottle. So, I went frugal and bought the Sauvignon Blanc which was $17.00. I also bought a corkscrew as a souveigner. The wine was stored by the clerk with the other bottles Sierra to the Sea people bought and they would be sagged to Casini Ranch. So, at 58 miles we entered Casini Ranch. The conditions were very cool with a wind. After we set-up our red pimple tent (we chose the red pimple tent because it is better in the wind), we showered and changed into cold-weather clothes. That meant jeans, an underlayer, a long-sleeve shirt and a fleece jacket for me. We walked to the little store in the campground and bought a 7up and potato chips and Andy bought a microwave burrito and a chocolate milk. We went back to the tent and we are now inside where it is warmer. Andy is napping while I write in my journal.
Day 7 June 26, Friday, Duncans Mill to Olema
There wasn't a formal breakfast this morning. Oops, before I forget I need to mention the activities of last night. We had a wine and cheese party where we shared the wine from Moshin that I bought. It was fun and I gorged on cauliflower florets with dip and drank a lot of wine. Dinner was barbecued chicken and vegetable lasagna. After dinner they had a talent show and Miguel performed as Arnold Swartzenegger. The show was hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Most of the skits were Sierra to the Sea lyrics set to old TV show songs like Gilligan's Island. Andy and I really enjoyed ourselves. So, back to this morning. There was a brown bag breakfast where they provided a bagel, yogurt and banana. We ate part of our breakfast since we planned to stop at Howard's cafe in Occidental not too far into the ride. When we stopped both of us did not feel like big breakfasts so we split a big bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar (this is now turning into my favorite breakfast). Then we powered up Coleman Valley Road which leads to the coast. The vistas at the top where beautiful. When we got to the coast we had a picture of ourselves taken with the backdrop of the ocean and the rocks at the coastal edge. We road along the coast awhile and then the road turned inland. We stopped at the only rest stop of the day at Valley Ford. I ate a little pastry bite and two raspberry newtons. We took off a few layers and put them in the sag wagon. We were off again. The next stop we made was Tomales Bakery and deli. Andy bought a mocha and I bought a Snapple lemonade and ate a Cliff Bar. We were on our way again. The next stop we made was Point Reyes Station which was just two miles from camp. Andy ate a Big Mama meatball sandwich. Then we were off to camp. After arriving in camp, we set-up our red pimple tent, showered and then went up the road to the deli to get some beer. We are sitting at a barbecue table in the shade right now and I am writing in my journal while Andy reads his book. Next day is the last day!
Day 8, June 27, Saturday Olema to Lindley Meadow, Golden Gate Park
This was our last day. We left Olema after a good breakfast of eggs, hash browns and bagels. The riding was mostly near coastal but you couldn't see the ocean. We got to Stinson Beach and right at the end of town was the Mt. Tamalpais Road off to your left. It was a good climb to the Pan Toll Station=3.6 miles. I did well though. I was in my middle chain ring the whole time. There was a crowd of Sierra to the Sea'ers at the Pan Toll Station when I got there. I met up with Andy and we filled our water bottles. Then we took the descent down into Mill Valley. It was a nice descent with pretty smooth pavement. Not like Sheep Shit Road as Andy calls it. Along the way we had to stop twice because the Dipsea Trail Running Race was on and they had flagmen waving them across the road. I took a few pictures. Next we were in Mill Valley and then proceeded on a bike trail that took you to Sausalito. We stopped at a Starbucks in Sausalito for coffee and a slice of lemon loaf. We met and talked to a man who lived in Sausalito who had 3 cute terrier type dogs. He was amazed we road over Mt. Tam. He said he doesn't even like driving that road. We were on our way again and saw some spectacular vistas of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. Depending upon where you were you could see the 2 towers of the bridge or saw fog streaming through. Of course, I took some pictures. We were on our way again and had to climb the hill to get on the bridge. I had to use may baby chain ring at that point. So, there was a total 0f 3 times where I needed to use by baby chain ring on the whole trip: Sheep Ranch Road (I used it the