Saturday, November 18, 2006
As some of you are aware, I deleted my blog and started anew. Going forward, in the words of the opening narration to Dragnet, "The story (blog) you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." To my surprise when I arrived at the parking lot for Week 6 of the Low Key Hillclimbs, people asked about my blog. One of the top female cyclists said, “It’s the blog lady!” Yes, well, what can I say. Oh, I know, I like my gatorade shaken not stirred. The attention caused my ego to grow. Now if only my leg muscles would as well.
Today’s ride up Page Mill Road (8.7 miles, 2130 feet, 7 % avg. grade with some killer sections) starting from Arastradero in Los Altos Hills was an individual time trial, with riders beginning at 20 second intervals. I wouldn’t be able to pull the old “Hey, wait for me” routine. As we stood in line, 43 men and 10 women, I began talking with a fella who told me his strategy was to start out slow. My strategy? Hmm, let's see. I think you know what’s coming. Start out slowly and continue going slowly. A woman standing near us was wearing a WordPerfect jersey. Wow. I mentioned that I used to use ClarisWorks. The unicyclist was a few people behind me. He said he had his work cut out this time since he’d be starting after me but somehow I suspected he’d pass me again along with most of the people behind him. Sigh.
As we approached the starting point, we could hear a volunteer counting down for each rider to head off. It struck me as ever so serious, kinda of like when you’re about to go under for surgery, you know, and the anesthesiologist makes you count backwards. “Okay, Ms. Giggles,” the volunteer said, “It’s your turn. 10, 9, 8, … Oh dear, I better stop laughing and get going.
Off I shot and sure enough, cyclists who started after me, passed me and eventually the unicyclist did as well. Sigh. I was alone with no one to play with unlike the time when I rode up Page Mill Road for the Tour de Max. At mile 5, there was a sign for Happy Elves. Okay, I made it this far, so where, I ask you, were they? I got off the bike and looked around. I began to question the existence of Santa Claus, Rudolph, the Snow Queen, the Sugar Plum Fairy and of course, the elves. Lest you think I’m missing a few marbles, I do acknowledge and accept that there is no tooth fairy. Let me also remind you that you can visit Santa Claus in his village at the Artic Circle in Finnish Lapland. I even have a postcard from there with a Santa Claus postmark.
As some of you are aware, I deleted my blog and started anew. Going forward, in the words of the opening narration to Dragnet, "The story (blog) you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." To my surprise when I arrived at the parking lot for Week 6 of the Low Key Hillclimbs, people asked about my blog. One of the top female cyclists said, “It’s the blog lady!” Yes, well, what can I say. Oh, I know, I like my gatorade shaken not stirred. The attention caused my ego to grow. Now if only my leg muscles would as well.
Today’s ride up Page Mill Road (8.7 miles, 2130 feet, 7 % avg. grade with some killer sections) starting from Arastradero in Los Altos Hills was an individual time trial, with riders beginning at 20 second intervals. I wouldn’t be able to pull the old “Hey, wait for me” routine. As we stood in line, 43 men and 10 women, I began talking with a fella who told me his strategy was to start out slow. My strategy? Hmm, let's see. I think you know what’s coming. Start out slowly and continue going slowly. A woman standing near us was wearing a WordPerfect jersey. Wow. I mentioned that I used to use ClarisWorks. The unicyclist was a few people behind me. He said he had his work cut out this time since he’d be starting after me but somehow I suspected he’d pass me again along with most of the people behind him. Sigh.
As we approached the starting point, we could hear a volunteer counting down for each rider to head off. It struck me as ever so serious, kinda of like when you’re about to go under for surgery, you know, and the anesthesiologist makes you count backwards. “Okay, Ms. Giggles,” the volunteer said, “It’s your turn. 10, 9, 8, … Oh dear, I better stop laughing and get going.
Off I shot and sure enough, cyclists who started after me, passed me and eventually the unicyclist did as well. Sigh. I was alone with no one to play with unlike the time when I rode up Page Mill Road for the Tour de Max. At mile 5, there was a sign for Happy Elves. Okay, I made it this far, so where, I ask you, were they? I got off the bike and looked around. I began to question the existence of Santa Claus, Rudolph, the Snow Queen, the Sugar Plum Fairy and of course, the elves. Lest you think I’m missing a few marbles, I do acknowledge and accept that there is no tooth fairy. Let me also remind you that you can visit Santa Claus in his village at the Artic Circle in Finnish Lapland. I even have a postcard from there with a Santa Claus postmark.
It took me 1 hour 15 minutes to finish. Yes, once again, I managed to finish last among the women and of course, the unicyclist got to the top of Page Mill before me. There’s an art, you know, to being slow. It takes real talent and skill. Anyway, I truly enjoy reading the results of the other cyclists; it's darn impressive but more importantly, everyone appears to be having a good time. This is a fun series. Thanks again to the volunteers responsible for these rides and photos.
Oh yeah, The Boyfriend, pictured above, also attended. I accepted his offer to escort me down since the elves weren't available.
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