Awww Alpaca

Miss P's ACTC ride drew a fast crowd today, including Miss. A (who went on to do Mt. Bache by herself).  I, however, felt more like a duck, biking with a waddling gait.  C'est la vie.  Our route today began at the Lexington School, over to Summit Road and Wright Station as well as Old Summit Road and Bear Creek.  A short route, mostly climbing, made a bit more difficult with the somewhat chilly and windy conditions.  Best part of the ride, besides doing Old Summit, was the awe factor of seeing Alpaca on Summit Road.  Awww.

Just the Stats:

20.93 miles
9.2 avg mph
27 mph descent
2 hr 15 min.

Murky

Out today on a club ride.  I climbed 6 miles up Mt Hamilton but decided that while the air was still and the day quiet, I wasn't in the mood to bike into the increasingly gloomy sky.  I let the bike glide down slowly, afraid to pick up any speed on the wet surface.  Of course this then led me to freeze and stiffen.  Once at the bottom, the sky was blue again thanks to a hefty wind.   I probably spent more time cleaning my bike than riding.  Oh well.  There's always tomorrow.

Mega Me : Mega Monster Enduro 2012

 (photos - Bill Bushnell)

20% chance of rain for the Bay Area led me to leave my cozy home at 6:30am for the 2012 Mega Monster Enduro.  Who knew that the rain would only fall in, you guessed it, Paicines last Saturday.

My chauffeur bailed on me so I drove myself to the event except that I didn't have enough gas and had to stop in Morgan Hill.  I said to the attendant:  Fill me up.  I had the distinct impression that he wanted to pump my gas alrighty....

There I am at Bittersweet, the turnaround for the 100K riders.  And my entourage waiting to escort me back.  Seeing welcoming faces helped a lot to deal with the inclement weather.  Howard, Dan, Lisa, Andrea, the dynamic duo of Tim and Clark, Lane Parker, Bill Bushnell (unable to ride but out there taking photos) and our main man from the East Coast, Mr. Kevin W.

Occasionally there were glimpses of sun and breaks in the inclement weather but it certainly was a challenge to do the 64 miles in mostly spitting rain.  I admire the cyclists who did the full 102 course.  Of course the farmer who wanted to take me on a spin on the tractor helped, too.  I bet he knows how to plough a field nicely....  Oh and whoever made those delicious brownies served at the end, and thank you Lane Parker for the food at the Bittersweet rest stop. 

My motto for the ride:  Suck it Up.  Suck it Up.  And that I did.  Along with a very nice sentiment from Kevin who replied, after I asked, "Where was the sun, Mister?,"  -- "It's in your heart," he said.

How'd I do compared to 2010?  Well I took 13 minutes off this time.  I attribute this to virtually no wind and the desire to get the hell out of Paicines. 

Just the Stats:

64 miles

5 hr

12.5 mph avg

28 mph descent