whole way), just at the last bit on Coleman Valley Road and on the trail up to the Golden Gate Bridge. We crossed the bridge and that was scary. The west side is dedicated to bicyclists only and there is just enough room for cyclists going south and cyclists going north. We were warned by Miguel that there are a lot of people with rental bikes that don't know what they are doing and can be dangerous. I was very cautious, went slow and practically came to a stop when I came to areas where you had to go around a pole. We proceeded on the trail at the end which goes under the bridge and then goes by the Visitors Center. We made our way through part of the city, eventually getting to Golden Gate Park. We made our way to Lindley Meadow. We were done! the end! According to our route sheet we went 417 miles on the whole tour. For the last day I had 37.44 miles and 3053 feet of climbing. They had a nice picnic for us and then we waited for the buses to arrive and for them to load our bikes onto the truck. We had arranged with Miguel, Hector and Rafel to NOT pack our bikes in boxes and have them wrapped in blankets like everyone else. Yeah! We didn't have to take our bikes apart and then put them back together at home. The buses arrived and we were on our way back to San Jose. Lucky enough for some reason they put my bike on top of the sag van instead of the big truck. Maybe because it was new? Anyway, because of this I got my bike right away and we waited for the truck to arrive to get Andy's bike. We went to the Holiday Inn bar and split a beer. Just as we finished we heard the bike truck had arrived. We collected Andy's bike and packed the car. We had to put the duffel bags in vertically because they were so big. We headed home (by the way the temperature was 100 degrees, thank god we didn't have to ride in that!) We stopped at the In-N-Out in Tracy for a burger and fries. We arrived home safely. Nothing at home was amiss and we went to bed at 10pm. Late for us considering on the tour we were in bed by nine every night. It is now Sunday at 6:30 pm as I write this. Now I am logging off. We had a great trip-no flats, no mechanicals, perfect weather, not too much wind where it could have been windy and great food, great people and our bodies held up! We have decided to do the tour next year, also.
I wrote in a journal while I was on Sierra to the Sea so I will now transfer it into my blog.
Day 1-June 20, Saturday. Trip to Bear Valley, Tent Set-up, Bike Set-up
We got up this morning at 0600, thanks to the hotel wake-up call. We showered, ate breakfast. I had a huge bowl of oatmeal which I didn't finish. We brought our bags and boxed bikes to where they loaded them on trucks. We headed off in buses to Bear Valley. We stopped in Angel's Camp for lunch. We met a couple, Kary and Larry from Fort Collins, CO! They are part of a group of 7 from Fort Collins. We will have to meet them all. The bus driver didn't take a left turn to go on Highway 4 to Bear Valley. We went wrong for about 15 miles and then turned around and headed in the right direction. We arrived in Bear Valley shortly before 2 pm. The bike truck hadn't arrived yet so we set up our tent. Since there wasn't much space on the rocky dirt we chose to set up the small red pimple tent on the concrete of the parking lot. Then we went to the main road and took some pictures of the Bear Valley entrance. We saw the bike truck arrive so we went back to the camping area. Andy put the bikes together and we road tested them around the roads nearby. They seemed to ride fine. After we set-up our clothes for the morning we headed to the bar for a beer. We had registered and checked our route maps and drank our beeer. I went back to the tent and got my journal and now I am writing. Dinner is in 10 minutes.
Day 2- June 21, Sunday. Bear Valley to Jackson
As I write this I am in Jackson at St. Sava Mission, sitting by the pool. Our day went well today. My computer shows 74 miles, 5100 ft of climbing and a ride time of 5 hours 10 minutes. There was a lot of climbing but I was prepared for it, I guess becuase things felt OK with me. We rode into camp and set-up the big tent. We have the biggest tent in the camp. We joked that it was our McMansion. The big tent was nice in that there are many ways to hang up sweaty clothing. We set-up the tent and then took showers. After that, Andy found that they were selling beer on draft for $2.00. We each bought one and then split one. We walked down the road to the entrance to the mission and took photos. We went back to the pool and Andy went in. We are waiting for dinner at 6pm.
