Them

Another Christmas in the Park!

Uh oh. Spotted:  Aliens.  They're getting so brazen and apparently enjoying themselves, too.  They still have tails, so, we have a chance to outsmart them.... I know, I'll get The Boyfriend to lead the charge while I eat bonbons.

I Trotted

Thanksgiving Day 2019

Yeah baby, I trotted and gobbled 5k for the 15th Annual SV Turkey Trot, my first time. It was nippy at 42 degrees.  I signed up because if I can do something to help others less fortunate, then, I'm there. 

Sunday Scenes

Occasionally, I have a life.  This weekend proved that.  Saturday, I biked Montebello to see old friends from LKHC days.  It may be October but boy, the weather was more like a summer day, and the purple grapes hanging from the vines were plump and lovely. Fast forward to Sunday.  I woke to watch the Rock n Roll half marathon come through my neighborhood.  Next, I went to the Little Italy Festival.  This is their 4th year hosting the event and it's my first to actually attend.

It may be October but today felt like a hot summer day. I was sweating buckets, looking for shade.

Ah, nostalgia.  Old Spaghetti Factory.

Love it.  This is near the Wells Fargo bank.

Opening weekend for Symphony Silicon Valley.  Omg, they served free mimosas.  Classy.  Thank you.

Before every performance, they play our National Anthem.  Wow.  Truly moving with the audience singing along.  Lovely performance. 

Got Goat?

Saturday, Sept 15th

A 43 mile club ride slogging it out in the heat, first climbing Bernal and then a reservoir loop through Morgan Hill.  Towards the end, on Coyote Creek Trail, I was kinda losing it, what with the warm water in my bottles and no firemen to entertain me.  But then, Miss P and I came across a field of goats.  Best way to mow the lawn and prevent fires, right!

It made the ride so much more enjoyable.  A short while later, we came across a bunch of turkeys, too.  It was a hot sweaty ride but made tolerable thanks to the simple beauty of a field of goats. 

What a Day We Had

Thursday, Sept 12th

Miss P and I took a day off.  Why, you ask?   Because we felt like it.  Nah, because Miss P scored us tickets to see Hamilton at the Orpheum.  What to do with our day off?  We went to the California Academy of Sciences, a place I've never visited.  Shame on me. 

Oh my Gosh, the Living Roof is a gem.  We need more of them.

All of the exhibits were fantastic, including the albino alligator.  I thought he was fake.  Nope.

Oh my Gosh again, the sea dragon.  Like a branch or twig with leaves floating and dancing like a ballerina in water.  Amazing. The joy I felt about our beautiful Earth and all that it offers.  Before we knew it, it was 5pm and time to go.  Why?

Time to see Hamilton at the Orpheum, another place I've never been.  It was spectacular.  It lived up to its hype.  What a day we had.  Not every day can be a holiday but we can try to make it a day of wonder now and again, right.

Peachy in Paso Robles

Sat and Sun Aug 24th and 25th

Quick getaway to Cambria and Paso Robles.  This time, The Boyfriend and I left Friday night to arrive in Paso Robles around 10pm.  Oh my Gosh, we saw a fire on Hwy 101; the fire crew quickly came on the scene.   In the morning, we drove to Cambria to ride from there over to Cayucos and into the canyon over to Santa Rosa Creek Road.  40 miles.  We had super weather.  Great ride except for the flies that attacked us on a climb.  The BF swallowed them.  Eek.  Oh yeah, as we set off in Cambria, I was greeted by firemen.  What can I say.  They seem to know where I am....

Santa Rosa Creek Road is full of angles.  The BF is in this shot, look to the right upper corner. Both of us were pleased with how we handled this ride.  We've worked hard last few months to get back in shape.  Well, me, lying on my bed, eating bon bons, thinking about getting back in shape...

Cool shot of me if I do say so.  After the ride, we returned to our hotel in Paso Robles and had a swell meal at Rustic Fire Pizza

Sunday, we got on our bikes early to beat the heat, traveling along Hwy 46 to do a new ride for us, Peachy Canyon loop.

Off he goes, sexy boy.

It was a beautiful 25 mile ride going through vineyards with lots of rollers.

A really enjoyable ride with gorgeous scenery and a good work out.  It was super to do a new ride.  I only whined about the flies that attacked us on one climb.  A great getaway, albeit too short, as usual.

The So Called 2 hr 3% grade bike ride

Saturday, July 20th

Before I get into the planned bike ride for today, I want to mention that if you're in the Jamestown/Sonora/Columbia area, do visit Railtown 1897 and Columbia State Historic Park to get a sense of the gold rush era.  We had a blast visiting both.

If you've been reading my dull blog entries, you'll know that this cycling excursion was somewhat foiled because of a mechanical issue with my bike.  Alas, our vacation is coming to an end, and we have one ride left, one in which The Boyfriend and I are riding together, something we haven't done since Tuesday.

The BF put together the 30 mile or so ride based on some mapmyride route.  Hmm, where do I begin.  I'll be on a ride that he's "put together", and I'll ask, how much further?  He'll reply, not much longer.  Well, 20 miles later .... to which I'll say, if you think you're getting any tonight, think again.  Or, I'll ask, are there climbs on this concocted route, and he'll say, nah, don't worry.  To which, it'll be 10% climbing for most of the ride.  And to which I'll end of saying to him, if you think you're getting any tonight, think again..

