Blowing in the Wind

The last several years, I've spent the 4th of July with club members at the ACTC Pancake Breakfast.  This year, since I'm not cleared to ride a bike yet, I decided to walk Windy Hill starting at the parking lot in Portola Valley and ending at the summit overlooking Skyline Blvd.

Guess what.  It's frigging windy and it certainly is a hill.  And where were the men!  Oh I know, biking.  I met a lot of families and dogs.  And then, the runner came.  OMG.  I think I began panting, and no doubt, drooled a bit, as his lovely chiseled body sprinted past me.   Talk about fireworks.... For a minute, I forgot about the wind, being sweaty, feeling grimy from the dust and missing biking with my friends on this holiday.  I find walking hard.  I managed to do 5.6 miles in 2 hours.  

Quiet Time

Nice day to walk around beloved Alviso.

 Won't be biking for awhile so I'm seeing the world on happy feet.

Well, after a few miles or so, my feet became unhappy.  I miss being on my bike, riding with my friends, doing club rides but hopefully soon, once a health issue clears up.  Meanwhile, it was a nice day to walk around beloved Alviso.

Sand and Surf

 To the beach we go.  But first, we need a beach ball.  This one will do nicely.  I like big balls, don't you.

Some of the club members enjoying lunch at Manresa State Beach in Aptos.  What a great route -- flying down Soquel San Jose, meandering over to San Andreas Road, and doing sections of the Strawberry Fields Forever bike tour.  We lost Joan early on due to a mechanical failure. 

 The temperature was on the cool side with the sea breeze.  Watsonville turned out to be warm.  We passed the airport and the dump.  On Buena Vista, we came across field after field of strawberries.  Lovely.

Our host Donny made sure I didn't get lost or run off with men in wetsuits.  Darn that Donny.  I had a swell time biking with Miss P., AC, and with some other club members I hadn't seen in awhile.    Eureka Canyon was tiring towards the end. As usual, despite thinking I was banging it, I finished last. 

Just the Stats:

4534 ft of climbing
62.64 miles
30 mph descent
11.2 avg mph
5 hr. 34 min.