Day 3- June 22, Monday. Jackson to the Ryde Hotel
We left Jackson at 7:30 am. Along the way we came across a rider who was being put on stretcher and there were CHP present. She went down on an inside turn just before the town of Sutter Creek. We heard later at the first rest stop that she hit gravel and went down. We didn't know if she had been hit by a car or what. It was nice to hear that she only hit gravel. A car impact would have been deadly. We heard later at dinner that she suffered a pretty bad concussion and was being held at the hospital. Her husband was at dinner and Andy found that interesting. Why wasn't he with her? Our first stop was at Lake Comanche. Gradually after that point, we went more into windy areas. So, for much of the ride we were riding in the wind. For the most part it seemed to be a crosswind but there was a fair amount in our faces. The second rest stop was at Woodbridge Winery near Lodi. I discovered pretzel bites which are pretzel squares with peanut butter inside. We took a few photos, ate some more and then were on our way again. The wind was a struggle and we were tired. Our next rest stop was after the "erector set" bridge, 4 miles out from Ryde. Andy wanted some real food so we stopped at a little mart and he bought a potato tri-tip steak burrito. We sat and he ate his burrito. Then we were on our way. We arrived at the Ryde Hotel before 2:30 (kind of like yesterday). We set up the red pimple tent because it was windy and the big tent does not do as well in the wind. We later found that the tents were so tight together it was good we set-up the smaller tent. We showered at some dedicated rooms at the Ryde Hotel. Right now I am writing in the shade (precious commodity, shade in this hot camp ground) on the front patio of the hotel. I plan to hunt down our sagged gear from Rest Stop 1 and then get a wine at the hotel bar. We went down to the hotel dock by the delta and took some pictures.
Day 4 June 23, Tuesday, Ryde Hotel to Lake Solano
So we arrived at Lake Solano at 1:41 but we did less miles...59 miles. It was a good day. The windmill farm was great. Andy took a picture of me in front of the windmill farm. The wind was OK the whole ride. We really didn't get ant true head wind. There was a moderate wind the whole way and nothing too terrible. I was afraid it was going to be hellacious. Our second rest stop was Keating Park. It was pretty hot by that point and it seemed like everyone was riding into the park but no one was leaving. We grazed on Nacho chips and jelly beans. Andy added in oreo cookies. We left and then headed for Lake Solano. Once we got in camp we set up the tent in shady spot. Unfortunately our bags (which were so heavy I could no longer carry mine beyond less than a 100 feet. Besides I was now worried about throwing my back out from the strain so I waited for Andy to take the other strap and help me) were far away from the chosen camp site. We set-up the big tent and then showered. My shower had cool water. After we showered we went to the mart on the the corner and bought beer and chips. Food for the gods! After we walked back to our camp site, we drank some beer and ate some chips. Then we gathered our beer and camera and walked down to Lake Solano which looks more like a river. We gathered with our Sierra to the Sea riders and while I wrote in my journal Andy ventured out into the COLD water of the lake. We enjoyed talking with the others by the lake. That's it for now. Dinner tonight is catered by the Buckhorn Restaurant in Winters. The best! Rumor has it we will be having barbecued ribs. Muy delicioso. They cater the breakfast also which will have some egg dishes and waffles! PS- Today was our 8th anniverary of our church wedding.
Day 5 June 24, Wednesday Lake Solano to Calistoga
We left Lake Solano after having an incredible beakfast of fruit ( I went for honeydew melon), red potatoes, cheese omelet and waffles. There was also oatmeal but I didn't have any of that. It was muy delicioso! After we started riding I realized I forgot to put my route sheet on my bike. Dummy! So, after about 4 miles into riding we climbed Cardiac Hill which really wasn't too bad because I was in my middle chain ring the whole time. Not like Sheep Ranch Road where I was in my baby ring. When I reached Monticello Dam I took some pictures. Someone lost their route sheet so I got lucky and took it. Although the roads were well marked, you really need a route sheet because if you need to be sagged the cell phone numbers are on the sheet. The first rest stop was at 21.1 miles at Turtle Rock. I wasn't really hungry but I thought I should eat something so I ate 2 oreo cookies. We filled our water bottles and were on our way again. We rode for awhile and eventually got onto Lower Chiles Road and Pope Valley Road and it was obvious we were now in wine country with vineyards all around. Our next rest stop was Pope Valley store where many people stopped to eat popsicles. In the heat, boy did these taste good! We then made a photo op stop at Hubcap Ranch. There was another Sierra to the Sea rider there so we had her take our photo amongst all the hubcaps. We turned back on the road and got on Ink Grade Road. I had Andy take my photo for Bella Fiore purposes, and then we were on our way up the hill. It wasn't that bad of a climb, it is just long-about 4.2 miles. I stayed in my middle chain ring again so it wasn't that bad. At the top of the grade was Rest Stop 2. They had sort of a chex mix offered so I ate some of that. It hit the spot. Carbs with salt, just what I needed. The next part of the ride was a long descent down Cottage Road and Deer Park Road. They were well paved though so it was a nice descent. There was a route change because of road construction so we turned onto Silverado