Out With The Boyfriend

Guess who's in town!

The BF:  I don't care if you have a cold, we're going for a bike ride.
Me:  Why must you torture me.  Listen Mister, if I'm forced to ride in my condition, then, I want some nooky afterwards.
The BF:  What!  You're sick.  I don't want to catch whatever you have.   I won't allow you to germinate me.
Me: I'm going to fire you as my boyfriend.
The BF:  And then you'll hire me right back.
Me:  I'll think about it.  Ooh, we're going to pass firemen on this ride, aren't we.
The BF:  Sigh.

Odd weather.  Heavy overcast, a bit chilly.  Never burned off.  Off we go, starting in Palo Alto along Junipero Serra to Foothill to Stevens Canyon and onto Redwood Gulch, a climb I haven't done in awhile.  Ouch.

He's so handsome.  I stayed behind him so I could stick my tongue out at him as I climbed and sweated buckets from the cold I've had for several days now.  We continued up Highway 9 to Skyline.  Sweet surprise on Skyline, a section that was exquisitely paved, allowing me to simply coast like I was on ice.

Taking a break coming down Page Mill.  Whew, on the home stretch.  Boy, I saw 4 dead deer today.  Yucky.  The weather worsened but we were able to get in a 38 mile ride.  Til I see you again, Mister.

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.

LKHC Montebello 2015

Hmm, I was tempted to go to the wedding.  But no, it's that time again to kick off the Low Key Hill Climb season!  Here I go again ....

Ring ring from somewhere on the East Coast --

The BF:   Did you start the season off with a record breaking ride?"

Let's discuss.

Do I train for this event?

Do I just show up and hope for the best?

Do I generally finish last?

I rolled out of bed like I do most mornings, thinking about doing yoga (not), wondering at what hour I may have chocolate (yes), hoping I see firemen (yay) ... okay, last month I did a practice run (surprise) to get a sense of when I would wimp out, fatigue, whine, wish I was somewhere else, la dee dah.  It actually paid off.

 (photo from Wink Saville Media)

We had a good turnout, the weather was perfect (hello, we live in California), 14 women registered this year (yay), a couple of runners, a boy (he's going places), some newbies (wonderful) and a few tandems.

It's Hammer Time.  No time for me to be weenie.  Give it my best shot. 

To answer The BF's question.  Well, hot diggity darn.  Why, yes, yes, I did.  Sort of.  Some stats:

2008:  55.58 (different bike)
2011:  54.53
2012:  51.05 (whoa, who was that chick)
2013:  53.05
2014:  57.47 (sigh)
2015:  54.54

Not earth shattering but frigging way better than last year.  The newly paved road surface might have been a factor.  I ought to get an award for most times finishing last!  And damn proud of it.  I do it because it's fun, it's challenging, and it makes me feel alive.