Poppies in Bloom

Saturday telephone conversation between The Boyfriend and me:

He: Fancy biking Mt. Diablo tomorrow?
Me: I'll tell you what I fancy, Mister -- those two shirtless guys I passed on the trail this morning at my place 6pm for cocktails.
He [ignoring me]: What time do you want to come to my place Sunday?
Me: Midnight.
He [ignoring me - he does that a lot]: Great, 9am it is.
Me: I plan to whine.
He: Click.
Me: See how much he adores me.



We began at the North Gate entrance. We did this ride two years ago with the Low Key Hillclimb series and I wrote a blog entry about that experience.

Me: I'm ready to turn around now.
He: We haven't even started.



If you click on the photo above, you will see poppies and hangliders.

Me: Are we there yet?
He: Sigh.
Me: [two minutes later] Are we there yet, huh huh huh?
He: [shaking his head] Remind me next time to bring duct tape.

Notice in the photo below how I look like a lump as I climb. The Boyfriend glided up with ease, leaving me after mile 3 or so. More poppies to view as well.



It was much too warm for me to bother whining. I fared better than I expected, doing 6-7 mph though by mile 9, my back ached and it was a struggle to reach the top. At the ranger station, I passed a look-alike Sean Connery shirtless runner who told me I was beautiful. Ah, my kind of man. Then again, he was probably delirious and suffering from heatstroke. It was very hot on the mountain.

At the top, I met up with The Boyfriend:

He: That was fun!
Me: I'll tell you what's fun, Mister -- those two shirtless guys from yesterday's ride, my place, 6pm for cocktails.

Naturally he ignored me once again, kissed me atop the mountain and promised me french fries later. My kind of man.

We stopped a few times during the descent to take photos. Below, he's looking at more poppies in bloom.



Next weekend, it's the Tierra Bella.