Steamin' up Sierra

The Boyfriend's in town but not enough time for us to join Donny's ride in Tres Pinos.  Darn.  Bit chilly today but I, of course, was decked out in my woolens as we took on Sierra Road.... The BF whined about it being chilly since he of course was not in woolens.  I have to put up with a lot to get some, you know....

Wait, I almost forgot, there was a fire engine parked near Cardoza Park.  Hello firemen!  They seem to know where I am....  The BF has to put up with a lot to get some, you know ....

Me:  So I said to The BF ...
Cow:  Moo.
Me:  Sunshine, Sierra Road, Sex with me, what more could you ask for!
Cow:  Moo.
Me:  Exactly.

Today I was on fire, maybe on account of those firemen, or due to The BF looking mighty fine, and I steamed up Sierra.  Well, maybe not exactly steamed, but, I certainly fared better than previous times.  I did not have to walk any of it.

Yoohoo, I'm ready or OMG, the climb is over, thankfully. 

There goes my man!  Okay off in the distance, he's sort of a speck.  Poor fella, he has to suffer my blog entries.  Sierra Road was challenging since neither of us has climbed it in awhile.  Still pretty with green hills and orange poppies here and there.  Fish n chips afterwards hit the spot. 

Summit and Plummet

Oh well, oh well, I feel so good today.  We're off to do Mt. Diablo (club ride).

The hills have turned green!  Mr. A almost crashed into me.  I told him there were easier ways to "pick me up."  Like, offer chocolates and diamonds.

Lookey, poppies!  Mr. G. pointed out the sign that said speed limit 20 mph.  Yep, like I'm going to get a ticket for speeding as I climbed Mt. Diablo. 

Sweet victory!  I pedaled the last nasty bit to the summit without much huff or puff. 

Time to plummet!  The brown areas are from last year's fire.  Miss P. chose to ride some more while Mr. G and I decided to return to the start.  Other club members went on to do Clayton and Morgan Territory. 

Up close.  We saw signs of nature on the mend.  A ladybug joined me for much of the ride, resting on my arm.  There were lots of cyclists out today, no wonder, given the warm weather.  I summited.  I plummeted.  And managed 31 miles. 

It's About Time

Been awhile since I've done a club ride and with Dr. G.  Except Dr. G had a different route in mind. 

Dr G:  We're going to do my route.  You got that matey!
Me:  Aye aye Captain.

Ooh, I do so love a good mutiny.  We set sail while the other cyclists were still drinking their lattes outside the bike shop off Cottle Road.

Our route:  Santa Teresa up Bernal over to Bailey onward to Buffalo Hill, then Uvas, Oak Glen, Willow Springs, Hale, Llagas, Hale again and back to the start. 

I huffed and puffed for the first climb up Bernal.  At the IBM gate where the security guard post is, I had to pee, naturally as discreetly as possible even though there was no guard.  A bunch of male cyclists came through and the guard gate opened for them.  They asked me if I triggered it for them.  Dr. G. quipped that somewhere on the IBM campus, they were shooting video of the scene and of me.

Dr. G. and I had a blast.  The weather was marvelous.  We could see Mt. Um from Bernal and Mt. Ham from Hale in Morgan Hill.  We waved to Miss P. who was somewhere on Mt. Ham today.  The hills have turned green from the little bit of rain we've had.

And given us poppies!  Dr. G. said we best get back because that video that the security guard might have made had probably gone viral ... oh, Dr. G. is too funny.  Don't forget to Spring Forward tonight.

Just the Stats:

39 miles
11.9 avg mph
27 mph on a descent
3 hrs 15 min