Easy Rider

Atherton, my kind of town.  Elevation 51 feet.  and 3 firetrucks full of, you guessed it, eye candy.   Okay, so that's not Atherton.  It's at the top of Edgewood before descending to Canada Road.

Mr. Easy Rider must have read my mind because earlier in the week, I thought a jaunt to the Pulgas Water Temple would be a pleasant ride to do. 

Lounge time.  Yay.  I started to bake on those steps.  There's a water fountain nearby which is good to know for future reference.  I hit 33 mph descending Edgewood and that's big for me.  31.76 miles total.  Thanks Mr ER for the impromptu club ride.

In Search of the Elusive

Off to the City for a conference.  5 minutes after getting off the light rail train not sure of where to go to get the Caltrain station in San Jose, I met a man.  No, you say!  Naturally he set me straight and got me to the station.  While waiting on the platform, we met up with other conference goers plus a woman who was going to another conference, the same one that The BF was attending.   He drove to his conference.  Ah, what he missed.... 

Lots of people wanted to help us get to our destination.  I was shocked to pay $2.85 for a regular Starbucks coffee in the big bad City.  Earlier in the week, thanks to Google maps and the little orange man, we knew we wanted to go to an Irish pub for lunch.  John joined us.  And this lovely bartender was helpful.  Geez, what a surprise, you say.  We had the best fish and chips and delightful fresh mushy peas!

Why have one when you can have many.  hmm.  During breaks, I played phone tag with The BF.

Ah, in search of the elusive.  You see, I and Guerlain go way back.  Back to the days when I traveled by train from Munich to Brussels in the 80s.  We walked from store to store in Union Square and met quite a few men and women eager to please us.  And some so botoxed with huge lips that I'll probably have nightmares tonight.  Still, not exactly a bad way to spend the lunch hour.  Long story short (online purchases are tricky), I bought the parfum from Saks.  The sales lady and I talked sugar daddies.  Not going to happen.  She also wanted to do my face but we had a conference to return to and much to learn.  She gave us goodies.  We got goodies from the conference, too.  Ah, then, there was the taxi driver who was ever so pleased to have librarians in his car...  Where was I.  Ah yes,   it's worth it when you find the real thing.  And you will only need one.  It will last. 

On the Waterfront

Some friends and I played tourists today, visiting Fisherman's Wharf.  We had the best crab and shrimp on sourdough sandwich. 

Perfect weather to take in views.

We walked from the Ferry Building to Pier 39, Pier 45 and the Grotto. 

A pic of me not in biking gear.

Always a treat seeing these guys.

Another nice view.

Look what's baking at the Boudin Bakery

Grin and Bear It

Fabulous weather today for a club ride led by Donny.

Some of the gang waiting at Hwy 9 and Skyline.  Laura Hipp stopped by and said hello.  Dr. G. joined the ride, too.  A friendly group that made me feel welcome. 

Miss P, Dr. G and I decided to separate from the main gang as much as they were a joy.  We did Hwy 9, Skyline (passing Castle Rock State Park) and onward to the intersection with Bear Creek.

Skyline narrows significantly.  Not much traffic either.  Maybe a big bad wolf will eat me, I thought.  Oh, lookey, a fire truck passing by.  Can we say Yay.  and, Hello Men.

Who can think about Christmas trees today, what with the warm temperature but it was a lovely sight.  I don't think I've been on this stretch of Skyline where the road narrows before reaching Bear Creek.  Very pretty.  While there were some short steep pitches, Miss P and I both found the outing to be soothing and swell.  She's been teaching me to descend better and I must say that I hit 32.5 mph, either on Skyline or Hwy 9, with ease and confidence.  42.81 miles total for me.

Sweet Stetson and Skyland

Yesterday, as a safety volunteer, I hung out with a CHP officer who assisted me with directing traffic and cyclists who were doing the club's Tierra Bella.  He was fond of saying to me,  "Yes Ma'am".  Naturally this tickled me to no end.  It was a tricky intersection for everyone so having the officer was greatly appreciated.  A lot of effort goes into making this ride a lovely way to celebrate spring and early reports tell us that cyclists agreed.  Here are photos of the annual event. 

Meanwhile, today, I decided to do Marci's club ride because the route involved two roads I've not done before.  Another chance to see the world.  Above is a shot from Wright's Station at Summit Road.

After climbing Old Santa Cruz Highway and dipping down into Wright's Station, we continued along Summit to San Jose-Soquel Road and turned onto Stetson.  That's me at the Skyland Community Church on Stetson.  Obviously that's not the church, which by the way was built in 1891.  We had a brief conversation with the minister who welcomed us and said we could use the facilities if we wanted.  Stetson is a peaceful shaded climb in the woods.  Skyland, another new road for me to experience, was a pleasant descent.  Miss P was also along for the ride.  Our route was slightly altered, causing some confusion, but, in the end, a nice time had by all, I believe.

Just the Stats:

27.89 miles
29 mph descending
9.7 mph avg

Shore Me Up

To the sea I go.  First stop the Harbor.  Calm, quiet and misting heavily.

Onward to watch the surfers dance in the waves.

In downtown Half Moon Bay.

Back to the beach.

 

And finally the cliff of flowers.  A nice way to spend a Sunday.

Four Men and Me

I sure know how to pick the right club ride!  Just four men and myself out for a spin.  Along the route, to my everlasting delight, I watched ten shirtless young strapping bucks (most likely Stanford U students) with abs that made my jaw drop run along Portola.  There were a few busty babes in skimpy outfits to keep the fellas happy, too.  The weather was unstable, ranging from muggy to cloudy to moments of blue sky.  Lupine and poppies bloomed nicely on Purissima, Arastradero, Alpine and Portola.  The sky darkened as we climbed Old La Honda.  Soon a fine mist took hold but I was distracted by the attention of male cyclists wanting to chat with me.  How swell.  I wouldn't say I zipped up OLH but I certainly managed a quick enough pace until the last half mile or so.  That's when the fine mist became a bit more aggressive.  Skyline was fogged in so we cut the ride short and turned around, cautiously descending OLH to return to Shoup Park in Los Altos.  Luckily it wasn't particularly chilly but we certainly got wet and our bikes dirty.  We rode 27.65 miles.  Thank you to our wonderful ride leader.