Alexander Valley

Friday April 8 We began today's ride in the town of Windsor. The plan was to do Pine Flat, a favorite climb of Levi Leipheimer (watch this video) in Sonoma County but once again, the weather was too unpredictable and we opted out. Still, we had a good 45 mile outing through Alexander Valley. We saw cows with enormous udders, so big that I thought it would be vulgar to post a photo. Rain drops fell just as we were ending our ride.

Would you believe that I got a flat despite my tank tires! Once again, The BF came to my rescue, fixing my flat in under 10 minutes. My hero. He has gone the way of tubeless tires. If you can afford it, go for it.

In the evening, we listened to Mariachi music at a Mexican restaurant and drank a nice cab called Irony. Ha ha.

Hail to the Chief

Thursday April 7 To our delight, we awoke to cold but clear skies. The weather people had predicted a rainy day. Our ride took us from Napa into Sonoma and up Trinity and Mt. Veeder, a 45 mile ride that proved hard mostly because of gusty wind conditions and temperatures in the upper 40s. Here I am at Domaine Carneros

Soon though the clouds came in and the temperature dropped. We encountered turkey vultures, valleys carpeted in flowers and naked vineyards. All breathtaking scenery. Atop Mt. Veeder, snow began to fall on me and then hail, the size of mini marshmellows. I whipped out my new cell phone to call The Boyfriend. I was a bit lost, shivering and not sure what to do.

You don't want to hear the message I left for The BF, other than it went something like: Where the @!!@ are you! Get me off this #@@!!! mountain!"

The BF, way ahead of me, was assaulted by marshmellow sized hail! He was very brave. Luckily, I missed that as I made my way down Mt. Veeder. I lost feeling in my hands and feet. Soon though, my knight in shining silver colored car came and rescued me. My hero. Whew, what an outing!

Spa Town

Wednesday, April 6 The Boyfriend: It's time you had a vacation! Me: Darn right, Mister. The BF: How about a stay in Calistoga? Me: Spa time! Seaweed wraps, mud bath treatments for two, facials .... The BF: Uh, I was thinking more along the lines of ... Me: Wine tasting! The BF: Better than a mineral bath, better than visiting wineries -- a biking holiday! Me: I don't suppose I can take the boy toy from Starbucks (who flirted with me) with us? Side note: You know you're in Sonoma when a rooster or was it a chicken walks about in a parking lot, clearly not lost and no one pays attention as though this is a perfectly normal every day occurrence.