Trail and took that all the way into Calistoga. Both Andy and I agreed later that the Silverado Trail seemed never-ending at the end of the day. When we got to Calistoga we found the fairgounds where people were going to camp but we couldn't find the hotel so we stopped and asked a man for directions. We found the hotel and checked in. We brought our bikes into the rooms even though they officially have a no bikes in the room policy. The staff at Sierra to the Sea said it was more of a "don't ask don't tell" policy. We luxuriously took warm showers. I discovered to my consternation that I had developed welts all around my thigh area where the band of my bike shorts went. I showed Andy and he reminded my of my reaction to a set of band aids I used once on my shoulder. Maybe the bike short band was made of the same material? So, I put ointment on them and planned to ride with the band turned up to the outside in future rides. I was amazed with how angry-looking the skin was yet how I didn't feel a thing! After we showered we walked into town and had a beer at the microbrewerey and also split a Caesar Salad. We walked back toward the hotel (Best Western Stevenson Manor) and looked in a few art shops. We were scoping out restaurants for dinner and planned to eat at Bosko's or Checker's for pizza. We asked at the front desk and they said both were equally good. We made our way back to the hotel and now I sit writing in my journal poolside while Andy naps.
Day 6 June 25, Thursday, Calistoga to Duncans Mill (Casini Ranch)
We had set the alarms for 6:00am so that is when we got up. We dressed and dropped our bags outside near the hotel lobby. We ate breakfast at the hotel since they had a pretty plentiful set-up. I had a bowl of cereal and half a bagel. We headed out of town on the main drag turned right and were on our way. We stopped at Jimtown Store and Andy bought a cornbread blueberry muffin which was delicious. While we were there a car club of old woodies went by so I took a few photos. After that we stopped at Rest Stop 1 which was Passalaqua Winery. After that we traveled on a road which I remembered well because it led to a pretty rest stop we took in past years. In past years we bought sandwiches at the Dry Creek Store near Passalaqua Winery and road to the Madrona Manor and ate the sandwiches in the grove of trees in the back. Madrona Manor is a restaurant on a small hill with a nice grove of trees in the back. We went up to the grove for old times and took a pictures of the backs of our bikes showing our nametags as we had done in previoius years. The next rest stop was Rest Stop 2 which was the Moshin Winery. I did a little wine tasting there so I could buy a bottle of wine for our wine and cheese party which was to be at 5:30. I tasted a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was far superior but so was its price-they wanted $38.00 a bottle. So, I went frugal and bought the Sauvignon Blanc which was $17.00. I also bought a corkscrew as a souveigner. The wine was stored by the clerk with the other bottles Sierra to the Sea people bought and they would be sagged to Casini Ranch. So, at 58 miles we entered Casini Ranch. The conditions were very cool with a wind. After we set-up our red pimple tent (we chose the red pimple tent because it is better in the wind), we showered and changed into cold-weather clothes. That meant jeans, an underlayer, a long-sleeve shirt and a fleece jacket for me. We walked to the little store in the campground and bought a 7up and potato chips and Andy bought a microwave burrito and a chocolate milk. We went back to the tent and we are now inside where it is warmer. Andy is napping while I write in my journal.
Day 7 June 26, Friday, Duncans Mill to Olema
There wasn't a formal breakfast this morning. Oops, before I forget I need to mention the activities of last night. We had a wine and cheese party where we shared the wine from Moshin that I bought. It was fun and I gorged on cauliflower florets with dip and drank a lot of wine. Dinner was barbecued chicken and vegetable lasagna. After dinner they had a talent show and Miguel performed as Arnold Swartzenegger. The show was hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Most of the skits were Sierra to the Sea lyrics set to old TV show songs like Gilligan's Island. Andy and I really enjoyed ourselves. So, back to this morning. There was a brown bag breakfast where they provided a bagel, yogurt and banana. We ate part of our breakfast since we planned to stop at Howard's cafe in Occidental not too far into the ride. When we stopped both of us did not feel like big breakfasts so we split a big bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar (this is now turning into my favorite breakfast). Then we powered up Coleman Valley Road which leads to the coast. The vistas at the top where beautiful. When we got to the coast we had a picture of ourselves taken with the backdrop of the ocean and the rocks at the coastal edge. We road along the coast awhile and then the road turned inland. We stopped at the only rest stop of the day at Valley Ford. I ate a little pastry bite and two raspberry newtons. We took off a few layers and put them in the sag wagon. We were off again. The next stop we made was Tomales Bakery and deli. Andy bought a mocha and I bought a Snapple lemonade and ate a Cliff Bar. We were on our way again. The next stop we made was Point Reyes Station which was just two miles from camp. Andy ate a Big Mama meatball sandwich. Then we were off to camp. After arriving in camp, we set-up our red pimple tent, showered and then went up the road to the deli to get some beer. We are sitting at a barbecue table in the shade right now and I am writing in my journal while Andy reads his book. Next day is the last day!
