LKHC Page Mill Road 2015

                                                (photo taken by Frank Paysen)


Saturday, October 3rd

Ring, Ring (I'd know that ring anywhere; it was The Boyfriend calling)

BF:  How'd you do on the LKHC Page Mill ride
Me:  Well, hello to you, too, Mister.
BF:  Give me the low down!
Me:  Well, the weather was ever so weird, a dense fog requiring car lights on Hwy 280, I had to wear my cycling woolies and wipe down my wet bike before biking from Shoup Park in Los Altos to the start.
BF:  Who cares.  How'd you do!
Me:  I saw a deer with big ears on Purissma before reaching the registration location.
BF:  What part of "who cares" did you not grasp?
Me:  Listen Mister, I'm telling the story from start to end.
BF:  Yes, Ma'am.
Me:  Biking in the Los Altos Hills was like I imagine a fall ride on the East Coast to be.  Fallen leaves, colorful Autumn foliage, damp, quiet, mysterious.
BF:  Oh for Pete's sake.
Me:  Alrighty, I thought if the weather doesn't clear by the time I get to registration, I am so not doing this for safety reasons but Cara was informed by residents that Page Mill was clear and good to go.
BF:  Go on.
Me:  Rather than be in the last group of the day, Dan the Man said it was okay for me to start by myself and self-time.  That way I could see some action for once as riders caught up to me!
BF:  I'm listening.
Me:  You should be.  So, I started at 9:45am.  The first wave of riders were scheduled to start at 10:10am.
BF:  And.
Me:  I put my head down, stared at the ground, zoned out listening to music, and shot off.
BF:  Go Girl.
Me:  At around mile 5.98, the national champion who joined our party passed me but he also said something to me.
BF:  He did!
Me:  Yes, and that's between him and me.
BF:  Shut up.
Me:  Then Mr. Bill passed me and Miss P in the car going to the top.  Or maybe they were first and then it was the national champion.  I can't remember.  And then more riders and Dan, too.
BF:  Go, go, go.
Me:  Guess what!  I got to the section where the two parks are on either side of the road, and someone shouted, "Green Ninja!"  I practically peed in my panties.  It was EC, a professor at my university who is part of the Green Ninja project.  I am a climate action hero, or at least I try to do my part.  That made my day and how I fared in the "race" didn't matter.

                                            (photo taken by Bill Bushnell)

The stretch between Gate 3 and 4 is, how should I put it, a bitch.  I am a recreational cyclist (get out your hankies).  I do Page Mill Road maybe once or twice a year. I don't train like many who showed up today (impressive cyclists!).  It is something I do because it allows me the opportunity to help my heart, be with friends, and appreciate the beauty of the Bay Area.   I forced myself to get through the difficult parts and to simply keep going.

How'd I do?  Well, of course, I placed last but ... in 2006 (different bike), I timed 75.34, in 2011, I timed 66.54 and today:  66 minutes. 

My secret:  mixing tofu with one egg and one egg white scrambled for breakfast plus sheer determinism. 

The BF was proud and supportive.

I am a Green Ninja super action hero cyclist.