Who Ya Gonna Call - Goat Busters

Love 'em.  Goats on Coyote Creek Trail. I'm assuming they are there to eat the grasses and prevent wildfires. 

Today's club ride started with chilly temperatures.  It was swell to see familiar faces as well as to meet some new people.  It was swell meeting the goats, too.   Time to set off for our 2 goat busters (Thomas Grade and Henry Coe).

I dropped my chain early on and watched the gang become tiny dots on the horizon.  I didn't expect to ever catch up to them.  I did meet up with a lovely fit 61 year old woman who had a hip replacement.  She's still going strong, just slow, and we yakked away.  Every once in awhile, her husband would back track to check up on her but at some point, he didn't, and I decided to be her companion.  I know what it's like to bike alone.  We eventually got to Henry Coe.

The last time I did Henry Coe was back in November.  I think I've actually only got up it once.  This time, I thought to myself, no big deal, not that I went any faster.  I caught up to Miss P. and watched the rest of the gang descend.  It was swell to ride with Miss P. the last few miles.  I always feel calm and happy riding with her.  In the distance, the fog. 

On the return, a photo capturing summer in the South Bay.   I was ever so pleased to get up Henry Coe.  And to also descend much faster than I've done before.  I did hit a bump and I almost went over the handle bars and my private parts hit the saddle in a most painful way.

Just the Stats:

4253 feet of climbing

52.34 miles

10.5 avg mph

34.5 mph descending (can't seem to go beyond that number)

4 hr 59 min.

No Guys in Geyserville

 

 Friday, August 17th.

The BF:  I'm taking you to Geyserville where we'll continue onward to do the Geysers.

Me:  I'm going to do some guys. Oh Goody.

The BF:  Uh, not exactly.

You got that right, Mister.  Not a man in sight for me to enjoy.  Instead, like last year's trip, 47 miles of mostly climbing.  Hmm, you call this a vacation?

Whew, hard work.  And you know what.  I wasn't aware until this bridge that I was in the wrong gear --- I was in the big ring. No wonder my legs felt tired and my heart hurt.  I thought it was my weenie blood pressure issues.  The BF promised to buy me something for my incredible effort.  I plan to send him a list of my demands but I should have demanded his credit card on the spot .... 

The BF beginning a descent. 

I recently had my bike tuned at Mike's Bikes.  Hunkomobile mechanics.  I had my handle bars re-taped with black tape.  I loved my white tape handle bars but honestly, not practical. 

As we left the Geysers, we entered wine country again.  Lovely.  And the best part of the trip was the stop at the Jim Town store for the melted brie and ham sandwich.  I don't even like ham.  I'm mostly a vegetarian but damn if it didn't make me happy!  An oasis even if there were no men.... boy that sandwich hit the spot after a grueling ride. 

In Napa on the Tour Again

Sunday, August 19th

Almost every year, The Boyfriend and I have done the Tour of Napa.  Why?  Because it's a beautiful ride with just the right mix of rollers, incredible descents and climbs, and top notch food/support.  The weather was most agreeable this time, too.  Sigh, this year, no one wanted to play with me or talk to me, despite being adorable in purple clothing.  I tell you people, they missed out on me singing Led Zeppelin songs on Ink Grade.  I was so full of myself, even if no one else noticed, that I didn't need to stop at the last rest stop before the finish.  I arrived back at the start 1 hour after The BF (he also did the 100K) and my stats are similar to previous years which pleases me.  I checked my blood pressure and pulse and they were very low.  Yay.  Sadly, my BP numbers returned to bad readings later.  Oh well, such is life.  I would like to thank my chauffeur (aka The BF) for all the driving involved.

Just the stats:

67.71 miles
13.2 mph avg
34.5 mph descent
5 hr. 6 min