Celebrating with the Club

Happy Independence Day Americans. I spent the 4th as I did last year doing a bike ride with ACTC members. The club has a nice tradition of starting the day with a pancake, fruit and sausage breakfast before heading off. I won the bouquet pictured above but if I had taken it home, Charlotte would have thought it a toy to bat around much the way she and her sister used to "play" with spiders. Sigh.

Our group of about 40 (some pictured above) rode the Los Gatos Trail from San Jose over to LG to climb Peach Hill, Ojai and Overlook. Onlookers in neighborhoods waved to us. A & P were on the ride, as well! What would a ride be without me taking a wrong turn .... too bad I didn't overlook Overlook. :) And I had a geek moment. I fixed a woman's sensor so her computer clock would work. At one point, A and I were cycling together:

Me: Hey, I know where we are. I once walked this road with a former boyfriend.

A: You may find yourself walking it again.

Me: Ooooh.

A: I couldn't help myself. You walked right into that one. Ha ha ha.

I managed to climb the short somewhat steep hills despite being a couch potato the last several days. Above -- the top of Overlook. We could see the white tips of Shoreline Amphitheatre. Good to be out with a fun bunch and a fabulous ride leader. We did 27 miles in 2.5 hours.

May our troops around the world be safe. Happy 4th of July to all.

Hottie

I like to believe that I'm hot and not because of the weather....

Saturday, the plan was to charge up Mt. Hamilton as I always struggle with this climb. I haven't done this ride since I had the bike fit awhile ago. I was proud of myself for biking faster than I have and for being in gears other than Missy Granny but when I reached Grant Ranch (8 or 9 miles in), I realized the folly of such a ride during a severe weather alert. With sadness (yeah, right), I turned around. However, I did enjoy exploring side roads like Clayton, practicing descending and biking the Alum Rock neighborhood.

Sunday, the plan was to .... well, another day of extreme heat and I'm just too hot, you know.....

Put on Your Biking Clothes

"May I have your attention, please. Please observe me if you will. I'm Professor Howard Hill. Oh we got trouble." We got trouble right here in Silicon Valley. Ah, showtunes! - (no Led Zeppelin today) -- music to sing along to on a bike ride and when times are kinda rough. Today, I learned that my cat Charlotte has early stage renal failure. Her sister Cabbage died a year ago. So, the two of us are going to make the most of it while we can, you know. So, let's start. All aboard.

Put on your biking clothes. There's a lot of world out there. We're going to find adventure. Put on your biking clothes when you feel down and out .... Beneath your helmet, the world's all a smile ... there's no Blue Monday in your biking clothes.... [Hello Dolly modified]

Today's ride included Montebello above. Lovely vineyards -- Ridge, I think.



Later, a conversation with The Boyfriend:

Me: Listen, Mister
The BF: I feel a whopper coming
Me: You got that right, Mister.
The BF: I suppose you want a drum roll
Me: Listen, Mister, sure, you can do all 5 passes of the Death Ride, but, and it's big But, can you yodel and sing the Lonely GoatHerd from the Sound of Music while climbing Montebello - Odl lay ee, old lay lee, Odl lay hee hee, odl lay, Odl lay odl lay, odl lay odl lee, odl lay odl
The BF: Oh oh, help me.
Me: You got that right Mister. Once more. Odl lay ee, old lay lee, Odl lay hee hee, odl lay, Odl lay odl lay, odl lay odl lee, odl lay odl.
The BF: Help, help. Don't we have an 8th amendment?
Me: Too late, Mister. All the men climbing with me enjoyed my yodeling!
The BF: Sigh.
Me: Especially when I told them about my favorite things ...
The BF: Sigh.
Me: By the way Mister. Just as I was leaving, I heard a roar. I looked to the sky. And there they were. The Blue Angels soaring above me.
The BF: Top Gun! The Blue Angels!
Me: You got that right, Mister. I do believe they gave me the thumbs up as I winked at them.







The plan was to do Foothill to Montebello, swing around to Redwood Gulch to Highway 9 and Skyline, down Page Mill and so forth but as you can see from the photo above, the weather turned. The marine layer came in fast, the wind picked up, and I began to shiver. So, my ride was greatly shortened.





Lovely, isn't it, the color of the water. I achieved one of my goals today by doing Montebello. Last year, at the LKHC, I did it in 55:58. This year, without a whole lot of gungho and with the extra weight of a camelbak, I climbed Montebello in 53 minutes. Must have been that yodeling. My max on Foothill was 32 mph.

Now and then, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad or so sad.