Country View on a Summer Day

Here I am climbing or more accurately dying as I climb Country View.  Oh wait, Weenie Woman (that would be me) can't die but I sure did see weenie stars circling my head.  Oh boy, it's been awhile since I've climbed a hard one and I felt it.  I don't know the grade but it's nasty.

There goes The Boyfriend tackling more of this challenging climb.  Stud.  In the past, I've managed to do all of it but today, I had to walk the last bit of it.  We were on a club ride though we started 20 minutes earlier than the other 13 riders on Donny's ride.  We wanted to beat the heat as today was going to be a warm one, close to 100 degrees.  It was nice seeing Ahmed and Sean (haven't seen him since Molly's Sonoma trip last year).

Oh goody, time to descend and feel the breeze.  Can we say YAY.  At this point, we waved to the other club members making their way up the hill.  Clearly, I am not a road runner since they caught up to us. 

Onward we went over to Croy to climb that hill as well.  By this time, The BF was feeling it and not in a good way.  He needed fluids.  He climbed Mt Ham the day before!  Me, aka weenie woman, was okay but that's because my Energizer Bunny batteries keep on going, even if only at a snail's pace.  It was a tough outing, one that informed me that I need to exercise more and cut back on the bon bons, wine and daydreams of firemen.  Ha ha, like that's going to happen....

Just the Stats:

40.46 miles
10.2 avg mph
32 mph on descent
3 hrs 56 min.

Wandering Around

Miss P is away doing a ride elsewhere, The BF is in the U.K, and I didn't feel like doing any of the club rides listed.  I decided to wander around Woodside and Portola Valley by myself.  I started on Canada Road and was soon enveloped in a swarm of testosterone, also known as male cyclists.  There were a lot of riders out despite the temperature (climbing to nearly 100 degrees); turns out, there was some sort of organized tour going on, too.  Here I am about to descend Edgewood. 

Before I knew it, I was already headed back on Canada Road.  It's weird how sometimes it seems to take forever to get from point A to point B.  Not today.

I stopped to visit the Pulgas Water Temple.  It's been years since I've been there.  Beautiful as always.

Oh looky, guess who I ran into ...  it's rare not to encounter firemen when I ride.... oh, hello there.  Which reminds me, lots of cyclists said hi to me and even those in pelotons.  One guy was sweet enough to let me know my saddle bag was not zipped.  Amazing nothing fell out.

I descended Whiskey Hill and turned right on Portola til the end.  On the way back, I turned onto Westridge and meandered a mile or so.  On the way back, I turned on this street - Mapache.  It was fun.  Then I continued on Portola, climbed Whiskey Hill and back to the Pioneer Hotel parking lot.  By then, it was time to stop given the heat. Plus, my remaining water was warm.  Yuck.  I found it helpful to stop once in awhile in a shady spot, and let the sweat drip off.  As usual, not going to win any speed awards but I was pleased with my ride.

Just the Stats:

30 miles
11.8 avg mph
31.5 mph descending
2 hr  30 min.

My Day on Mines Road

Funny, I thought I'd start out with, "I never thought I'd be biking Mines Road in June" but apparently I've already used that line a few years ago in another blog post .... well, here I am, without Miss P who is doing a bike tour elsewhere in the Bay Area and also, without The BF who is on a business trip in Europe.  I'm with 5 other club members though we quickly separated and I was on my own almost the entire time.

The mild temperatures and the winter rains brought us patches of wildflowers still to be seen in June.  As we started our ride, the wind was already a factor. It brought a chill and we needed arm warmers, and of course, I needed more -- leg warmers, wool socks and a jacket for descents.  I am a weenie. 

I wasn't surprised by the number of motorcyclists and sporty cars on the road but I was surprised by the number of cyclists, easily 25.  I looked for scenes to photograph that I hadn't taken before.  And I struggled to stay motivated, being by myself.  No firemen or others of the male persuasion to entertain me....

I am out of shape from being sick for 3 weeks but I was keen on tackling this climb, and I did, even though my stats are not as great as I would have liked.  The wind was certainly a factor.  It frightened me at times. I did appreciate parking on Mines Road vs our usual starting location several miles further.  I am on the mend for sure, and that's a good thing.

Just the Stats:

48.43 miles
9.6 avg mph (gotta work on this)
30 mph on descent
4 hr. 59 min (sigh, several years ago, I did 58 miles in 5 hrs)

Back in the Saddle

A bit on the toasty side this weekend with temperatures reaching low 90s.  I could of course have hung out at at my pool with the nonexistent life guard who in my imagination is nicely drawn with rippling abs among other things but no, I got on the bike.  I've been sick for a few weeks and I needed to get back in the saddle.  So, Saturday, I did a club ride around Lexington Reservoir and climbed Soda Springs and Aldercroft Heights. Biking 22 miles felt like an accomplishment especially with the temperature heating up.  The Boyfriend asked if I saw any firemen. No, but remember, I have my imaginary lifeguard to tickle my fancy.

Sunday, I joined Miss P who leads a fun ride starting at the Sunnyvale Community Center (I biked to the start on my Specialized hybrid) and continues along various trails. Being near the water felt wonderful.

Here's another shot.  We had a nice breeze.  It was great seeing Ed, a club member I met last year when Miss P. and I did a club trip in Sebastopol. 

Lookey, Shoreline Amphitheatre.  Gosh, been years since I've seen a concert there!

Lookey what Miss P found -- an egret eggshell.  The focus of the ride was visiting the Shorebird Egret Rookery in Mountain View.  It was magical seeing them in their nests and taking care of their little ones.

 On my way home, on some trail, I saw this flower.  I've seen it before on other rides and I just love it because it reminds me of a fried egg.   Another fun filled club ride of which I did 45 miles in the heat.  I'm definitely back in the saddle.