Looking East from Barnett Valley Road
My sincere thanks to the thirty one donors who have helped me meet the minimum fund raising level of $3000 in just under a month! Over the last two years they have contributed over $18,000 to help end AIDS. With people feeling pinched - there is a lot of belt tightening going on - I am extremely grateful for every donation, no matter the size.
It has been slow to get back in the pattern of training necessary for riding 80 miles, day after day for 7 days. Two weeks ago I did a long solo ride over the Geysers ... somewhat unprepared (not enough food, limited water, late start, etc). It is a tough climb and fairly isolated. After riding to Cloverdale (25 miles) I talked myself into testing the north side of the Geysers Road. It offers an alternate route back to Healdsburg, but adds 3400 feet of climbing. But, as with most questionable decisions, one thing led to another... and after about ten miles in, still feeling pretty good, I thought, I might as well continue on (and up). And so I did.
But it was a poor decision. I came upon the steepest part of the climb and my legs started cramping. I have to get off the bike, walk a ways (if I can), and then hydrate, eat, and take a break. On the Geysers, I definitely had to walk about a half-mile of the steepest portion. About half way up that, I lay down in the grass and took a nap. Forty-five minutes later I got up, walked the second quarter mile, and began the ride home. I did OK, and was, looking back, sorry I had tempted myself with the start of the Geysers. I should have returned on the flats. Here is the route.
These are from a ride from San Francisco to Fairfax.
It was freezing on the bridge!
But warm enough to draw flocks to the beach...........................................
One of the real pleasures of cycling distances is "getting somewhere." I generally hate to drive to the start of a ride. It feels so wrong. So when training rides get longer, it is possible to get somewhere that feels really different. A place that seems too far to think of driving on the spur of the moment. Like the beach! Loading the car, planning a lunch, getting the dogs ready, putting some clothes together for the inevitable shift in the weather ... you know, it makes the ocean seem really far away - even though it isn't!
A long ride can actually get you quite a ways from home. No time to sun on the sand or drop in to a gallery for a show, but an incredible feast for the eyes, ears, and nose, riding through the countryside. Last Saturday I rode to Sebastopol to join a training ride that was going to Marshall! Yup, that place on Tomales Bay that has a couple of oyster bars, and a sense of being lost in time. It hasn't changed much in the 30 years I've been in California. A sleepy, salty, weathered cluster of pilings holding up some structures that never seem to quite emerge from a dream state. With the ride to the start it turned into an 80 mile ride for me. The wind was fierce and I was quite glad to accept a lift from Sebastopol to Healdsburg at the end. It also helped me keep my promise to Linda to be home with time for dinner and unhurried drift over to a concert at the Raven (Beausoleil with David Lindley - very nice to have such fine music within walking distance!)
Well, its less than 50 days until the RIDE. Gotta keep pedaling...