Day 8, June 27, Saturday Olema to Lindley Meadow, Golden Gate Park
This was our last day. We left Olema after a good breakfast of eggs, hash browns and bagels. The riding was mostly near coastal but you couldn't see the ocean. We got to Stinson Beach and right at the end of town was the Mt. Tamalpais Road off to your left. It was a good climb to the Pan Toll Station=3.6 miles. I did well though. I was in my middle chain ring the whole time. There was a crowd of Sierra to the Sea'ers at the Pan Toll Station when I got there. I met up with Andy and we filled our water bottles. Then we took the descent down into Mill Valley. It was a nice descent with pretty smooth pavement. Not like Sheep Shit Road as Andy calls it. Along the way we had to stop twice because the Dipsea Trail Running Race was on and they had flagmen waving them across the road. I took a few pictures. Next we were in Mill Valley and then proceeded on a bike trail that took you to Sausalito. We stopped at a Starbucks in Sausalito for coffee and a slice of lemon loaf. We met and talked to a man who lived in Sausalito who had 3 cute terrier type dogs. He was amazed we road over Mt. Tam. He said he doesn't even like driving that road. We were on our way again and saw some spectacular vistas of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. Depending upon where you were you could see the 2 towers of the bridge or saw fog streaming through. Of course, I took some pictures. We were on our way again and had to climb the hill to get on the bridge. I had to use may baby chain ring at that point. So, there was a total 0f 3 times where I needed to use by baby chain ring on the whole trip: Sheep Ranch Road (I used it the whole way), just at the last bit on Coleman Valley Road and on the trail up to the Golden Gate Bridge. We crossed the bridge and that was scary. The west side is dedicated to bicyclists only and there is just enough room for cyclists going south and cyclists going north. We were warned by Miguel that there are a lot of people with rental bikes that don't know what they are doing and can be dangerous. I was very cautious, went slow and practically came to a stop when I came to areas where you had to go around a pole. We proceeded on the trail at the end which goes under the bridge and then goes by the Visitors Center. We made our way through part of the city, eventually getting to Golden Gate Park. We made our way to Lindley Meadow. We were done! the end! According to our route sheet we went 417 miles on the whole tour. For the last day I had 37.44 miles and 3053 feet of climbing. They had a nice picnic for us and then we waited for the buses to arrive and for them to load our bikes onto the truck. We had arranged with Miguel, Hector and Rafel to NOT pack our bikes in boxes and have them wrapped in blankets like everyone else. Yeah! We didn't have to take our bikes apart and then put them back together at home. The buses arrived and we were on our way back to San Jose. Lucky enough for some reason they put my bike on top of the sag van instead of the big truck. Maybe because it was new? Anyway, because of this I got my bike right away and we waited for the truck to arrive to get Andy's bike. We went to the Holiday Inn bar and split a beer. Just as we finished we heard the bike truck had arrived. We collected Andy's bike and packed the car. We had to put the duffel bags in vertically because they were so big. We headed home (by the way the temperature was 100 degrees, thank god we didn't have to ride in that!) We stopped at the In-N-Out in Tracy for a burger and fries. We arrived home safely. Nothing at home was amiss and we went to bed at 10pm. Late for us considering on the tour we were in bed by nine every night. It is now Sunday at 6:30 pm as I write this. Now I am logging off. We had a great trip-no flats, no mechanicals, perfect weather, not too much wind where it could have been windy and great food, great people and our bodies held up! We have decided to do the tour next year, also.
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