You see, he's in his own orbit, planet, universe, galaxy whereas I, a librarian, demand details routed in reality.  This is not to say that I don't enjoy spontaneity, the unexpected or an adventure.  Just give a heads up otherwise as I like to remind The BF,  if you think you're getting any tonight, think again.

So, today's so called 30 or so miles of 3% grade turned out in reality to be 36 miles with a whole lot of climbing, alot of steep pitches in the 10% grade.  Again, let me remind The BF, if you think you're getting any tonight, think again.

I mean, like duh, we're in the Sonora area, at elevation, it doesn't take a rocket scientist  to figure out that our ride is probably going to include hills and steep pitches. But I like to let The BF think he's in charge....

Having had my momentary bitchfest, I must say that the ride was incredible, with super rollers, descents that involved no pedaling at incredibly fast speeds, pastoral scenes, and a fantastic way to end our holiday.  The so called 2 hour ride ended up being 36 miles and 5 hrs later (well, I suppose only 3.5 hrs of actually riding).  If The BF thinks he's getting any tonight, think again.  I do so like to keep him on his toes.  The vacation ended too quickly  Til next time.

Onwards to Jamestown

Friday, July 19th

Before leaving North Fork, The Boyfriend deposited me at Bass Lake so I could test drive my bicycle for a 10 mile spin.  Nice to be back on the bike again.  And then we were off to Jamestown, our next destination.

Omg, we were pleasantly surprised on Hwy 49 between Bear Valley and Bagby with these incredible views.  We had to stop for awhile due to road works.  I spoke with one of the roadworks guys.  He told me about the fire that burned a few years ago. 

Wow, it was a great drive; we wondered if we could bike it.  That would be a thrill.

A beautiful drive as we made our way to Jamestown.

A Somewhat Better Day

Thursday, July 18th

So, what to do today while my bicycle was hopefully having a successful surgery?  I walked 2 miles to visit Bandit Town, a recreated historic western town that is currently sort of on hold -- read this article.

Meanwhile, The Boyfriend went off on a much deserved bicycle ride around Bass Lake.

It was much more challenging than he anticipated but I know he enjoyed himself.

I'm glad he got some cycling in. Going on holiday is meant to be about having fun! We went to Miller's Landing and had a good lunch of fish n chips.  Afterwards, back to Clovis to check on my bicycle.  Omg, I was so lucky -- the bike man did a wonderful job, replacing the shifter along with giving my bike a tune up.  We were back in business.   We picked up dinner from Trader Joes's, took a scenic route back to our lodgings and had an enjoyable evening.  All is not lost, after all.

 

The Pain in the Tushy Day

Wednesday, July 17th

So, our plans changed thanks to the mechanical problem with my bike.  I was plum depressed because we were supposed to do the Kaiser climb and then swim (well just me as The BF doesn't care for water)  in Shaver lake, with The Boyfriend taking pics of me in my fabulously dull but practical bathing suit where in my mind, I would be a bathing beauty.  Instead, we had to leave beloved Shaver Lake in search of a bicycle shop and pray my bike could be repaired.  This involved driving 53 miles to Clovis.  Oh my Gosh, we were so fortunate to discover the Clovis Bicycle Shop.  Our bike man the surgeon was super duper. The bike was hospitalized for an overnight stay.  Meanwhile, we drove to our next destination, North Fork, in search of our lodgings.  Here we are in the middle of nowhere driving to our airbnb.

We arrived much too early.  The door had an access code.  The BF couldn't get a signal in his iPhone to search his email for the details, so, this meant more driving in search of wifi access.  The area was confusing but eventually we found Bass Lake.

The BF got a signal and found the details for our lodgings.  Yay.  We were sort of pooped and I so longed to dip my toes and be a bathing beauty in a lake.

We drove around the lake and finally found a place to park.

Yay, I dipped my toes in the refreshing lake.  We returned to the airbnb and got situated.  And rested.  And had a good meal at a restaurant in Bass Lake.....

Shaver Lake Bike ride - It Went Down Like This

Tuesday, July 16th

And we're off, ready to tackle 40 miles of mostly climbing (10 percent grades and more here and there) and 7,000 feet.  Omg, it was challenging.

Spectacular scenery, more noticeable by bike than in a car.

It was tough but we were up for the challenge.

Stopping to catch my breath and enjoy the scenery.

A lot of climbing, so be ready should you go.  By the way, there are stores to stop at to refuel if necessary. Alas, we encountered a boo boo.

Or, more specifically, I did.  After 20 miles of climbing, I shifted and my right Sram shifter simply sheared off.  Yep.  The cable was done, obviously.  Was life over?  Well, in the big scheme of life, no, but, certainly disappointing, right. So, I sat for 3 hours while The Boyfriend dashed off for the remaining 20 miles of our route, much of it uphill, to get the car to rescue me. He was my hero.  Was our trip derailed?  Stay tuned.

Photos of Shaver Lake

Monday, July 15th

Sharing pictures we took as we drove along Shaver Lake to scout out the bike ride for tomorrow.

It's beautiful, and I can't wait to dip my toes in the water after tomorrow's bike ride.

Hoping there's time to explore the other lakes in the area after our bike ride.  The weather is perfect, too.

The winter rains brought forth the flowers, still evident everywhere.

Pretty, right.  Peaceful.  Quiet. Looking forward to seeing all of this again tomorrow but with the perspective of being on a bike not in a car.